G.R. No. L-3521. December 13, 1949.

THE NACIONALISTA PARTY, ET AL., petitioners, vs. THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, respondent.

FACTS

Petitioners, the Nacionalista Party and its senatorial candidates, sought to compel the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to exclude the votes cast for senators in Negros Occidental and Lanao from the national canvass. They alleged that rampant terrorism, intimidation, and fraudulent practices, as documented in a COMELEC resolution dated November 4, 1949, made free, orderly, and honest elections impossible in those provinces. Based on its findings, COMELEC had recommended to the President the postponement of elections in those areas, but the President did not act on the recommendation, and the elections proceeded as scheduled on November 8, 1949.

ISSUE

Whether the COMELEC has the power to annul an election in a political division or to exclude votes from the canvass due to alleged terrorism or fraud committed in connection therewith.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court denied the petition for mandamus. It held that the COMELEC’s constitutional and statutory powers are limited to the enforcement and administration of election laws and the determination of administrative questions affecting elections. The authority to adjudicate questions involving the legality of elections, such as those arising from terrorism, fraud, or other violations of election law, is vested not in the COMELEC but in the respective Electoral Tribunals of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The COMELEC’s duty in the canvass is ministerial: to count the votes appearing in genuine election returns. It cannot reject returns based on informalities or allegations of illegal and fraudulent practices, except where returns are obviously manufactured (e.g., showing a gross excess of votes over registered voters). The proper remedy for the petitioners is to raise the question of the validity of the elections before the Senate Electoral Tribunal.

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