SUFFRAGE

1. Ballots marked after being cast and counted by the election judges do not invalidate the
ballots on which they are found.
2. ballots should be appreciated with liberality. No technical rule or rules should be permitted
to defeat the intention of the voter, if that intention is discoverable from the ballot itself.
3. “duals” may now exercise the right of suffrage thru the absentee voting scheme and as
overseas absentee voters.
KINDS AND MANNERS OF ELECTION
4. “once an AES technology is selected for implementation, the Commission shall promptly
make the source code of that technology available and open to any interested political party
or groups which may conduct their own review thereof.”
COMPOSITION OF COMELEC
5. Practice of law means any activity, in or out of court, which requires the application of law,
legal procedure, knowledge, training and experience.
6. "In no case shall any Member (of the COMELEC) be appointed or designated in a temporary
or acting capacity."
POWERS AND FUNCTION OF COMELEC
7. Be the sole judge of all contests relating to the elections, returns, and qualifications of all
Members of the Batasang Pambansa and elective provincial and city officials.
8. The Commission may, during the election period, supervise or regulate the enjoyment or
utilization of all franchises or permits for the operation of transportation and other public
utilities, media of communication.
9. COMELEC’s broad power to “enforce and administer all laws and regulations relative to the
conduct of an election, plebiscite, initiative, referendum and recall,” carries with it all necessary
and incidental powers for it to achieve the objective of holding free, orderly, honest, peaceful
and credible elections.
10. the present Constitution also invests the Commission with the power to "investigate and,
where appropriate, prosecute cases of violations of election laws, including acts or omissions
constituting election frauds, offenses, and malpractices.
11. COMELEC possessed the authority to resolve intra-party disputes as a necessary tributary
of its constitutionally mandated power to enforce election laws and register political parties.
12. COMELEC has residual power to conduct a plebiscite even beyond the deadline
prescribed by law.
13. Comelec’s mandate includes its authority to exercise direct and immediate supervision
and control over national and local officials or employees, including members of any national
or local law enforcement agency and instrumentality of the government, required by law to
perform duties relative to the conduct of the elections.
14. Congress the sole and exclusive authority to officially canvass the votes for the elections
of President and Vice-President. (advance result of “Unofficial” count by COMELEC is
usurpation)
15. COMELEC task to enforce and administer all laws and regulations relative to the conduct
of an election, inter alia, questions relating to the registration of voters. (failure to register,
request of a special registration denied by COMELEC – valid)
16. The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an Electoral Tribunal which
shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their
respective Members.
17. Constitution provides for the powers and functions of the COMELEC, and deciding on the
qualifications or lack thereof of a candidate is not one among them. There is simply no
authorized proceeding in determining the ineligibility of candidates before elections. Such lack
of provision cannot be supplied by a mere rule, and for the COMELEC to assimilate grounds
for ineligibility into grounds for disqualification in its rules of procedures would be contrary to
the intent of the Constitution.
18. Constitution provides that only the SET and HRET tribunals have sole jurisdiction over the
election contests, returns, and qualifications of their respective members, whereas over the
President and Vice President, only the SC en banc has sole jurisdiction
EN BANC AND DIVISION CASES (QJ functions = Division, all other functions = En Banc)
19. Constitution expressly provides that election cases include pre-proclamation
controversies, and all such cases must first be heard and decided by a division of the
commission.
20. COMELEC en banc, through the herein assailed resolutions, ordered Ibrahim’s
disqualification even when no complaint or petition was filed against him yet. Let it be stressed
that if filed before the conduct of the elections, a petition to deny due course or cancel a
certificate of candidacy is the appropriate petition.
21. When is direct resort to SC through a special civil action for certiorari justified in case of
election concerns? 1. Time is of the essence 2. Involves transcendental issues
22. Constitution require that a majority vote of all the members of the Comelec [en banc], and
not only those who participated and took part in the deliberations, is necessary for the
pronouncement of a decision, resolution, order or ruling.”
