G.R. No. L-4130
RUFINO BAÑES, ET AL., petitioners-appellants, vs. JACINTO CORDERO, ET AL., respondents-appellees.
April 12, 1909

FACTS:
Petitioners were registered electors in the municipality of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, for the municipal elections held on December 5, 1905. The board of election judges decided to strike their names off the electoral list, ruling that they had violated their oath of allegiance to the United States and were thus unable to vote. After the elections, the petitioners filed a protest against the legality and validity of the elections, contending they had been unlawfully deprived of their right to vote. The provincial board, on December 23, 1905, approved the elections as legal and dismissed the petitioners’ protest.

The petitioners then applied to the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Ilocos Sur for a writ of certiorari against the members of the election board and the provincial board, alleging that these bodies exceeded their powers in dismissing the protest and approving the elections. The CFI denied the writ, prompting the petitioners to appeal. This case is governed by the provisions of the Municipal Code ( Act No. 82 ) which was in effect at the time.

ISSUE:
Did the election board of Narvacan and the provincial board of Ilocos Sur exceed their statutory powers in disqualifying the petitioners as electors and dismissing their election protest, thereby warranting the issuance of a writ of certiorari?

RULING:
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of First Instance, holding that the writ of certiorari was not warranted because the respondents did not exceed their powers.

The Court held that:
1. Under Section 9, paragraph (b) of Act No. 82 (Municipal Code), the board consisting of the municipal president, vice-president, and municipal treasurer is expressly conferred with the power to determine questions regarding the qualification or disqualification of any elector. Thus, the election board of Narvacan acted within its scope of powers when it found the petitioners lacked the necessary qualifications and ordered their names stricken from the list.
2. Under Section 13, paragraph (b) of Act No. 82 , provincial boards are explicitly vested with the power to approve or disapprove municipal elections after hearing and determining any protests filed. Therefore, the provincial board of Ilocos Sur acted within its powers in approving the municipal elections and dismissing the petitioners’ protest.
3. A writ of certiorari is exclusively granted to remedy abuses committed in the exercise of a power or jurisdiction, specifically when it is shown that the respondent has exceeded their power or jurisdiction. As the election board and the provincial board acted within the powers expressly vested in them by law, there was no legal ground for the issuance of the writ of certiorari.

The order appealed from was affirmed.