No. Estoppel rests on this rule: "Whenever a party has, by his own declaration, act or omission, intentionally and deliberately led another to believe a particular thing true, and to act upon such belief, he cannot, in any litigation arising out of such declaration, act, or omission, be permitted to falsify it. 2 The elements of estoppel by conduct are: (1) that there must have been a representation or concealment of material facts; (2) that the representation must have been made with knowledge of the faculty (3) that the party to whom it was made must have been ignorant of the truth of the matter; and (4) that it must have been made with intention that the other party would act upon it.
In the case now before Us, it cannot be said that Ginete had by his acts and declarations made representations of fact regarding De Castro's election which were not known to the latter. Ginete simply made a formal recognition of the fact that De Castro had been proclaimed winner by the municipal board of canvassers of Bulan, and congratulated him — and this Ginete did only after the board of canvassers had proclaimed De Castro winner. It can not be said that De Castro came to know about his having won the election because Ginete told him so. Ginete did not mislead De Castro to the belief that he had won the election. It can not be said that De Castro was led to act — in assuming the office as mayor — because Ginete had made representation to him that he (De Castro) had won the election. De Castro assumed office as mayor by operation of law, because he was proclaimed elected by the municipal board of canvassers in accordance with law. Ginete, by his acts and/or utterances, had not induced De Castro to believe that his election was unquestionable. Ginete is not the one called upon to declare the election of De Castro valid, and so De Castro can not claim that he was induced to believe that he was elected and he assumed office as mayor simply on the basis of Ginete's act and utterances. Ginete never made any statement that he would not question the election of De Castro. The election case, or the election protest, that Ginete brought against De Castro did not arise out of any act or declaration of Ginete. The election case that Ginete brought against De Castro has for its basis circumstances that had taken place during the election held on November 14, 1967, or long before Ginete had recognized the proclamation of De Castro as winner. If De Castro was not the real winner in the elections it would not help his case in the election protest to assert that Ginete had congratulated him after he was proclaimed winner by the board of canvassers. We do not see in the facts and/or circumstances shown by the evidence in this case the elements of estoppel that would bar Ginete from questioning the election of De Castro.The purpose of an election protest is to ascertain whether the candidate proclaimed elected by the board of canvassers is really the lawful choice of the electorate. What is sought in an election protest is the correction of the canvass of the votes, which is the basis of the proclamation of the winning candidate. An election contest involves a public office in which the public has an interest. Certainly, the act of a losing candidate of recognizing the one who is proclaimed the winner should not bar the losing candidate from questioning the validity of the election of the winner in the manner provided by law.
The purpose of an election protest is to ascertain whether the candidate proclaimed elected by the board of canvassers is really the lawful choice of the electorate. What is sought in an election protest is the correction of the canvass of the votes, which is the basis of the proclamation of the winning candidate. An election contest involves a public office in which the public has an interest. Certainly, the act of a losing candidate of recognized the one who is proclaimed the winner should not bar the losing candidate from questioning the validity of the election of the winner in the manner provided by law.
The only case where this Court has held that a party is estopped to Court the election of the winning candidate is in the case of a tie where the candidates who were declared to have obtained equal number of votes had voluntarily submitted themselves to the drawing of lots to determine the winner, as provided by law. It was ruled by this Court that the candidate who lost in the drawing of lots is estopped from contesting the election of the one who won in the draw, because by submitting himself to the draw the defeated candidate is considered to have admitted that the announcement made by the board of canvassers regarding the tie was the result of a valid and lawful canvass. The candidate who submitted himself to the draw is considered as having deliberately induced his opponent to believe that that canvass which resulted in a tie was legal and he had thereby led his opponent to act upon such belief in the validity of the canvass and the tie so that he can not be permitted to repudiate his own acts.
This Court has even adopted a more liberal view on this matter when in a latter case it held that a candidate who has tied with another and who submits himself to the drawing of lots, stating that if the result of said drawing of lots should be adverse to him, he would file a protest before a competent court, is not estopped from doing so. The view adopted by the Court in this latter case is in keeping with the doctrine that an election protest involves public interest, so that the court should allow all opportunity possible for the ascertainment of the true result of the elections. (De Castro vs. Ginete, G.R. No. L-30058, March 28, 1969)
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