23. SC could review orders and decisions of COMELEC — in electoral contests — despite not
being reviewed by the COMELEC En Banc, if: 1) it will prevent the miscarriage of justice 2)
issue involves principle of social justice 3) issue involves protection of labor 4) decision or
resolution sought to be set aside is a nullity; or 5) need for relief is extremely urgent and
certiorari is the only adequate and speedy remedy available.
24. “final orders, rulings and decisions” of the COMELEC reviewable by certiorari by the
Supreme Court as provided by law are those rendered in actions or proceedings before the
COMELEC and taken cognizance of by the said body in the exercise of its adjudicatory or
quasi-judicial powers. Bidding is not issued pursuant to its quasi-judicial functions but merely
as an incident of its inherent administrative functions over the conduct of elections, and hence,
the said resolution may not be deemed as a “final order” reviewable by certiorari by the
Supreme Court. Any question arising from said order may be well taken in an ordinary civil
action before the trial courts.
THE VOTERS
25. The personal filing of application of registration of voters shall be conducted daily in the
office of the Election Officer during regular office hours. No registration shall, however, be
conducted during the period starting one hundred twenty (120) days before a regular election
and ninety (90) days before a special election.
THE CANDIDATE
26. “[i]t shall be unlawful for any person, whether or not a voter or candidate, or for any party,
or association of persons, to engage in an election campaign or partisan political activity,
except during the campaign period.” any person who files his COC w/n his period shall only
be considered as a candidate at the start of the campaign period for which he filed his COC.
a candidate is liable for an election offense only for acts done during the campaign period, not
before.
27. A certificate of candidacy filed beyond reglementary period is void.
QUALIFICATIONS
28. To insist that the candidate own the house where he lives would make property a
qualification for public office. What matters is that Jalosjos has proved two things: actual
physical presence in Ipil and an intention of making it his domicile. (a) every person has a
domicile or residence somewhere; (b) where once established, that domicile remains until he
acquires a new one; and (c) a person can have but one domicile at a time. The question of
residence is a question of intention.
29. Domicile of origin is not easily lost. To successfully effect a change of domicile, one must
demonstrate: (1) An actual removal or an actual change of domicile; (2) A bona fide intention
of abandoning the former place of residence and establishing a new one; and (3) Acts which
correspond with the purpose. Only with evidence showing concurrence of all three
requirements can the presumption of continuity or residence be rebutted. To effect an
abandonment requires the voluntary act of relinquishing petitioner’s former domicile with an
intent to supplant the former domicile with one of her own choosing.
30. COMELEC cannot, in the guise of enforcing and administering election laws or
promulgating rules and regulations, validly impose qualifications on candidates for senator in
addition to what the Constitution prescribes.
DISQUALIFICATIONS OF TO BE CANDIDATES
31. The citizenship requirement for elective public office is a continuing one. It must be
possessed not just at the time of the renunciation of the foreign citizenship but continuously.
Any act which violates the oath of renunciation opens the citizenship issue to attack.
2ND PLACER RULE - When there are participants who turn out to be ineligible, their victory is
voided and the laurel is awarded to the next in rank who does not possess any of the
disqualifications nor lacks any of the qualifications set in the rules to be eligible as candidates.
Knowledge by the electorate of a candidate’s disqualification is not necessary before a
qualified candidate who placed second to a disqualified one can be proclaimed as the winner.
32. The court ruled that a natural-born Filipino citizen who renounces his or her Philippine
citizenship, effectively becomes a foreigner in the Philippines with no political right to
participate in Philippine politics and governance. (Registered as a voter but still a foreign
citizen = cannot vote)
33. The conversion of a municipality into a city does not constitute an interruption of the
incumbent of official’s continuity of service; He never ceased from discharging his duties and
responsibilities as chief executive of the same local government unit. (3-year term rule)
34. The period during which a local elected of official is under preventive suspension cannot
be considered as an interruption of the continuity of his service. The best indicator of the
suspended official’s continuity in office is the absence of a permanent replacement and the
lack of the authority to appoint one since no vacancy exists. (3-year term rule)
For the disqualification rule to apply, “it is not enough that an individual has served three
consecutive terms in an elective local of ice, he must also have been elected to the same
position for the same number of times before the disqualification can apply.” (From vice-mayor
to mayor not counted)
35. suspension from office is not a ground for a petition for disqualification as Section 40(b)
clearly speaks of removal from office as a result of an administrative offense that would
disqualify a candidate from running for any elective local position. penalty of suspension
cannot be a bar to the candidacy of the respondent so suspended as long as he meets the
qualifications for the office.
