GR 43563; (September, 1935) (Digest)
G.R. No. 43563; September 28, 1935
ALEJANDRO A. VILLAVERT, protestant-appellant, vs. ALEJANDRO T. LIM, ET AL., respondents. ALEJANDRO T. LIM, appellee.
FACTS
In the 1934 elections for provincial governor of Antique, Alejandro T. Lim was proclaimed the winner with 4,399 votes, defeating Alberto A. Villavert (the petitioner-appellant) who received 4,340 votes, a margin of 59 votes. Villavert filed an election protest in the Court of First Instance of Antique, alleging frauds, irregularities, and errors in several precincts. Lim demurred, arguing the court lacked jurisdiction because the protest did not allege Villavert had duly presented his certificate of candidacy; the demurrer was overruled. Lim then filed an answer with special defenses and a counter-protest. After trial, the lower court rendered a decision confirming Lim’s election but reducing his majority to 36 votes. Villavert appealed, assigning sixteen errors. Lim, as appellee, also assigned eleven errors in his brief despite not having appealed from the decision.
ISSUE
1. Whether an appellee in an election case may assign errors in the appealed decision without having taken an appeal.
2. Whether the trial court erred in its appreciation of certain contested ballots, which affected the vote count and the election result.
RULING
1. Yes. Under Rule 20 of the Revised Rules of the Supreme Court and the doctrine in Mendoza vs. Mendiola (53 Phil. 267), appellees in election cases are permitted to assign errors in the decision even if they did not appeal. This is because election contests are tried de novo on appeal, similar to criminal cases under Section 480 of the Election Law, allowing consideration of all issues raised during the hearing.
2. The Supreme Court reviewed the contested ballots. It adjudicated in favor of Villavert four ballots (Exhibits 751, 768, 897, and 963) where the voter wrote variations like “V. alberto” or “Alberto V.,” holding these were valid votes for “Alberto Villavert” as “V” is the initial of his surname and “Alberto” is his Christian name, following the idem sonans rule. One ballot (Exhibit 887) was also adjudicated to Villavert. Conversely, five ballots for Lim (Exhibits G-34, G-35, F-3, C-13, and G-44) were deducted as invalid. After recalculation, Lim’s total votes were reduced to 4,380 and Villavert’s increased to 4,354, giving Lim a final majority of 26 votes. The appealed decision was affirmed with this modification.
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