Chapter 2: Election Law I. Comelec: C L Rev Ew
Chapter 2: Election Law I. Comelec: C L Rev Ew
I. Comelec
On 31 October 2012, respondent Joseph Socorro Tan, a registered voter and resident
of the Municipality of Torrijos, Marinduque, filed before the COMELEC an Amended
Petition to Deny Due Course or to Cancel the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) of
petitioner on the ground that it contained material misrepresentations, specifically: (1)
that she is single when she is married to Congressman Herminaldo I. Mandanas of
Batangas; (2) that she is a resident of Brgy. Lupac, Boac, Marinduque when she is a
resident of Bauan, Batangas which is the residence of her husband, and at the same
time, when she is also a resident of 135 J.P. Rizal, Brgy. Milagrosa, Quezon City as
admitted in the Directory of Congressional Spouses of the House of Representatives;
(3) that her date of birth is 3 July 1964 when other documents show that her birthdate is
either 8 July 1959 or 3 July 1960;3 (4) that she is not a permanent resident of another
country when she is a permanent resident or an immigrant of the United States of
America; and (5) that she is a Filipino citizen when she is, in fact, an American citizen.
The COMELEC First Division found that, contrary to the declarations that she made
in her COC, petitioner is not a citizen of the Philippines because of her failure to
comply with the requirements of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9225 or the Citizenship
Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003, namely: (1) to take an oath of allegiance
to the Republic of the Philippines; and (2) to make a personal and sworn
renunciation of her American citizenship before any public officer authorized to
administer an oath. In addition, the COMELEC First Division ruled that she did not
have the one-year residency requirement under Section 6, Article VI of the 1987
Constitution. Thus, she is ineligible to run for the position of Representative for the
lone district of Marinduque.
Four days thereafter or on 18 May 2013, petitioner was proclaimed winner of the 13
May 2013 Elections.
On same day, petitioner took her oath of office before Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr.,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Petitioner has yet to assume office, the term of which officially starts at noon of 30
June 2013.
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RULING:
From the foregoing, it is then clear that to be considered a Member of the House of
Representatives, there must be a concurrence of the following requisites: (1) a valid
proclamation, (2) a proper oath, and (3) assumption of office.
Indeed, in some cases, this Court has made the pronouncement that once a
proclamation has been made, COMELEC’s jurisdiction is already lost and, thus, its
jurisdiction over contests relating to elections, returns, and qualifications ends, and
the HRET’s own jurisdiction begins. However, it must be noted that in these cases,
the doctrinal pronouncement was made in the context of a proclaimed candidate
who had not only taken an oath of office, but who had also assumed office.
Consequently, before there is a valid or official taking of the oath it must be made
(1) before the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and (2) in open session.
Here, although she made the oath before Speaker Belmonte, there is no indication
that it was made during plenary or in open session and, thus, it remains unclear
whether the required oath of office was indeed complied with.
As to the issue of residency, proceeding from the finding that petitioner has lost her
natural-born status, we quote with approval the ruling of the COMELEC First
Division that petitioner cannot be considered a resident of Marinduque:
In this case, there is no showing whatsoever that [petitioner] had already re-
acquired her Filipino citizenship pursuant to RA 9225 so as to conclude that she
has regained her domicile in the Philippines. There being no proof that [petitioner]
had renounced her American citizenship, it follows that she has not abandoned her
domicile of choice in the USA.
The only proof presented by [petitioner] to show that she has met the one-year
residency requirement of the law and never abandoned her domicile of origin in
Boac, Marinduque is her claim that she served as Provincial Administrator of the
province from January 18, 2011 to July 13, 2011. But such fact alone is not
sufficient to prove her one-year residency. For, [petitioner] has never regained her
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domicile in Marinduque as she remains to be an American citizen. No amount of
her stay in the said locality can substitute the fact that she has not abandoned her
domicile of choice in the USA.”
On July 9, 2013, in SPC No. 13-010, acting on the motion for reconsideration of
Velasco, the COMELEC En Banc reversed the June 19, 2013 denial of Velasco's
petition and declared null and void and without legal effect the proclamation of
Reyes. The dispositive part reads:
On July 22, 2013, the 16th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines formally
convened in a joint session. On the same day, Reyes, as the recognized elected
Representative for the Lone District of Marinduque, along with the rest of the
Members of the House of Representatives, took their oaths in open session before
Speaker Belmonte, Jr.