36. violation of BP 22 involves moral turpitude that could disqualify a candidate.
37. A “fugitive from justice”: “x x x includes not only those who flee after conviction to avoid
punishment but likewise who, after being charged, flee to avoid prosecution.” The definition
thus indicates that the intent to evade is the compelling factor that animates one’s flight from
a particular jurisdiction.
38. The perpetual special disqualification against Jalosjos arising from his criminal conviction
by final judgment is a material fact involving eligibility which is a proper ground for a petition
under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code. Jalosjos’ certificate of candidacy was void
from the start since he was not eligible to run for any public office at the time he filed his
certificate of candidacy. Jalosjos was never a candidate at any time, and all votes for Jalosjos
were stray votes.
If a candidate is not actually eligible because he is barred by final judgment in a criminal case
from running for public office, and he still states under oath in his certificate of candidacy that
he is eligible to run for public office, then the candidate clearly makes a false material
representation.
CERTIFICATE OF CANDIDACY
39. The Commission may not, by itself, without the proper proceedings, deny due course to
or cancel a certificate of candidacy filed in due form. When a candidate files his certificate of
candidacy, the COMELEC has a ministerial duty to receive and acknowledge its receipt.
40. The failure to specify the public office being sought in the Certificate of Candidacy is not a
fatal defect where the information omitted is supplied in the Certificate of Nomination and
Acceptance attached thereto. The filing of an amended certificate even after the deadline but
before the election was substantial compliance with the law which cured the defect. The
purpose in requiring a certificate of candidacy is to enable the voters to know before the
elections the candidates among whom they are to make a choice.
41. Nothing in Section 73, Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 mandates that the affidavit of withdrawal
must be filed with the same office where the certificate of candidacy to be withdrawn was filed.
42. an improperly sworn COC is NOT equivalent to possession of a ground for DQ. Sec 68 of
OEC on disqualification and Sec 40 of the LGC doesn’t include such as a ground for DQ.
a petition for disqualification on the one hand, can be premised on Section 12 or 68 of the
OEC, or Section 40 of the LGC. On the other hand, a petition to deny due course to or cancel
a CoC can only be grounded on a statement of a material representation in the said certificate
that is false.
EFFECTS: PDQ – prohibited to continue as a candidate (Sec 68) PTDDC - not treated as a
candidate at all, as if he/she never filed a CoC.
EFFECT OF FILING COC
43. Any elective official, whether national or local [,] who has filed a certificate of candidacy for
the same or any other office shall not be considered resigned from his office.
DISQUALIFICATION OF CANDIDATES
44. The Commission can order the suspension of the proclamation of the winning candidate
only upon motion during the pendency of the disqualification case. The Court has ruled that
the suspension of proclamation of a winning candidate is not a matter which the COMELEC
Second Division can dispose of motu proprio. Section 6 of R.A. No. 6646 requires that the
suspension must be “upon motion by the complainant or any intervenor.”
45. An erring candidate may be disqualified even without prior determination of probable cause
in a preliminary investigation. The electoral aspect may proceed independently of the criminal
aspect, and vice-versa.
46. It is well-settled that the ineligibility of a candidate receiving majority votes does not entitle
the eligible candidate receiving the next highest number of votes to be declared elected—a
minority or defeated candidate cannot be deemed elected to the office. (Does not apply? 2nd
placer rule in Maquiling?)
