The consolidation of cases to a DOJ Special Panel under DO No.

182 does not violate equal protection of

law and the right to speedy disposition of cases guaranteed by the Constitution. (SPOUSES AUGUSTO
G. DACUDAO AND OFELIA R. DACUDAO v. SECRETARY OF JUSTICE, G.R. No. 188056, January
08, 2013)

The winning elected official in an election protest grants the local elected official the right to serve the
unexpired portion of the term. (MAYOR ABELARDO ABUNDO, SR. v COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS,
G.R. No. 201716, January 08, 2013)

Cancellation proceedings involve the exercise of the quasi-judicial functions of the COMELEC which the
COMELEC in division should first decide. The COMELEC en banc cannot short cut the proceedings by
acting on the case without a prior action by a division because it denies due process to the candidate.
(KAMARUDIN K. IBRAHIM v. COMELEC and ROLAN G. BUAGAS, G.R. No. 192289, January 08,
2013)

Mandamus will issue only when the petitioner has a clear legal right to the performance of the act sought
to be compelled and the respondent has an imperative duty to perform the same. (SPECIAL PEOPLE,
INC. FOUNDATION v. NESTOR M. CANDA et al., G.R. No. 160932, January 14, 2013)

Where personal liability on the part of local government officials is sought, they may properly secure the
services of private counsel. (ROMEO A. GONTANG v. ENGR. CECILIA ALAYAN, G.R. No. 191691,
January16, 2013)

The express grant of power to the COMELEC to resolve election protests carries with it the grant of all
other powers necessary, proper, or incidental to the effective and efficient exercise of the power expressly
granted. Verily, the exclusive original jurisdiction conferred by the constitution to the COMELEC to settle
said election protests includes the authority to order a technical examination of relevant election
paraphernalia, election returns and ballots in order to determine whether fraud and irregularities attended
the canvass of the votes. (GOVERNOR SADIKUL A. SAHALI AND VICE-GOVERNOR RUBY M.
SAHALI, SR. v. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, G.R. No. 201796, January 15, 2013)

A statute having a single general subject, indicated in the title, may contain any number of provisions, no
matter how diverse they may be, so long as they are not inconsistent with or foreign to the general
subject, and may be considered in furtherance of such subject by providing for the method and means of
carrying out the general subject. (HENRY R. GIRON v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 188179, January 22, 2013)

Picture images of the ballots, as scanned and recorded by the PCOS, are likewise official ballots that
faithfully captures in electronic form the votes cast by the voter, as defined by Section 2 (3) of R.A. No.
9369. As such, the printouts thereof are the functional equivalent of the paper ballots filled out by the
voters and, thus, may be used for purposes of revision of votes in an electoral protest. (LIWAYWAY
VINZONS-CHATO v. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL, G.R. No. 199149,
January 22, 2013)

When there has been no valid substitution, the candidate with the highest number of votes should be
proclaimed as the duly elected mayor. (RENATO M. FEDERICO v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 199612,
January 22, 2013)

The government has a right to ensure that only qualified persons, in possession of sufficient academic
knowledge and teaching skills, are allowed to teach in such institutions, thus, the requirement of a
masteral degree for tertiary education teachers is not unreasonable. (UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST v.
ANALIZA F. PEPANIO AND MARITI D. BUENO, G.R. No. 193897, January 23, 2013)

Gross inexcusable negligence, on one hand, and evident bad faith or manifest partiality, on the other
hand, are not two highly opposite concepts that can result in a fatally defective information should the
terms be conjoined in the information. The fact that the prosecution can properly allege these different
modes alternatively in the information only means that the conviction may lie based simply on the
evidence that is supportive of a particular mode. (EDNA J. JACA v. PEOPLE, G.R. No. 166967, January
28, 2013)

An opposition to a petition for registration of a party-list is not a condition precedent to the filing of a
complaint for cancellation of the same. (ANTONIO D. DAYAO, et al. v. COMELEC, G.R. Nos. 193643
and 193704, January29, 2013)