G.R. No. 215995 - VICE-MAYOR MARCELINA S. ENGLE, VS. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS EN BANC AND WINSTON B. MENZON.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , premises considered, this Commission hereby RESOLVES to DENY DUE COURSE to and/or CANCEL the Certificate of Candidacy filed by Respondent MARCELINA S. ENGLE for the position of Vice-Mayor of Babatngon, Leyte, for the 13 May 2013 National and Local Elections. Moreover, Respondent MARCELINA S. ENGLE's proclamation as the duly-elected Vice-Mayor of Babatngon, Leyte is hereby ANNULLED . Accordingly: 1. The Executive Director is ordered to constitute a Special Municipal Board of Canvassers for the municipality of Babatngon, Leyte; and 2. The Special Municipal Board of Canvassers is ordered to immediately notify the parties, reconvene and proclaim Petitioner WINSTON B. MENZON as the duly-elected Vice-Mayor of Babatngon, Leyte. Let the Executive Director implement this Resolution. [11] According to the COMELEC Second Division, the substitution of petitioner as a candidate in place of her deceased husband for the position of Vice-Mayor of Babatngon, Leyte was not a material misrepresentation which may be a ground for cancellation of her COC under Section 78, in relation to Section 74, of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC). Citing jurisprudence, the COMELEC Second Division ruled that the false representation contemplated under the law refers to a material fact affecting a candidate's qualification for office such as citizenship or residence. Despite the foregoing finding, the COMELEC Second Division nonetheless found sufficient basis to cancel petitioner's COC on the ground that she could not have validly substituted her husband, who was deemed an independent candidate for failure of Lakas-CMD to submit to the COMELEC Law Department Romualdez's authority to sign CONAs for and on behalf of the party on or before October 1, 2012 in violation of Section 6 (3) of COMELEC Resolution No. 9518. The COMELEC Second Division noted that the purported authorization of Romualdez to sign CONAs for Lakas-CMD candidates in Leyte was belatedly submitted in connection with the proceedings on the petition to deny due course to, or cancel petitioner's COC. Finally, on the point on who should be declared the winning candidate for the position of Vice-Mayor of Babatngon, the COMELEC Second Division held that private respondent, the second placer, should be declared the winner in line with jurisprudence stating that if the COC of the winning candidate is void ab initio then the votes of the disqualified or ineligible candidate should be considered stray. Aggrieved, petitioner moved for reconsideration of the aforementioned ruling of the COMELEC Second Division with the COMELEC En Banc. However, the latter tribunal denied petitioner's plea in the assailed January 20, 2015 Resolution, the dispositive portion of which reads: WHEREFORE , premises considered, the Motion for Reconsideration is DENIED for LACK OF MERIT . The Resolution of the Commission ( Second Division ) is AFFIRMED . [12] Appealing now to this Court for relief, petitioner offers the following arguments in