Section JD 1B

Constitutional Law 1
Torres v. Comelec 2700 SCRA 583
Facts:
Municipal Board of Canvassers of Tanza, Cavite, issued a Certificate of Canvass of
Votes and Proclamation of the Winning Candidates for Municipal Councilors. Petitioner
was proclaimed as the fifth winning candidate for councilor with 12,055 votes.
The same Municipal Board of Canvassers requested the COMELEC for correction of
the number of votes garnered by petitioner. The letter-request from the former stated
that the votes intended for Mr. Dimaala in the sub-total as reflected in the Statement of
Votes by precinct was erroneously added to Mr. Torres for a total of 934 votes. Mr.
Torres should have been number 10 in the winning column with 11,121 votes while Mr.
de Peralta should have been number 5 with 11,610 votes. In an En Banc resolution,
COMELEC granted the letter-request for the correction. It ordered the Municipal Board
of Canvassers to reconvene and proclaim de Peralta as the eighth winning councilor.
Issue:
Whether or not COMELEC En Banc has the power to order the correction.
Ruling:
Yes. Under Sec. 7, Rule 27, of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure, the board may motu
proprio or upon verified petition by any candidate, political party, organization or
coalition of political parties, correct the errors committed, (a) where it is clearly shown
before proclamation that manifest errors were committed in the tabulation or tallying of
election returns, or certificates of canvass, during the canvassing as where… (3) there
was a mistake in the adding or copying of the figures into the certificate of canvass or
into the statement of votes by precinct.
The above provision applies even if the proclamation of a winning candidate has
already been made as in the case at bar in which the validity of the proclamation is
precisely in question.
Where a proclamation is null and void, the proclamation is no proclamation at all and
the proclaimed candidate's assumption of office cannot deprive the COMELEC of the
power to declare such nullity and annul the proclamation.
Since the Statement of Votes forms the basis of the Certificate of Canvass and of the
proclamation, any error in the statement ultimately affects the validity of the
proclamation.
An election protest over which the RTC has original jurisdiction presupposes a valid
proclamation.
The making of the correction in their computation is an administrative capacity of the
Municipal Board of Canvassers under the control and supervision of the COMELEC.
The Statement of Votes is merely tabulation per precinct of the votes obtained by the
candidates as reflected in the election returns. HENCE, the COMELEC En Banc has
authority to resolve any question pertaining to the proceedings of the Municipal Board of
Canvassers.