[ G.R. No. 59343. April 24, 1985 ] 220 Phil. 406
EN BANC
[ G.R. No. 59343. April 24, 1985 ]
CARLOS C. PONTAWE AND LOUIE P. LOPEZ, PETITIONERS, VS. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, ROSARIO T. CABANGON AND ALFREDO B. FLORES, RESPONDENTS. [G.R. NO. 61497. APRIL 24, 1985] FEDERICO C. PONTAWE, PETITIONER, VS. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, ROSARIO T. CABANGON AND CARLOS C. PONTAWE, RESPONDENTS. D E C I S I O N
RELOVA, J.:
Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez were the candidates for the positions of Mayor and Member of the Sangguniang Bayan, respectively, of the Nacionalista Party (NP) during the elections of January 30, 1980 in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan. On the other hand, Rosario T. Cabangon and Alfredo Flores were the candidates for Mayor and Member of the Sangguniang Bayan, respectively, of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL). On January 24, 1980, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) disqualified Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez on the ground of turncoatism in PDC Case No. 42. The Nacionalista Party, on January 29, 1980, upon receipt of the notice by the COMELEC of said disqualification, nominated Carlos Pontawe, son of the disqualified Federico Pontawe, and Louie Lopez, to substitute for Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez, respectively. On the same day, January 29, 1980, disqualified candidates Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez filed a Petition for Certiorari with this Court to annul the resolution of the COMELEC ordering their disqualification. The petition was docketed as G. R. No. L-52433. However, upon separate manifestations of Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez that they were abandoning their appeal, this Court, on April 24, 1980 and June 10, 1980, dismissed G. R. No. L-52433. On January 31, 1980, Carlos Pontawe and Louie Lopez were proclaimed by the Municipal Board of Canvassers of Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan as the duly elected Municipal Mayor and Member of the Sangguniang Bayan, respectively. As a consequence, on February 11, 1980, Rosario Cabangon and three other KBL candidates who lost in the elections filed an election protest against Carlos Pontawe, Louie Lopez and two others in the then Court of First Instance of Pangasinan (Dagupan City). On February 2, 1981, the lower court declared the election of Carlos Pontawe and Louie Lopez as null and void and proclaimed Rosario Cabangon and Alfredo Flores as duly elected Mayor and Member of the Sangguniang Bayan, respectively. On November 3, 1981, the COMELEC affirmed the decision of the trial court. This decision of the COMELEC is the subject of the petition for certiorari in G. R. No. L-59343. The petition was given due course and the parties have filed their respective memoranda. In the meantime, Carlos Pontawe and Louie Lopez were allowed to continue in their respective positions as Mayor and Member of the Sangguniang Bayan pending the final determination of this case. On August 6, 1982, Federico Pontawe filed another petition for certiorari, docketed in this Court as G. R. No. L-61497, against the COMELEC, Rosario Cabangon and Carlos Pontawe, questioning the refusal of the COMELEC to allow him to intervene in the electoral protest filed by Rosario Cabangon and Alfredo Flores against Carlos Pontawe and Louie Lopez. In Our resolution of August 31, 1982, We ordered the consolidation of G. R. No. L-61497 and G. R. No. L-59343 inasmuch as they involve the issue as to who were the duly elected Mayor and Member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan in the elections of January 30, 1980. Section 28 of The 1978 Election Code provides:
“SEC. 28. Candidates in case of death, withdrawal or disqualification of another, —If, after the last day for filing certificates of candidacy, a candidate with a certificate of candidacy duly filed should die, withdraw or be disqualified for any cause, any voter qualified for the office may file his certificate of candidacy for the office for which the deceased, the candidate who has withdrawn, or disqualified person was a candidate in accordance with the preceding sections on or before mid-day of the day of the election, and if the death, withdrawal or disqualification should occur between the day before the election and the mid-day of election day, said certificate may be filed with any election committee in the political subdivision where he is a candidate: Provided, however, That if the candidate who died, withdrew or was disqualified is the official candidate of a political party, group or aggrupation, only a person belonging to, and certified by, the same political party, group or aggrupation may file a certificate of candidacy for the same office.”
