G.R. No. L-12504; February 13, 1918
MANUEL AQUINO, ET AL., petitioners, vs. JUDGE OF FIRST INSTANCE OF CAGAYAN, ET AL., respondents.

FACTS:
An election was held in the Municipality of Amulung, Cagayan, on June 6, 1916, to elect municipal officials. After the canvass, certain candidates were declared elected. On June 19, 1916, a joint election protest was filed by some candidates for president, vice-president, and councilmen. However, notice of the protest was not given to two of the candidates for councilman. The respondents filed a motion to dismiss the protest on the ground of lack of jurisdiction due to the failure to notify all candidates voted for. The Court of First Instance granted the motion and dismissed the entire protest. The petitioners then filed this original petition for mandamus to compel the respondent judge to reinstate and hear the protest.

ISSUE:

2. Whether there was an improper joinder of parties by including protests for different offices (president, vice-president, and councilmen) in a single petition.

RULING:
The Supreme Court granted the petition for mandamus in part.

2. Regarding the protest for councilmen, the Court ruled that whether all candidates voted for were notified is a question of fact that requires hearing of evidence. The case is remanded to the lower court to receive proof on the matter of notice. If it is proven that not all candidates were duly notified, the court lacks jurisdiction and may dismiss the protest for councilmen.
3. On the issue of improper joinder: The Court did not find merit in the respondents’ alternative argument that the protest should be dismissed due to improper joinder of parties for different offices. The ruling implicitly allows the joint protest to proceed, as the Court ordered its reinstatement without upholding this objection.

The writ of mandamus is issued accordingly. No costs were awarded.

This is AI (Gemini and Deepseek) Generated. Please Double Check. Powered by Armztrong.