G.R. No. 169106 , June 23, 2006. DATU ISRAEL SINSUAT and DATU JABERAEL SINSUAT, Petitioners, vs. The HONORABLE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, et al., Respondents.
FACTS

Petitioners Datu Israel Sinsuat and Datu Jaberael Sinsuat were candidates for mayor and vice-mayor, respectively, in South Upi, Maguindanao, during the May 2004 elections. Due to multiple proclamations from an incomplete canvass, the COMELEC annulled all proclamations and created a Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC) to re-canvass all returns. The SBOC’s canvass showed Antonio Gunsi, Sr. leading for mayor, and Abdullah Campong leading for vice-mayor over Jaberael Sinsuat. However, Gunsi was later disqualified by the COMELEC. Jaberael also contested 95 ballots from two precincts where his name appeared to have been erased and replaced with Campong’s name.
The COMELEC en banc ordered the SBOC to proclaim Campong as vice-mayor and the winning councilors, but to withhold the mayoral proclamation due to Gunsi’s disqualification, referring the succession to the DILG. Petitioners filed motions to suspend this order, which the COMELEC denied, ruling the motions were prohibited motions for reconsideration and that the SBOC had already validated the contested ballots.

ISSUE

The core issues were: (1) whether the 95 contested ballots should be credited to Jaberael Sinsuat; and (2) whether Israel Sinsuat, as the candidate with the next highest votes, should be proclaimed mayor following Gunsi’s disqualification.

RULING

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. On the first issue, the Court held that the petitioners’ proper remedy regarding the contested ballots was a regular election protest, not a pre-proclamation controversy. A pre-proclamation controversy is limited to challenges based on the election returns’ face and the canvassing procedure’s correctness. Questions regarding ballot validity, markings, or alleged tampering—requiring examination of evidence beyond the returns—are matters for an election protest where a trial court can receive evidence and determine the voters’ real intent. The COMELEC correctly refrained from examining the ballots’ authenticity in the canvassing phase.
On the second issue, the Court ruled that Israel Sinsuat could not be proclaimed mayor simply because he received the next highest number of votes after the disqualified winner, Gunsi. The legal consequence of a winning candidate’s disqualification is that the votes cast for that candidate are deemed stray. The candidate who garners the second-highest number of votes is not automatically declared the winner, as this does not constitute a plurality of valid votes. The proper succession is governed by the Local Government Code: the duly proclaimed vice-mayor shall succeed to the office of mayor. Therefore, with Gunsi disqualified and no proclamation made, the proclaimed vice-mayor (Campong, subject to the outcome of any election protest) would be the successor.