GR L 52479; (March, 1985) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-52479 March 28, 1985
JAIME F. MARIÑO, in his capacity as Provincial Chairman of the Nacionalista Party (NP) for the Province of Negros Occidental and ZENAIDA JAMANDRE NESSIA, petitioners, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and CITY COMELEC REGISTRAR OF LA CARLOTA (NEGROS OCCIDENTAL), respondents.
FACTS
A fire on May 2, 1979, destroyed the office of the City Comelec Registrar of La Carlota, including the master list of registered voters. The registrar subsequently reconstituted the list using extra copies from the 1978 elections. On the eve of the January 30, 1980, local elections, the COMELEC issued a resolution suspending the election due to the lack of vital voting records, but later on the same day, it reconsidered and ordered the election to proceed. The election was held as scheduled.
Petitioner Jaime F. Mariño, the NP candidate for mayor who lost, filed this certiorari proceeding. He alleged that the election was null and void because there was no certified list of voters on election day, leading to chaos where “flying voters” were allegedly allowed to vote in thousands while legitimate supporters were disenfranchised. He prayed for the annulment of the election and the setting of a new one.
ISSUE
Whether the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion in allowing the election to proceed despite the alleged lack of a certified list of voters, thereby warranting the annulment of the election and its results.
RULING
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. The Court acknowledged a lack of regularity in preparing the voter list after the fire and stated the COMELEC could have exercised greater diligence. However, it held that this failing did not justify annulling the election. The legal logic is that an election will not be invalidated solely due to irregularities in the preparation of registration records in the absence of a clear showing that the irregularities prevented the free and intelligent casting of votes or substantially impaired the people’s will.
The Court found the petitioners’ allegations of massive fraud, like the hauling of “flying voters,” to be general and unsubstantiated. In contrast, the respondents presented affidavits from a majority of the election committee chairmen attesting to a free, orderly, and peaceful election. The results showed a wide margin of victory for the KBL candidates. The Court emphasized that the will of the electorate, as expressed in the ballots, must be respected. Furthermore, with the lapse of time and the subsequent May 1984 Batasang Pambansa elections likely having remedied the voter list situation, no useful purpose would be served by annulling the 1980 election. The Court considered the petition as an election protest to be resolved by the COMELEC.