EN BANC

Gentlemen:

Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated MAY 6 2004 .

G. R. No. 163187 (Olivia G. Coo a.k.a "BONG COO," vs. The Commission on Elections and Ramon B. Bautista "BONG REVILLA", Jr. a.k.a "KAP".)

R E S O L U T I O N

In the instant Petition for Certiorari, Prohibition and Mandamus (With Prayer for Temporary Restraining or Status Quo Order), petitioner Olivia G. Coo a.k.a. "Bong Coo" assails as illegal and issued with grave abuse of discretion Resolution No. 6713 of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) which approved the recommendation of the COMELEC Law Department "to GRANT the request of Ramon B. Bong Revilla, Jr. to change his nickname from 'KAP' to 'BONG,' to make the necessary amendment in the Certified List of Senatorial Candidates and if already forwarded to the local COMELEC offices, to direct the Election officers to disseminate the case to the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs)."

In her Certificate of Candidacy,1 petitioner declared that her "NICKNAME OR STAGE NAME" is "BONG COO." Upon the other hand, in his Certificate of Candidacy,2 private respondent stated that his surname is "BONG REVILLA," his first name is "RAMON JR.," his middle name is "BAUTISTA," and his nickname or stage name is "KAP."

Undeniably "BONG COO" is not the same as "BONG."

It is noted that in the assailed COMELEC Resolution the COMELEC granted the petition of private respondent on the basis of the COMELEC Law Department's finding that "Mr. Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. has consistently used the nickname 'BONG' during the 1995, 1998 and 2001 elections, when he ran for the position of vice-governor and governor, respectively, in the province of Cavite." In the petition at bar, petitioner does not challenge this finding of the Law Department.

In the premises, the COMELEC did not abuse its discretion in allowing private respondent to register "BONG" as his nickname.

WHEREFORE, for failure to show that public respondent Commission on Elections committed grave abuse of discretion in its challenged Resolution, the petition is hereby DISMISSED.

SEPARATE OPINION

VITUG, J.:

Section 45(m) of COMELEC Resolution No. 6667,1 basically a reiteration of Rule 13, Section 211, Article XVIII, of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, otherwise also known as the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, provides:

"Sec. 211. Rules for the appreciation of ballots. - In the reading and appreciation of ballots, every ballot shall be presumed to be valid unless there is clear and good reason to justify its rejection. The board of election inspectors shall observe the following rules, bearing in mind that the object of the election is to obtain the expression of the voter's will:

xxx

"13. The use of the nicknames and appellations of affection and friendship, if accompanied by the first name or surname of the candidate, does not annul such vote, except when they were used as a means to identify the voter, in which case the whole ballot is invalid: Provided, That if the nickname used is unaccompanied by the name or surname of a candidate and it is the one by which he is generally or popularly known in the locality, the name shall be counted in favor of said candidate, if there is no other candidate for the same office with the same nickname." (Emphasis supplied)

Where several candidates have the same nickname, and the nickname is unaccompanied by the name or surname of any of the candidates, the vote should be considered stray.

Very truly yours,

LUZVIMINDA D. PUNO
Clerk of Court

By:

(Sgd.) MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA

Assistant Clerk of Court