GR L 14514; (December, 1918) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-14514, December 18, 1918
ANDRES GARCHITORENA, petitioner-appellee, vs. MANUEL CRESCINI and ENGRACIO IMPERIAL, respondents-appellants.
FACTS:
An election for provincial governor was held in Ambos Camarines on June 6, 1916. The provincial board of inspectors, after canvassing the returns, proclaimed Manuel Crescini as the elected governor, having received 3,198 votes against Andres Garchitorena’s 2,468 votes. Garchitorena filed an election protest, alleging widespread frauds and irregularities in several municipalities. The Court of First Instance, first under Judge Maximino Mina and later upon a new trial under Judge Isidro Paredes, annulled the elections in the municipalities of Minalabac, Sagnay, Bato, Iriga, and Lagonoy due to pervasive fraud that defeated the will of the electorate. After correcting the canvass, the trial court declared that Garchitorena obtained a majority of the legal votes and ordered the provincial board to amend its returns accordingly. Crescini and Imperial appealed the decision.
ISSUE:
Whether the trial court correctly annulled the elections in the aforementioned municipalities and properly declared Andres Garchitorena as the duly elected provincial governor.
RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the trial court. The Court held that when frauds and irregularities are so numerous as to demonstrate an unmistakable design to defeat the true expression of the voters’ will, the entire vote of the affected municipality or precinct must be rejected. The evidence presented, as detailed in the opinions of Judges Mina and Paredes, established widespread and atrocious fraudsincluding prevention of legal voters from voting, tampering and destruction of ballots, violation of voting procedures, and electioneering within polling placesthat rendered the returns untrustworthy and incapable of reflecting the genuine will of the electorate. The Supreme Court found no reason to disturb the factual findings of the two trial judges, which were based on a thorough examination of the evidence. Consequently, the corrected canvass showed that Garchitorena obtained 2,387 legal votes against Crescini’s 1,441 votes, giving Garchitorena a majority of 946 votes. The Court ordered the immediate execution of the judgment and recommended the criminal prosecution of the election inspectors and others who willfully participated in the frauds.