The Supreme Court has granted the petition of Marcos "Macoy" Cabrera Amutan and declared invalid a Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Writ of Execution that had cancelled his victory and ordered the crediting of a nuisance candidate's votes in favor of another candidate. The Court upheld the proclamation of Amutan and Aidel Paul Belamide as winners for the two seats for board members representing the Fifth District of the Province of Cavite.
The Case
Amutan and respondents Francisco Paolo Crisostomo and Alvic Poblete were among the six candidates who vied for two seats for the position of Member, Sangguniang Panlalawigan, representing the Fifth District of the Province of Cavite in the May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections.
On October 12, 2021, Crisostomo filed a Petition before the COMELEC to declare Poblete as a nuisance candidate, docketed as SPA No. 21-002 (DC). That case was still unresolved as of May 9, 2022. Thus, candidates Belamide and Amutan, having garnered the two highest votes, were proclaimed as winners for the two seats for board members representing the Fifth District.
On May 18, 2022, Crisostomo filed an election protest before the COMELEC against Belamide and Amutan, docketed as EPC No. 004-2022, praying, among others, that the votes cast in favor of Poblete, as a nuisance candidate, be counted in favor of Crisostomo. On June 14, 2022, the COMELEC First Division granted Crisostomo's Petition in SPA No. 21-002 (DC) and declared Poblete a nuisance candidate. With no motion for reconsideration filed by Poblete, the COMELEC issued a Certificate of Finality of the Resolution.
The COMELEC then issued the assailed Writ of Execution on March 16, 2023, directing the Special Provincial Board of Canvassers (SPBOC) to annul the proclamation of the duly elected members, count and canvass Poblete's votes in favor of Crisostomo, and proclaim the winning candidates. Amutan alleged that the Writ was served on his wife only on March 29, 2023, and to him personally on April 4, 2023, and argued the COMELEC violated his right to due process by ordering the annulment of his proclamation ex parte without prior notice.
The Issue
Amutan alleged that the COMELEC acted without or in excess of its jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when it issued the assailed Writ of Execution.
The Ruling
The Court granted the petition. Its disposition reads: "ACCORDINGLY, the Petition is GRANTED. The Writ of Execution, dated March 16, 2023, for the COMELEC Resolution in SPA No. 21-002 (DC), dated August 16, 2022, is declared INVALID and ANNULLED."
The Court further declared: "The Certificate of Canvass of Votes and Proclamation of Winning Candidate for the Position of Member, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Fifth District of Cavite issued by the Special Provincial Board of Canvassers on September 26, 2023 is similarly declared VOID."
Finally, the Court ruled: "The proclamation of Aidel Paul Belamide and Marcos 'Macoy' Cabrera Amutan as winners for the two seats for board members representing the Fifth District of the Province of Cavite, having garnered the two highest votes, is UPHELD."
By the Numbers
- G.R. No. 266331
- Six candidates vied for two seats in the Fifth District of Cavite in the May 9, 2022 elections.
- Belamide garnered 106,626 votes (28.96%), ranking first.
- Amutan garnered 95,972 votes (26.07%), ranking second.
- Crisostomo garnered 81,553 votes (22.15%), ranking third.
- Poblete garnered 29,325 votes (7.96%), ranking fifth.
- Petition to declare Poblete a nuisance candidate filed October 12, 2021.
- COMELEC First Division declared Poblete a nuisance candidate on June 14, 2022.
- Writ of Execution issued March 16, 2023; served on Amutan personally April 4, 2023.
- SPBOC issued its Certificate of Canvass and Proclamation on September 26, 2023.
- Decision promulgated December 3, 2025.
The Court's Reasoning
The Court clarified that in the application of guidelines on the crediting of votes for nuisance candidates under the Automated Election System (AES), the pronouncements in Bautista and Martinez III are no longer controlling. Under the AES, in cases where a nuisance candidate is declared as such, the votes clearly cast for the legitimate candidate are counted in favor of the legitimate candidate; and the votes clearly cast for the nuisance candidate, whose Certificate of Candidacy is cancelled or not given due course, are considered stray votes and shall not be counted in favor of any other candidate.
Applying this rule, the Court held that since Poblete was declared a nuisance candidate and his COC was denied due course and cancelled, the votes cast for him should be considered stray and should not be credited in favor of any other candidate. Consequently, the assailed Writ of Execution, which cancelled the victory of Belamide and Amutan and ordered the crediting of Poblete's votes in favor of Crisostomo, is invalid. The declaration by the SPBOC pronouncing Belamide and Crisostomo as winners, arising from the invalid Writ, should also be annulled and set aside.
As a final note, the Court echoed the words of Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa that upholding the will of the electorate takes center stage, and that electoral education should inhabit the approach of the political branches of the State.
Source: Supreme Court En Banc decision in G.R. No. 266331, Marcos "Macoy" Cabrera Amutan v. The Commission on Elections (COMELEC), et al., promulgated December 3, 2025, penned by Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh.
This report summarizes a public Supreme Court decision and is not legal advice.