7/21/2019 7. Miranda v. Abaya

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 JOEL G. MIRANDA VS. ANTONIO M. ABAYA 

 Jose "Pempe" Miranda, then incumbent mayor of Santiago City, Isabela, ledhis certicate of candidacy for the same mayoralty post for the

synchronized May 11, 1! elections Pri#ate respondent $ntonio M $bayaled a Petition to %eny %ue Course to and&or Cancel Certicate of Candidacy 'he petition (as )*$+'% by Comelec and they further ruledto %IS-.$/I0 Jose "Pempe" Miranda

2n May 3, 1!, (ay beyond the deadline for ling a certicate of candidacy, petitioner Joel ) Miranda led his certicate of candidacy forthe mayoralty post, supposedly as a substitute for his father, Jose "Pempe"Miranda %uring the May 11, 1! elections, petitioner and pri#aterespondent #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 certicateof candidacy for being #oid ab initio because the certicate of candidacy of  Jose "Pempe" Miranda, (hom petitioner (as supposed to substitute, hadalready been cancelled and denied due course

Issue< 82+ the petitioner, (ho (as beyond the deadline for ling acerticate of candidacy, be =ualied to substitute a candidate (hose C2C(as cancelled and denied>

Held< +2

In  Bautista vs. Comelec  the Court e?plicitly ruled that "a cancelledcerticate 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 thesame (ay as any person (ho has not led any certicate of candidacy at allcan 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 e?press language, the foregoing pro#ision of la( is absolutelymandatory It is but logical to say that any person (ho attempts to run foran electi#e oAice but does not le a certicate of candidacy, is not acandidate at all +o amount of #otes (ould catapult him into oAice

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In Gador vs. Comelec D SC*$ E61 F1!5GH, the Court held that acerticate of candidacy led beyond the period ?ed by la( is #oid, and theperson (ho led it is not, in la(, a candidate Much in the same manner as aperson (ho led no certicate of candidacy at all and a person (ho led itout 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 tothe electi#e oAice aspired for 'he e#ident purposes of the la( in re=uiringthe ling of certicates of candidacy and in ?ing the time limit thereforare< (a) to enable the #oters to no(, at least si?ty days before the regularelection, 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 0orif the la( did not conne the choice or election by the #oters to the dulyregistered candidates, there might be as many persons #oted for as thereare #oters, and #otes might be cast e#en for unno(n or ctitious personsas a mar to identify the #otes in fa#or of a candidate for another oAice inthe same election

 $fter ha#ing considered the importance of a certicate of candidacy, it canbe readily understood (hy in Bautista the Court ruled that a person (ith acancelled certicate is no candidate at all

 $ dis=ualied candidate may only be substituted if he had a valid certicateof candidacy in the rst place because, if the dis=ualied candidate did notha#e a #alid and seasonably led certicate of candidacy, he is and (as nota candidate at all If a person (as not a candidate, he cannot be substitutedunder Section @@ of the 2mnibus lection Code Besides, if (e (ere toallo( 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%