GR L 6806; (November, 1953) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-6806 November 5, 1953
SIMEON MACOLOR, protestant-appellee, vs. CARLOS AMORES, protestee-appellant.
FACTS
In the November 13, 1951 elections, Simeon Macolor and Carlos Amores were candidates for Mayor of Coron, Palawan. After canvassing all precincts, the Municipal Board of Canvassers proclaimed Amores as mayor-elect with a plurality of 212 votes. This total included votes from three precincts (Nos. 16, 16-A, and 16-B) located within the Culion Leper Colony, a national reservation under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health. In these three precincts, Macolor received 39 votes and Amores received 430 votes. Macolor filed an election protest, contending that the votes cast in these three precincts were illegal because the voters were residents of the Culion reservation. The Court of First Instance of Palawan declared the votes from these precincts illegal and proclaimed Macolor as the mayor-elect with a plurality of 179 votes. Amores appealed.
ISSUE
The sole issue is the legality of the votes cast in precincts Nos. 16, 16-A, and 16-B within the Culion Leper Colony for the election of municipal officials of Coron.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision. The Culion Leper Colony, established by Executive Order No. 35 (1904) and governed by Sections 1066-1068 of the Revised Administrative Code, is a national reservation under the exclusive administrative control of the Department of Health. It has a distinct and separate administrative organization from the municipal government of Coron. While the repeal of specific provisions in the Revised Election Code concerning leprosaria patients did not disqualify lepers from voting, their right of suffrage is limited by the principle of representation. Following the precedent in Teves vs. Commission on Elections, the residents of the Culion Leper Colony, being governed by a separate national administrative unit and not by the municipal government of Coron, cannot vote for municipal officials. They may, however, vote in elections for national officials. Therefore, the votes cast in the three Culion precincts for the municipal election of Coron were illegal and properly discarded. Simeon Macolor was declared the duly elected Mayor of Coron.