On July 23, 2013, Reyes filed a Manifestation and Notice of Withdrawal of Petition
"without waiver of her arguments, positions, defenses/causes of action as will be
articulated in the HRET which is now the proper forum."
On October 22, 2013, Reyes's motion for reconsideration (of this Court's June 25,
2013 Resolution in GR. No. 207264) filed on July 15, 2013, was denied by this
Court, a second motion for reconsideration and was denied by this Court.
On December 5, 2013 and January 20, 2014, respectively, Velasco sent two letters
to Reyes essentially demanding that she vacate the office of Representative of the
Lone District of Marinduque and to relinquish the same in his favor.
The COMELEC issued an Orde r20 dated December 11, 2013 directing, inter alia,
that all copies of its Resolutions in SPA No. 13-053 (DC) and SPC No. 13-010, the
Certificate of Finality dated June 5, 2013, the Order dated July 10, 2013, and the
Certificate of Proclamation dated July 16, 2013 be forwarded and furnished to
Speaker Belmonte, Jr. for the latter's information and guidance.
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On February 6, 2014, Velasco also wrote a letter to Sec. Gen. Barua-Yap
reiterating his earlier requests (July 12 and 18, 2013) to delete the name of Reyes
from the Roll of Members and register his name in her place as the duly elected
Representative of the Lone District of Marinduque.
However, Velasco relates that his efforts proved futile. He alleges that despite all
the letters and requests to Speaker Belmonte, Jr. and Sec. Gen. Barua-Yap, they
refused to recognize him as the duly elected Representative of the Lone District of
Marinduque. Likewise, in the face of numerous written demands for Reyes to
vacate the position and office of the Representative of the Lone District of
Marinduque, she continues to discharge the duties of said position.
And this is precisely the basis for the HRET' s December. 14, 2015 Resolution
acknowledging and ruling that it has no jurisdiction over the twin petitions for quo
warranto filed against Reyes. Its finding was based on the existence of a final and
executory ruling of this Court in G.R. No. 207264 that Reyes is not a bona fide
member of the House of Representatives for lack of a valid proclamation. To
reiterate this Court's pronouncement in its Resolution, entitled Reyes v.
Commission on Elections45-
Dates and events indicate that there was no basis for the proclamation of petitioner
on 18 May 2013. Without the proclamation, the petitioner's oath of office is likewise
baseless, and without a precedent oath of office, there can be no valid and effective
assumption of office.
"More importantly, we cannot disregard a fact basic in this controversy - that before
the proclamation of petitioner on 18 May 2013, the COMELEC En Banc had
already finally disposed of the issue of petitioner's [Reyes] lack of Filipino
citizenship and residency via its Resolution dated 14 May 2013. After 14 May 2013,
there was, before the COMELEC, no longer any pending case on petitioner's
qualifications to run for the position of Member of the House of Representatives. x x
x."
As the point has obviously been missed by the petitioner [Reyes] who continues to
argue on the basis of her "due proclamation," the instant motion gives us the
opportunity to highlight the undeniable fact we here repeat that the proclamation
which petitioner secured on 18 May 2013 was WITHOUT ANY BASIS." (Emphasis
supplied.)
Put in another way, contrary to the view that the resort to the jurisdiction of the
HRET is a plain, speedy and adequate remedy, such recourse is not a legally
available remedy to any party, specially to Velasco, who should be the sitting
Member of the House of Representatives if it were not for the disregard by the
leadership of the latter of the binding decisions of a constitutional body, the
COMELEC, and the Supreme Court
Though the earlier existence of the twin quo warranto petitions filed against Reyes
before the HRET had actually no bearing on the status of finality of the decision of
the COMELEC in SPC No. 13-010. Nonetheless, their dismissal pursuant to the
HRET' s December 14, 2015 Resolution sustained Velasco's well-defined, clear
and certain right to the subject office.