Carlos Pontawe and Louie Lopez were nominated as substitute candidates in lieu of Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez whose disqualification were decreed by the COMELEC on January 24, 1980. The substitution was made on January 29, 1980, or the day before the election, by the Nacionalista Party to which the disqualified candidates belong. Thus, there is no question that there was a valid nomination of Carlos Pontawe and Louie Lopez in which case all the Pontawe and Lopez votes should be credited to them (Carlos Pontawe and Louie Lopez), including those cast by block voting in favor of the Nacionalista Party to which they were affiliated. The Municipal Board of Canvassers favored Carlos Pontawe with 7,124 votes as against 5,632 for Rosario Cabangon. However, the Court of First Instance ruled that Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez were still candidates on January 30, 1980 because of the appeal taken by them to the Supreme Court disputing the order of disqualification by the COMELEC which they did not consider as final and executory. The lower court found that the final total votes of the protestees and the protestants are as follows: (pp. 16-17, Rollo of G. R. No. L-59343)
“CARLOS PONTAWE
as per revision
7,462
minus Federico Pontawe & F. Pontawe votes
1,013
minus PONTAWE votes (stray)
5,346
6,359
Final total votes
1,103
======
“LOUIE LOPEZ
as per revision
6,442
minus Wilfredo, William & W. Lopez votes
2,190
minus LOPEZ votes (stray)
3,333
5,523
Final total votes
919
======
“ROSITA CABANCON
as per revision (uncontested)
5,627
Final total votes
5,627
======
“ALFREDO FLORES
as per revision (uncontested)
5,331
Final total votes
5,331
======
The issue then is whether or not Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez were still candidates on election day. If they were, then the votes “Pontawe” or “Lopez” would be considered stray. On the other hand, if they were not, said votes would be credited to Carlos Pontawe and Louis Lopez. On this point, We hold that Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez were no longer candidates on election day, January 30, 1980. 1. Section 28 of The 1978 Election Code allows the substitution of candidates who may have been disqualified after the last day for filing the certificates of candidacy. The substitution may be on or before mid-day of the day of the election. A substitute is one who takes the place of another who is no longer a candidate, otherwise the former would be an additional, not a substitute candidate. And, if the disqualification is not immediately executory, there would be no need of nominating a substitute. Having been disqualified before election day, the votes “Pontawe” and “Lopez” could not be counted for Federico and Wilfredo, but should be credited as they were by the Municipal Board of Canvassers in favor of Carlos and Louie. 2. Section 186 of The 1978 Election Code reads:
“SEC. 186. Measures to ensure enforcement. — For the effective enforcement of the provisions of this Code, the Commission is further vested and charged with the following powers, duties and responsibilities:
“x x x x x x x x x
“3. To cancel at any time before proclamation the certificate of candidacy of any candidate found, through summary proceedings, to have (a) given money or other material inducements to influence, induce or corrupt the voters or public officials performing electoral functions; (b) committed acts of terrorism to enhance his candidacy; (c) solicited or received contributions from foreigners or foreign government; (d) violated the provisions regulating campaign propaganda; (e) committed any of the prohibited acts provided in Section 178 hereof; (f) knowingly tolerated his supporters in committing such acts; or (g) spend for his campaign more than the amount provided in Section 51 hereof. “Any decision, order or ruling of the Commission cancelling a certificate of candidacy as provided in the preceding paragraph shall be immediately executory.”
It will be noted that the second paragraph of paragraph 3 of Section 186 provides that the decision, order or ruling of the Commission cancelling a certificate of candidacy shall be immediately executory. In the case at bar, the order of disqualification by the COMELEC took place before the elections. The fact that it occurred sooner or before the proclamation would not matter. What matters is, a disqualification was ordered and, as a consequence, a substitution was in order. 3. The fact that Federico Pontawe and Wilfredo Lopez filed a Petition for Certiorari (G.R. No. L-52433) with this Court questioning their disqualification by the COMELEC does not mean that the COMELEC ruling was not immediately executory. It is their right to ask for a review of a COMELEC ruling as provided for by the Constitution, Section 11, Article XII thereof. The question remains not as to whether the COMELEC ruling was appealable, but whether it was already effective and binding on election day. The facts and law in the case at bar would indicate that it was. ACCORDINGLY, the decision of the COMELEC sustaining the election of Rosario Cabangon and Alfredo Flores for the positions of Mayor and Member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan, respectively, is hereby SET ASIDE and another one rendered declaring CARLOS PONTAWE and LOUIE LOPEZ as having been duly elected to the said positions. With this decision the issue raised in G. R. No. L-61497 has become moot and academic. SO ORDERED. Teehankee, Concepcion, Jr.*, Abad Santos, Melencio-Herrera, Escolin, and Cuevas, JJ., concur. Fernando, C.J., concurring pro hac vice. Makasiar, J., joins the dissent of JJ. Gutierrez, Jr., and Plana. Aquino and Alampay, JJ., no part. Plana and Gutierrez, Jr., JJ., see dissent. De La Fuente, J., concurs in the opinions of JJ. Plana and Gutierrez, Jr.