G.R. No. L-52718 April 30, 1985
NILO I. ITURIAGA, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and JUANITO I. RONDARIO, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Nilo I. Ituriaga, the incumbent Municipal Mayor of Malinao, Aklan, filed his certificate of candidacy for re-election under the Nacionalista Party on January 4, 1980. His opponent was private respondent Juanito I. Rondario, the official Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) candidate. On January 16, 1980, a petition was filed with the COMELEC to disqualify Ituriaga for turncoatism under Section 10, Article XII-C of the 1973 Constitution, alleging he was the municipal chairman of the KBL. Ituriaga countered that he was originally a Nacionalista, was merely designated as KBL Municipal Chairman for the 1978 elections as part of an “umbrella organization,” and never formally affiliated with or resigned from the KBL.
The COMELEC, in Resolution No. 8528 dated January 27, 1980, granted the petition and cancelled Ituriaga’s certificate of candidacy, finding him a bona fide KBL member who filed under a different party without formal resignation. Ituriaga learned of this cancellation only on election day, January 30, 1980, after which his votes were treated as stray and not counted. Meanwhile, a similar disqualification case against Rondario remained unacted upon, allowing his votes to be counted. Ituriaga filed a motion for reconsideration and, anticipating Rondario’s proclamation, subsequently filed this petition for certiorari.

ISSUE

Whether the COMELEC acted with grave abuse of discretion in cancelling petitioner Ituriaga’s certificate of candidacy and in the subsequent electoral proceedings.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court granted the petition, annulling COMELEC Resolution No. 8528. The legal logic centers on due process and the finality of a valid proclamation. The Court found the COMELEC’s summary cancellation of Ituriaga’s candidacy three days before the election, without a proper hearing, was procedurally infirm. This unfairness was compounded by the disparate treatment of the rival candidates, as the case against Rondario was left pending.
Crucially, during the pendency of this Supreme Court case, the COMELEC itself issued Resolution No. 9451 on March 6, 1980, ordering the reconvening of the boards to count Ituriaga’s votes and proclaim the winning candidate. This was implemented on March 7, 1980, resulting in Ituriaga’s proclamation as the duly elected mayor after a canvass showed he won by 340 votes. The Court ruled this proclamation, effected under a COMELEC resolution and a fait accompli, could not be summarily annulled without observance of due process. To remand the pre-proclamation case for a full hearing would be inefficient after a valid proclamation. Therefore, the disqualification issue, if still pursued, should be raised in a proper electoral protest or quo warranto proceeding before the competent forum. The annulment of Resolution No. 8528 was thus without prejudice to the resolution of the disqualification question in such separate, appropriate proceedings.