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The present Petition for Mandamus seeks the issuance of a writ of mandamus to
compel respondents Speaker Belmonte, Jr. and Sec. Gen. Barua-Yap to
acknowledge and recognize the final and executory Decisions and Resolution of
this Court and of the COMELEC by administering the oath of office to Velasco and
entering the latter's name in the Roll of Members of the House of Representatives.
In other words, the Court is called upon to determine whether or not the prayed for
acts, i.e., (i) the administration of the oath of office to Velasco; and (ii) the inclusion
of his name in the Roll of Members, are ministerial in character vis-a-vis the factual
and legal milieu of this case. As we have previously stated, the administration of
oath and the registration of Velasco in the Roll of Members of the House of
Representatives for the Lone District of the Province of Marinduque are no longer a
matter of discretion or judgment on the part of Speaker Belmonte, Jr. and Sec.
Gen. Barua-Yap. They are legally duty-bound to recognize Velasco as the duly
elected Member of the House of Representatives for the Lone District of
Marinduque in view of the ruling rendered by this Court and the COMELEC'S
compliance with the said ruling, now both final and executory.
It will not be the first time that the Court will grant Mandamus to compel the
Speaker of the House of Representatives to administer the oath to the rightful
Representative of a legislative district and the Secretary-General to enter said
Representative's name in the Roll of Members of the House of Representatives. In
Codilla, Sr. v. De Venecia,46 the Court decreed:
Under Rule 65, Section 3 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, any person may file
a verified petition for mandamus "when any tribunal, corporation, board, officer or
person unlawfully neglects the performance of an act which the law specifically
enjoins as a duty resulting from an office, trust, or station, or unlawfully excludes
another from the use and enjoyment of a right or office to which such other is
entitled, and there is no other plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary
course of law." For a petition for mandamus to prosper, it must be shown that the
subject of the petition for mandamus is a ministerial act or duty, and not purely
discretionary on the part of the board, officer or person, and that the petitioner has
a well-defined, clear and certain right to warrant the grant thereof.
In the case at bar, the administration of oath and the registration of the petitioner in
the Roll of Members of the House of Representatives representing the 4th
legislative district of Leyte is no longer a matter of discretion on the part of the
public respondents. The facts are settled and beyond dispute: petitioner garnered
71,350 votes as against respondent Locsin who only got 53,447 votes in the May
14, 2001 elections. The COMELEC Second Division initially ordered the
proclamation of respondent Locsin; on Motion for Reconsideration the COMELEC
en banc set aside the order of its Second Division and ordered the proclamation of
the petitioner. The Decision of the COMELEC en banc has not been challenged
before this Court by respondent Locsin and said Decision has become final and
executory.
In sum, the issue of who is the rightful Representative of the 4th legislative district
of Leyte has been finally settled by the COMELEC en banc, the constitutional body
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with jurisdiction on the matter. The rule of law demands that its Decision be obeyed
by all officials of the land There is no alternative to the rule of law except the reign
of chaos and confusion.
The last sentence of Section 17, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution also provides that
"[t]he senior Justice in the Electoral Tribunal shall be its Chairman." This means that
only a Justice can chair the Electoral Tribunal. As such, there should always be one
member of the Tribunal who is a Justice. If all three Justice-members inhibit themselves
in a case, the Supreme Court will designate another Justice to chair the Electoral
Tribunal in accordance with Section 17, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution.
Contrary to petitioner's allegation, Rule 6(a) of the 2015 HRET Rules does not violate
the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
The Court has explained that the equal protection clause of the Constitution allows
classification. The Court stated:
A law is not invalid because of simple inequality. The very idea of classification is that of
inequality, so that it goes without saying that the mere fact of inequality in no manner
determines the matter of constitutionality. All that is required of a valid classification is
that it be reasonable, which means that the classification should be based on
substantial distinctions which make for real differences; that it must be germane to the
purpose of the law; that it must not be limited to existing conditions only; and that it
must apply equally to each member of the class. This Court has held that the standard
is satisfied if the classification or distinction is based on a reasonable foundation or
rational basis and is not palpably arbitrary.
In the case of the HRET, there is a substantial distinction between the Justices of the
Supreme Court and the members of the House of Representatives. There are only
three Justice-members while there are six Legislator-members of the HRET. Hence,
there is a valid classification. The classification is justified because it was placed to
ensure the presence of members from both the Judicial and Legislative branches of the
government to constitute a quorum. There is no violation of the equal protection clause
of the Constitution.