DENIAL OF DUE COURSE/CANCELLATION OF COC
47. In order to justify the cancellation of COC, it is essential that the false representation
mentioned therein pertain to a material matter for the sanction imposed by this provision would
affect the substantive rights of a candidate. “material representation” refers to qualifications
for elective office. false representation must be made with an intention to deceive the
electorate as to one’s qualification for public office.
48. The false representation mentioned in these provisions must pertain to a material fact, not
to a mere innocuous mistake. A candidate who falsifies a material fact cannot run; if he runs
and is elected, cannot serve; in both cases, he or she can be prosecuted for violation of the
election laws. These facts pertain to a candidate's qualification for elective office, such as his
or her citizenship and residence. Similarly, the candidate's status as a registered voter falls
under this classification as it is a legal requirement which must be reflected in the CoC. The
reason for this is obvious: the candidate, if he or she wins, will work for and represent the local
government under which he or she is running. Even the will of the people, as expressed
through the ballot, cannot cure the vice of ineligibility, especially if they mistakenly believed,
as in the instant case, that the candidate was qualified.
49. Nickname not material misrepresentation. (Example: Bong Revilla)
50. a person who is disqualified under Section 68 is merely prohibited to continue as a
candidate, the person whose certificate is cancelled or denied due course under Section 78 is
not treated as a candidate at all, as if he/she never filed a CoC. “Section 78” petition is filed
before proclamation, while a petition for quo warranto is filed after proclamation of the wining
candidate.
51. Section 78 of the OEC, therefore, is to be read in relation to the constitutional and statutory
provisions on qualifications or eligibility for public office. If the candidate subsequently states
a material representation in the CoC that is false the COMELEC, following the law, is
empowered to deny due course to or cancel such certificate.
52. There is no constitutional right to run for or hold public office and, particularly, to seek the
presidency—what is recognized is merely a privilege subject to limitations imposed by law.
The rationale behind the prohibition against nuisance candidates and the disqualification of
candidates who have not evinced a bona fide intention to run for office is easy to divine—the
State has a compelling interest to ensure that its electoral exercises are rational, objective,
and orderly; Inevitably, the greater the number of candidates, the greater the opportunities for
logistical confusion, not to mention the increased allocation of time and resources in
preparation for the election—a disorderly election is not merely a textbook example of
inefficiency, but a rot that erodes faith in our democratic institutions.
53. COMELEC cannot motu proprio deny due course to or cancel an alleged nuisance
candidate’s COC without providing the candidate his opportunity to be heard.
54. The legal effect of declaring a nuisance candidate in a final judgment AFTER the elections
is that the ballots should not be considered stray. Must be counted infavor of the bona fide
candidate. Appreciation of ballots must be liberally construed to the end that the will of the
electorate in the choice of public officials may not be defeated by technical infirmities.
55. We hold that the rule in Resolution No. 4116 considering the votes cast for a nuisance
candidate declared as such in a final judgment, particularly where such nuisance candidate
has the same surname as that of the legitimate candidate, not stray but counted in favor of
the latter, remains a good law.
SECOND PLACER RULE
56. The second placer in the vote count is actually the firstplacer among the qualified
candidates. That the disqualified candidate has already been proclaimed and has assumed
office is of no moment. The subsequent disqualification based on a substantive ground that
existed prior to the filing of the certificate of candidacy voids not only the COC but also the
proclamation.
SUBSTITUTION
57. While Section 78 of the Code enumerated the occasions where a candidate may be validly
substituted, there is no mention of the case where a candidate is excluded not only by
disqualification but also by denial and cancellation of his certificate of candidacy.
Only an official candidate of a registered or accredited political party may be substituted; A
cancelled certificate does not give rise to a valid candidacy. A person who filed no certificate
of candidacy at all and a person who filed it out of time, a person whose certificate of candidacy
is cancelled or denied due course is no candidate at all. A valid certificate of candidacy is
likewise an indispensable requisite in the case of a substitution of a disqualified candidate
58. only an official candidate of a registered or accredited party may be substituted.
Considering that a cancelled CoC does not give rise to a valid candidacy, there can be no
valid substitution of the candidate under Section 77 of the OEC.
POLITICAL PARTIES.
59.