This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2010-02-17 |
DEL CASTILLO, J. |
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| We find the manner in which the COMELEC excluded the subject returns to be fatally flawed. In the absence of clearly convincing evidence, the validity of election returns must be upheld.[30] A conclusion that an election return is obviously manufactured or false and consequently should be disregarded in the canvass must be approached with extreme caution and only upon the most convincing proof.[31] Corrolarily, any plausible explanation, one which is acceptable to a reasonable man in the light of experience and of the probabilities of the situation, should suffice to avoid outright nullification, which results in disenfranchisement of those who exercised their right of suffrage.[32] As will be discussed shortly, there is a patent lack of basis for the COMELEC's findings that the subject returns were tampered. In disregard of the principle requiring "extreme caution" before rejecting election returns, the COMELEC proceeded with undue haste in concluding that the subject returns were tampered. This is grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. | |||||