JOEL G. MIRANDA MIRANDA VS. ANTONIO ANTONIO M. ABAYA ABAYA Jose "Pempe" Miranda, Miranda, then incumbent mayor of Santiago City, City, Isabela, led his certicate of candidacy for the same mayoralty post for the synchronized May 11, 1! elections Pri#ate respondent $ntonio M $baya led led a Petit etitio ion n to %eny %eny %ue %ue Cour Course se to and& and&or or Canc Cancel el Cert Certi ica cate te of Candidacy 'he petition (as )*$+'% by Comelec and they further ruled to %IS-.$/I0 Jose "Pempe" Miranda 2n May May 3, 1! 1!,, (ay (ay beyo beyond nd the the dead deadli line ne for for lin ling g a cert certi ica cate te of candidacy, petitioner Joel ) Miranda led his certicate of candidacy for the mayoralty post, supposedly as a substitute for his father, Jose "Pempe" Mira Mirand nda a %uri %uring ng the the May May 11, 11, 1! 1! elec electi tion ons, s, peti petiti tion oner er and and pri# pri#at ate e respondent #ied for the mayoralty seat, (ith petitioner garnering 44,554 #otes, 1,333 more #otes than pri#ate respondent (ho got only 45, 663 #otes Pri#ate respondent led a Petition to %eclare +ull and 7oid Substitution (ith Prayer for Issuance of 8rit of Preliminary In9unction and&or 'emporary *estraining 2rder :e prayed for the nullication of petitioner;s certicate of candidacy for being #oid ab initio because the certicate of candidacy of Jose "Pempe" Miranda, (hom petitioner (as supposed to substitute, had already been cancelled and denied due course Issue< Issue< 82+ 82+ the the peti petiti tion oner er,, (h (ho o (as (as beyo beyond nd the the dead deadli line ne for for lin ling g a certicate of candidacy, be =ualied to substitute a candidate (hose C2C (as cancelled and denied> Held< Held< +2 In Bautista vs. Comelec the the Cour Courtt e?pl e?plic icit itly ly rule ruled d that that "a cancel cancelled led certicate d!es n!t i#e rise t! a #alid candidac$." $ person (ithout a #alid certicate of candidacy cannot be considered a candidate in much the same (ay as any person (ho has not led any certicate of candidacy at all can not, by any stretch of the imagination, be a candidate at all 'he la( clearly pro#ides< SC @6 Certifcate o candidacy -- +o person shall be eligible for any electi#e public oAice unless he les a s(orn certicate of candidacy (ithin the period ?ed herein By its its e?pr e?pres ess s lang langua uage ge,, the the fore forego goin ing g pro# pro#isi ision on of la( la( is absol absolut utely ely mandatory It is but logical to say that any person (ho attempts to run for an elect electi# i#e e oAic oAice e but but does does not not le le a cert certi ica cate te of cand candid idac acy y, is not not a candidate at all +o amount of #otes (ould catapult him into oAice
In Gador vs. Comelec D SC*$ E61 F1!5GH, the Court held that a certicate of candidacy led beyond the period ?ed by la( is #oid, and the person (ho led it is not, in la(, a candidate Much in the same manner as a person (ho led no certicate of candidacy at all and a person (ho led it out of time, a person (hose certicate of candidacy is cancelled or denied due course is no candidate at all +o amount of #otes should entitle him to the electi#e oAice aspired for 'he e#ident purposes of the la( in re=uiring the ling of certicates of candidacy and in ?ing the time limit therefor are< (a) to enable the #oters to no(, at least si?ty days before the regular election, the candidates among (hom they are to mae the choice, and (b) to a#oid confusion and incon#enience in the tabulation of the #otes cast 0or if the la( did not conne the choice or election by the #oters to the duly registered candidates, there might be as many persons #oted for as there are #oters, and #otes might be cast e#en for unno(n or ctitious persons as a mar to identify the #otes in fa#or of a candidate for another oAice in the same election $fter ha#ing considered the importance of a certicate of candidacy, it can be readily understood (hy in Bautista the Court ruled that a person (ith a cancelled certicate is no candidate at all $ dis=ualied candidate may only be substituted if he had a valid certicate of candidacy in the rst place because, if the dis=ualied candidate did not ha#e a #alid and seasonably led certicate of candidacy, he is and (as not a candidate at all If a person (as not a candidate, he cannot be substituted under Section @@ of the 2mnibus lection Code Besides, if (e (ere to allo( the socalled "substitute" to le a "ne(" and "original" certicate of candidacy beyond the period for the ling thereof, it (ould be a crystalline case of une=ual protection of the la(, an act abhorred by our Constitution :ence, Comelec ruling to $++./ the election and proclamation of petitioner (as $00I*M%
