CASE DIGEST: Zapanta v. Commission on Elections

 

REYNALDO S. ZAPANTA, petitioner, EDILBERTO U. LAGASCA, petitioner-intervenor, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and ALFRED J. ZAPANTA; EDILBERTO U. LAGASCA, respondents

G.R. No. 233016                |              March 5, 2019

FACTS:

For the May 9, 2016 national and local elections, Reynaldo, Alfred, and Edilberto U. Lagasca (Lagasca) each filed a Certificate of Candidacy for city councilor of the Second District of Antipolo City, Rizal.

Alfred and Lagasca filed their Certificates of Candidacy on October 16, 2015. Alfred, a nominee of political party Aksyon Demokratiko, was then an incumbent city councilor of the Second District of Antipolo City. Reynaldo, a member and nominee of Lakas-CMD, filed his Certificate of Candidacy on December 10, 2015 to replace another candidate, Rolando Z. Zonio.

On December 14, 2015, Alfred filed before the Commission a Verified Petition To Deny Due Course and/or To Cancel Certificate of Candidacy of Reynaldo S. Zapanta as Nuisance Candidate. He alleged that Reynaldo indicated the name “Alfred” both as his nickname in his Certificate of Candidacy and as his name in the official ballots. He claimed that Reynaldo never identified himself as “Alfred.” To prove his allegations, Alfred attached a printed copy of Reynaldo’s social media accounts, which showed that Reynaldo was using the name “Rey Zapanta”.

Alfred averred that Reynaldo’s use of the name “Alfred” was “designed to mislead the voters” to steal the votes intended for him. He contended that Reynaldo has no [bona fide] intention to run for the office [and only aims to] cause confusion among the voters of Antipolo City and thus prevent the faithful determination of the true will of the electorate of Antipolo City. He prayed that Reynaldo be declared as a nuisance candidate and that Reynaldo’s Certificate of Candidacy be canceled. He further prayed that Reynaldo’s name be excluded in the official ballots and, should his Petition be decided after the elections, that the votes Reynaldo would have received be counted in his favor.

Reynaldo, in his Answer, questioned the authenticity of the social media accounts presented by Alfred, arguing that the latter could not establish that they belonged to him. To further show that he was indeed identified as “Alfred” Reynaldo presented 2 affidavits. His wife, Fe Zapanta, stated in her affidavit that Reynaldo had been using the name “Alfred” even before their marriage, and that his friends and relatives also called him “Alfred”. In another affidavit, former barangay official Armando G. Panganiban said that from the time he met Reynaldo, who was then a sitio coordinator, he and other people had already called Reynaldo “Alfred.”

Reynaldo emphasized that he was nominated as councilor by Lakas-CMD. His membership in a political party, he said, established that he has a bona fide intention to run. Further, he had expertise and experience in both the private and public sectors to serve its constituents.

Finally, Reynaldo claimed that, come election day, there would be no confusion since his and Alfred’s entries in the official ballots were different: Reynaldo’s name would be “ZAPANTA ALFRED LAKAS” while Alfred’s would be “ZAPANTA ALFRED J.”

ISSUE:

(1)    Who is a nuisance candidate?

(2)    How should the votes of nuisance candidates in a multi-slot office be treated?

RULING:

(1)    A nuisance candidate is defined as one who, based on the attendant circumstances, has no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the certificate of candidacy has been filed, his sole purpose being the reduction of the votes of a strong candidate, upon the expectation that ballots with only the surname of such candidate will be considered stray and not counted for either of them.

The rationale behind the prohibition against nuisance candidates and the disqualification of candidates who have not evinced a bona fide intention to run for office is easy to divine. The State has a compelling interest to ensure that its electoral exercises are rational, objective, and orderly. Towards this end, the State takes into account the practical considerations in conducting elections. Inevitably, the greater the number of candidates, the greater the opportunities for logistical confusion, not to mention the increased allocation of time and resources in preparation for the election. 

A report published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in connection with the May 11, 1998 elections indicated that the tactic of fielding nuisance candidates with the same surnames as leading contenders had become one “dirty trick” practiced in at least 18 parts of the country. The success of this clever scheme by political rivals or operators has been attributed to the last-minute disqualification of nuisance candidates by the Commission, notably its “slow-moving” decision-making.

The only way to distinguish petitioner from private respondent is their number on the ballot and their affiliations. Other than that, a voter who wanted to vote for “Alfred Zapanta” but only knows the name “Alfred” or surname “Zapanta” would be confused on which oval to shade to reflect his or her choice. No other candidate for the position of city councilor has either the name “Alfred” or “Zapanta.”

After a perusal of the case records, the Court holds that petitioner was not able to sufficiently show that voters can clearly identify that his chosen nickname pertains only to him. The affidavits he presented are not enough to show that he had been using the name “Alfred” or that he is publicly known by that name.

Moreover, despite being given an opportunity to counter private respondentÊs allegations, petitioner failed to deny that he had no campaign materials using the name “Alfred Zapanta,” or present evidence to the contrary. He merely banked on his membership in a political party to support his claim that he had a bona fide intention to run for office. Association to a political party per se does not necessarily equate to a candidate’s bona fide intent; instead, he or she must show that he or she is serious in running for office. This, petitioner failed to demonstrate.

Additionally, private respondent is more recognized by his constituents as “Alfred Zapanta,” being an incumbent city councilor who was running for another term.

 

(2)    In a multi-slot office, such as membership of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, a registered voter may vote for more than one candidate. Hence, it is possible that the legitimate candidate and nuisance candidate, having similar names, may both receive votes in one ballot. In that scenario, the vote cast for the nuisance candidate should no longer be credited to the legitimate candidate; otherwise, the latter shall receive two votes from one voter.

Therefore, in a multi-slot office, the COMELEC must not merely apply a simple mathematical formula of adding the votes of the nuisance candidate to the legitimate candidate with the similar name. To apply such simple arithmetic might lead to the double counting of votes because there may be ballots containing votes for both nuisance and legitimate candidates.

In a multi-slot office, all votes cast in favor of the nuisance candidate whose name is confusingly similar to a bona fide candidate shall not be automatically credited in the latter’s favor. If the ballot contains one (1) vote for the nuisance candidate and no vote for the bona fide candidate, that vote will be counted in the latter’s favor. However, if the nuisance candidate and the bona fide candidate each gets a vote, only one (1) vote will be counted in the latter’s favor.