Previous 24 / 89 Next

Petitioner (herein private respondent) Manuel C. Sunga was one of the candidates for the position of Mayor in the Municipality of Iguig, Province of Cagayan, in the May 8, 1995 elections. Private respondent (herein petitioner) Ferdinand B. Trinidad, then incumbent mayor, was a candidate for re-election in the same municipality. On 22 April 1995, Sunga filed with the COMELEC a letter-complaint for disqualification against Trinidad, accusing him of using three (3) local government vehicles in his campaign, in violation of Section 261, par. (o), Art. XXII, of BP Blg. 881 (Omnibus Election Code, as amended). On 7 May 1995, Sunga filed another letter-complaint with the COMELEC charging Trinidad this time with violation of Sec. 261, par. (e) (referring to threats, intimidation, terrorism or other forms of coercion) of the Omnibus Election Code, in addition to the earlier violation imputed to him in the first letter-complaint. This was followed by an Amended Petition for disqualification consolidating the charges in the two (2) letters-complaint, including vote buying, and providing more specific details of the violations committed by Trinidad. The case was docketed as SPA No. 95-213. In a Minute Resolution dated 25 May 1995, the COMELEC 2nd Division referred the complaint to its Law Department for investigation. Hearings were held wherein Sunga adduced evidence to prove his accusations. Trinidad, on the other hand, opted not to submit any evidence at all. Meanwhile, the election results showed that Trinidad garnered the highest number of votes, while Sunga trailed second. On 10 May 1995 Sunga moved for the suspension of the proclamation of Trinidad. However, notwithstanding the motion, Trinidad was proclaimed the elected mayor, prompting Sunga to file another motion to suspend the effects of the proclamation. Both motions were not acted upon by the COMELEC 2nd Division. On 28 June 1995 the COMELEC Law Department submitted its Report to the COMELEC En Banc recommending that Trinidad be charged in court for violation of the following penal provisions of the

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

Domingo v. Commission on Elections

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether there was sufficient evidence to conclude that the incumbent mayor prodded potential Board of Election Inspectors for the City?

Alleged Acts: The petitioner, Ernesto Domingo, Jr. and Benjamin Abalos, Jr. served a mayoral candidates for Mandaluyong City. The petitioner filed this action because Abalos, Jr. allegedly prodded the incumbent mayor Abalos, Sr. to give substantial allowances to public school teachers that were appointed as chairpersons to the Board of Election Inspectors for the City. Specifically, the incumbent mayor would provide the school teachers with hazard pay, food allowances, and additional allowances. The petitioner alleged that these payments clearly demonstrated Abalos, Jr.’s influence over his father. The petitioner submitted a video tape of a speech from the incumbent mayor, three public school teacher affidavits, and a steamer.

Procedural history: The petitioner alleges that Abalos, Jr. violated Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code. The Election Comission (COMELEC) dismissed these claims and admonished the petitioner for making false claims. On reconsideration, these findings were again affirmed. The petitioner alleges that the complaint was improperly dismissed because it was dismissed for lack of evidence where there was no hearing on the merits of the case.

Summary: The court determined that there was no violation of the right to due process because, precedent indicated that this merely meant the right to be heard through verbal arguments, pleadings, or similar nature. Further, the court looked to the evidence presented by the petitioner and stated that the affidavits failed to provide any evidence of knowledge on the part of Abalos, Jr., the streamer indicated a co-sponsored event was common, and that the video tape modified the nature of the speech to as to cut out the incumbent’s mayor mentioning on of another individual, not Abalos, Jr.

Conclusion: The court dismissed the petition for insufficient evidence and lack of merit. This decision affirmed the election the mayor of Mandaluyong City.

Legal Issue(s)

Civil Procedure
Electoral Integrity
EMB Independence
EMB Operation

Region: Asia-Pacific

Country: Phillippines

Language of Decision

English

Court: Trial Court

Election Type: Local

Date of decision: Dec 1, 1998

Geolocation

Latitude: 14.58001497

Longitude: 120.865012

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

Domingo v. Commission on Elections.pdf
English
Download View

Election Judgments - IFES

Select target paragraph3

Domingo v. Commission on Elections

Primary Documents

Notifications