GR L 13959; (December, 1918) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-13959, December 5, 1918
JOSE M. HONTIVEROS, petitioner-appellant, vs. SIMEON MOBO, respondent-appellant.
FACTS:
An election for provincial governor of Capiz was held on June 6, 1916, with Jose M. Hontiveros and Simeon Mobo as candidates. The provincial board of inspectors, after canvassing the returns, declared Simeon Mobo elected with 4,234 votes against Hontiveros’s 4,019 votes. Hontiveros filed an election protest, alleging frauds and irregularities in various precincts. The Court of First Instance, after trial, issued a decision on January 7, 1918, correcting the vote counts in several municipalities and annulling the results in Lezo and Pontevedra (Maayon). The corrected totals gave Hontiveros 3,876 votes and Mobo 3,822 votes, a majority of 54 for Hontiveros. The court ordered the provincial board to revise its count and proclaim the result accordingly. Both parties appealed to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE:
1. Whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the appeal despite the protestant-appellant’s alleged failure to perfect his appeal within the statutory period.
2. Whether the factual findings and corrections made by the trial court regarding the election results are correct.
RULING:
1. On jurisdiction: The Supreme Court held that it has jurisdiction. The protestant-appellant (Hontiveros) filed a written notice of appeal within ten days from notice of the decision, as required by law. Although the appeal bond was not filed within the ten-day period, the Court ruled that the law does not fix a specific period for filing the bond, and the appellant cannot be faulted for delay when the court itself did not promptly fix the bond amount. The bond was eventually filed and approved, perfecting the appeal. The motion to dismiss the appeal was denied.
2. On the merits: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the trial court in its entirety. After a thorough review of the evidence and the trial court’s exhaustive discussion of each alleged fraud and irregularity, the Court found no reason to disturb the factual findings and corrections made by Judge Fermin Mariano. The judgment declaring Jose M. Hontiveros the duly elected governor was upheld.
Additionally, the Court ordered the Attorney-General to investigate the frauds and irregularities documented in the record and to file criminal complaints against the responsible election inspectors, pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Administrative Code.