GR L 25490; (July, 1966) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-25490 July 27, 1966
SILVESTRE DOMINGO, petitioner, vs. FERNANDO RAMOS, respondent.
FACTS
In the mayoralty elections of Rosales, Pangasinan on November 12, 1963, Fernando Ramos was proclaimed winner over Silvestre Domingo by a margin of eleven (11) votes. Domingo filed an election protest. The Court of First Instance of Pangasinan declared Domingo elected with a plurality of fifteen (15) votes. Ramos appealed to the Court of Appeals, which reversed the lower court and declared Ramos the duly elected mayor with a plurality of twelve (12) votes. Domingo appealed to the Supreme Court, contesting the Court of Appeals’ appreciation of specific ballots. Domingo specifically questioned the admission of twenty-one (21) ballots in favor of Ramos (fourteen under the first assignment of error and seven under the third) and the rejection of one ballot in his favor (second assignment of error). The core issue centered on fourteen ballots where “A. Ramos” was written for mayor, which Domingo argued were stray votes for Aurora Ramos, a councilor candidate, and not for respondent Fernando Ramos.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in admitting as valid votes for Fernando Ramos the fourteen (14) ballots where “A. Ramos” was written on the space for mayor, and consequently, whether Silvestre Domingo should be declared the duly elected mayor.
RULING
The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals. Applying the precedent set in Calo vs. Court of Appeals, the Court held that the fourteen (14) ballots marked “A. Ramos” for mayor were stray votes and should not be counted for Fernando Ramos. The Court rejected the appellate court’s reasoning, including the argument that the initial “A” stood for Ramos’s nickname “Ando,” noting that the law speaks of initials of a name or surname, not nicknames. Following Calo, when the initial and surname written are those of another candidate (even for a different office), that person must be deemed the one voted for. Deducting these fourteen votes from Ramos’s total gave Domingo a plurality of two (2) votes. Consequently, the Supreme Court declared Silvestre Domingo the duly elected mayor of Rosales, Pangasinan. The other assignments of error were deemed unnecessary to consider.