G.R. No. L-18947; April 29, 1922
BONIFACIO YSIP, petitioner, vs. MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF CABIAO, NUEVA ECIJA, ET AL., respondents.

FACTS

In the 1919 general election in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, the Partido Nacionalista obtained the highest number of votes, and the Partido Democrata obtained the second highest. Prior to the 1922 elections, the Partido Nacionalista split, resulting in the formation of a new group, the Partido Nacionalista Colectivista, which was inaugurated in Cabiao on February 28, 1922. Many adherents of the old Nacionalista Party in Cabiao and other towns in Nueva Ecija joined the new Colectivista group. The Municipal Council of Cabiao, following a circular from the Chief of the Executive Bureau, appointed one election inspector each from the Partido Nacionalista, the Partido Nacionalista Colectivista, and the Partido Democrata for each precinct. Bonifacio Ysip, a member of the old Nacionalista Party, challenged this appointment, arguing that under the Election Law, the old Nacionalista Party, as the party that polled the largest number of votes in the last election, was entitled to two inspectors, with the Democrata Party entitled to one.

ISSUE

Whether the newly formed Partido Nacionalista Colectivista, which did not participate in the preceding election, is entitled to representation on the board of election inspectors, thereby altering the allocation prescribed by law for the two parties that obtained the largest and next largest number of votes in the last election.

RULING

The Supreme Court, in a majority decision, denied the petition. The Court adopted a liberal construction of Section 11 of Act No. 3030. While a strict reading would grant two inspectors to the old Nacionalista Party (the party that polled the largest number of votes) and one to the Democrata Party (the party that polled the next largest), the Court considered the notorious fact of the split within the Nacionalista Party. To adhere strictly to the letter of the law in such a circumstance would be contrary to the spirit of the Election Law, which aims to ensure clean elections by providing fair representation. The Court held that in municipalities where the old Nacionalista Party polled the largest number of votes, the Democrata Party the next largest, and a new Partido Nacionalista Colectivista has been duly organized, the board of inspectors should be composed of one inspector each from the Partido Nacionalista, the Partido Nacionalista Colectivista, and the Partido Democrata. The appointment made by the Municipal Council was therefore upheld.

DISSENTING OPINION:
Justice Villamor (concurred in by Chief Justice Araullo and Justice Avanceña) argued for a strict interpretation of the law. The law bases the right to appoint inspectors solely on the results of the preceding election. The new Colectivista party did not participate in that election and thus had no right to representation. Granting it a seat would presume its electoral strength without it having been tested at the polls and would unjustly deprive the old Nacionalista Party of its statutory entitlement of two inspectors based on its past victory. The dissent would have granted the petition.