G.R. No. L-2221; August 27, 1948
SIMEON KEMPIS, protestant-appellee, vs. NICOLAS BAUTISTA, protestee-appellant.

FACTS

This is an election protest for the position of Municipal Mayor of Dulag, Leyte. The Court of First Instance of Leyte, in its amended decision, declared Simeon Kempis the winner by a margin of one vote over Nicolas Bautista. Bautista appealed, alleging errors in the adjudication of contested ballots.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in its appreciation of the contested ballots, thereby affecting the one-vote victory margin of protestant Simeon Kempis.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision. Applying the Revised Election Code and jurisprudence, it ruled on the validity of specific contested ballots marked as exhibits:
1. Ballot K-14 contains a signature (“E. Diaz”) and is considered marked, therefore invalid.
2. Ballot K-15 contains only the initials “S.K.” for mayor, which is insufficient to identify the candidate and is invalid.
3. Ballots where “S. Kempis” or similar names were written in spaces for Provincial Board Member or Vice-Mayor cannot be counted as votes for mayor. A candidate is presumed voted for the office opposite which their name is written.
4. Ballots K-16 and K-34, where Kempis was correctly voted for mayor, were properly counted.
5. Ballot B, where “N. Bautista” was written for Vice-Mayor, was improperly counted by the trial court as a vote for Bautista for mayor and must be deducted.
6. Ballot X-3, where “Simyon Kempis” was written for Provincial Board Member, is a stray vote and not countable for mayor.
After deducting 26 votes from Kempis’s total and 1 vote from Bautista’s total, Bautista obtained a majority of 24 votes. Nicolas Bautista was declared the duly elected Mayor of Dulag, Leyte. Costs were awarded against protestant Kempis.

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