G.R. No. 35800; July 30, 1931
JOSE AGUILAR and DEMETRIO CASAPAO, applicants-appellants, vs. JUAN NAVARRO, opponent-appellee.

FACTS

Election inspectors Jose Aguilar and Demetrio Casapao for precinct No. 2 of Boñgabon, Mindoro, petitioned the Court of First Instance for authority to correct the election returns they forwarded to the provincial treasurer. They alleged that the copy sent to the provincial treasurer inadvertently omitted the votes for provincial governor, while the copies sent to the Executive Bureau, the municipal treasurer, and placed in the ballot box showed Arturo A. Ignacio receiving 106 votes and Juan Navarro 46 votes. They claimed this was a mistake without malicious intent. Juan Navarro opposed the petition, alleging the inspectors planned to falsify returns to favor Ignacio, noting the third inspector refused to participate in the canvass or sign the returns. The lower court denied the petition, and the inspectors appealed.

ISSUE

Whether an appeal may be taken from the ruling of the Court of First Instance denying a petition for authority to correct election returns under Section 465 of the Election Law.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the lower court’s ruling was unappealable. The power of the court to order correction of election returns is discretionary, administrative, and supervisory, intended to secure correctness. Rulings on such petitions are interlocutory in nature. The Election Law does not provide for an appeal from such rulings; the only appeal provision (Section 480) applies to final decisions on election contests for specific offices, not to summary proceedings on correction of returns. The proper recourse after such a ruling is to pursue an election contest according to law.

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