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  • Macalintal v. COMELEC, G.R. 157013 Doctrine: Congress Has No General Supervision Over The COMELEC Which Is An Independent Body

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    Evander Arcenal
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    Sections 2 and 5(d) of RA 9189 are constitutional as they allow overseas absentee voting as an exception to residency requirements. Section 18.5 is unconstitutional as it allows COMELEC to proclaim presidential winners instead of Congress. Section 25 is also unconstitutional because it allows Congress to review, revise, and approve COMELEC's rules, violating COMELEC's independence. The petition is partly granted, with some portions of RA 9189 declared void.

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    Sections 2 and 5(d) of RA 9189 are constitutional as they allow overseas absentee voting as an exception to residency requirements. Section 18.5 is unconstitutional as it allows COMELEC to proclaim presidential winners instead of Congress. Section 25 is also unconstitutional because it allows Congress to review, revise, and approve COMELEC's rules, violating COMELEC's independence. The petition is partly granted, with some portions of RA 9189 declared void.

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    3K views2 pages

    Macalintal v. COMELEC, G.R. 157013 Doctrine: Congress Has No General Supervision Over The COMELEC Which Is An Independent Body

    Uploaded by

    Evander Arcenal
    Sections 2 and 5(d) of RA 9189 are constitutional as they allow overseas absentee voting as an exception to residency requirements. Section 18.5 is unconstitutional as it allows COMELEC to proclaim presidential winners instead of Congress. Section 25 is also unconstitutional because it allows Congress to review, revise, and approve COMELEC's rules, violating COMELEC's independence. The petition is partly granted, with some portions of RA 9189 declared void.

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    Macalintal v. COMELEC, G.R.

    157013

    Doctrine: Congress has no general supervision over the COMELEC which is an independent body,
    functioning on its own and promulgating rules and regulations of its own kind. Congress may however
    review its orders, decisions, and rulings as specifically provided by the Constitution.

    Date: July 10, 2003 | Ponente: Austria-Martinez, J.

    Facts:
    Macalintal assails that certain provisions in RA 9189 (The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003) are
    unconstitutional, in which the petitioner (filing as a taxpayer) has provided a position of having legal
    standing with the said issue considering that there has been a misapplication of public funds.

    Petitioner raises 3 points or questions for contention:


    1. That Section 5(d) of R.A. No. 9189 allowing the registration of voters, who are immigrants or
    permanent residents in other countries, by their mere act of executing an affidavit expressing their
    intention to return to the Philippines, violates the residency requirement in Art. V, Sec. 1 of the
    Constitution.
    2. That Section 18.5 of the same law empowering the COMELEC to proclaim the winning
    candidates for national offices and party list representatives, including the President and the Vice-
    President, violates the constitutional mandate under Art. VII, Sec. 4 of the Constitution that the
    winning candidates for President and Vice-President shall be proclaimed as winners only by
    Congress.
    3. That Section 25 of RA 9189, allowing Congress through the Joint Congressional Oversight
    Committee, (JCOC) to exercise the power to review, revise, amend, and approve the
    Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) that the COMELEC shall promulgate, violates the
    independence of the COMELEC under Art. IX-A, Sec. 1 of the Constitution.

    Issues:
    1. WON Section 5(d) of R.A. No. 9189 violates Art. V, Sec. 1 of the Constitution
    2. WON Section 18.5 of R.A. No. 9189 violates Art. VII, Sec. 4 of the Constitution
    3. WON Section 25 of R.A. No. 9189 violates Art. IX-A, Sec. 1 of the Constitution

    Held:
    1. No, it does not violate the latter provision by the constitution. Even if the petitioner has posited the idea
    that Section 5(d) of RA 9189 violates the residency requirement of Sec. 1 Art. 5 of the Constitution, we
    turn to Section 2 of Article 5 of Constitution wherein the Congress provides a system for absentee voting
    by qualified Filipinos abroad.
    ● Section 2 of Art. 5 Constitution serves as an exception to the residency requirement by
    reason of the doctrine of necessary implication of statutory construction which may be
    applied in construing constitutional provisions.
    ● *Note: One of the goals of Constitutional Commission is to enfranchise as much Filipino
    citizens as possible especially those citizens living abroad who have not abandoned their
    domicile in the Philippines.
    2. YES, Sec.18.5 violates the constitutional provisions of Art. 7, Sec. 4 as the former provision is far too
    sweeping to include the winners of President and Vice President. The power to proclaim such winners
    vests on the capacity or the obligation of the Congress to do so, not COMELEC.

    3. YES, Sec. 25 of RA 9189 violates Sec. 1, Art. 9-A of Constitution because:


    ● Section 25: (Joint Congressional Oversight Committee) - having the power to revise, review, or
    amend the implementing rules and regulations promulgated by the COMELEC. Also, the JCOC
    is composed of:
    1. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes
    and Laws.
    2. 7 Senators designated by the Senate President
    3. Chairman of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms
    4. 7 Members of HOR designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives: 4
    should come from the majority, and 3 from the minority.
    ● Section 19 of RA 9189 must also be noted: The implementing rules and regulations of the
    COMELEC must be submitted to the “JCOC” for approval.

    ○ Both provisions violate the autonomy or independence of COMELEC as provided by


    Sec. 1, Art. 9-A of Constitution.
    ○ By vesting itself the powers to revise, review, or amend the Implementing Rules and
    Regulations promulgated by the COMELEC, is by far an action that goes way beyond the
    scope of its constitutional authority.
    ■ The Court has held that “whatever may be the nature of the functions of the
    Commission on Elections, the fact is that the framers of the Constitution wanted
    it to be independent from the other departments of the Government.”

    Decision: Petition is partly GRANTED. Portions of RA 9189 is declared VOID for being
    UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

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