The reckoning event under Rule 15 of the 2015 HRET Rules, being dependent on the
taking of oath and the assumption of office of the winning candidate, is indeterminable. It is
difficult, if not impossible, for the losing candidate who intends to file an election protest or a
petition for quo warranto to keep track when the winning candidate took his oath of office or
when he assumed office. The date, time, and place of the taking of oath depend entirely
upon the winning candidate. The winning candidate may or may not publicize his taking of
oath and thus any candidate intending to file a protest will be in a dilemma when to file the
protest. The taking of oath can happen any day and any time after the proclamation. As to
the assumption of office, it is possible that, for one reason or another, the winning
candidate will not assume office at the end of the term of his predecessor but on a later
date that is unknown to the losing candidate.
However, the Court takes judicial notice that in its Resolution No. 16, Series of 2018, dated
20 September 2018,10 the HRET amended Rules 17 and 18 of the 2015 HRET Rules. As
amended, Rules 17 and 18 now read:
RULE 17. Election Protest. - A verified protest contesting the election or returns of any
Member of the House of Representatives shall be filed by any candidate who has duly filed
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a certificate of candidacy and has been voted for the same office within fifteen (15) days
from June 30 of the election year, if the winning candidate was proclaimed on or before
said date. However, if the winning candidate was proclaimed after June 30 of the election
year, a verified election protest shall be filed within fifteen (15) days from the date of
proclamation.
RULE 18. Quo Warranto. - A verified petition for quo warranto on the ground of ineligibility
may be filed by any registered voter of the congressional district concerned, or any
registered voter in the case of party-list representatives, within fifteen (15) days from June
30 of the election year, if the winning candidate was proclaimed on or before said date.
However, if the winning candidate was proclaimed after June 30 of the election year, a
verified petition for quo warranto shall be filed within fifteen (15) days from the date of
proclamation. The party filing the petition shall be designated as the petitioner, while the
adverse party shall be known as the respondent.
The amendments to Rules 17 and 18 of the 2015 HRET Rules were made "with respect to
the reckoning point within which to file an election protest or a petition for quo warranto,
respectively, in order to further promote a just and expeditious determination and
disposition of every election contest brought before the Tribunal[.]" The recent
amendments, which were published in The Philippine Star on 26 September 2018 and took
effect on 11 October 2018, clarified and removed any doubt as to the reckoning date for the
filing of an election protest. The losing candidate can determine with certainty when to file
his election protest.
Respondents Perfecto C. Lucaban, Jr., Ronyl S. Dela Cruz, and Agustin C. Doroga, all
registered voters, filed a petition for quo warranto with respondent HRET against Aangat
Tayo and its nominee, petitioner Abayon, in HRET Case 07-041. They claimed that Aangat
Tayo was not eligible for a party-list seat in the House of Representatives, since it did not
represent the marginalized and underrepresented sectors.
Respondent Lucaban and the others with him further pointed out that petitioner Abayon
herself was not qualified to sit in the House as a party-list nominee since she did not
belong to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors, she being the wife of an
incumbent congressional district representative. She moreover lost her bid as party-list
representative of the party-list organization called An Waray in the immediately preceding
elections of May 10, 2004.
Petitioner Abayon countered that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) had already
confirmed the status of Aangat Tayo as a national multi-sectoral party-list organization
representing the workers, women, youth, urban poor, and elderly and that she belonged to
the women sector. Abayon also claimed that although she was the second nominee of An
Waray party-list organization during the 2004 elections, she could not be regarded as
having lost a bid for an elective office.
Finally, petitioner Abayon pointed out that respondent HRET had no jurisdiction over the
petition for quo warranto since respondent Lucaban and the others with him collaterally
attacked the registration of Aangat Tayo as a party-list organization, a matter that fell within
the jurisdiction of the COMELEC. It was Aangat Tayo that was taking a seat in the House
of Representatives, and not Abayon who was just its nominee. All questions involving her
eligibility as first nominee, said Abayon, were internal concerns of Aangat Tayo.
On July 16, 2009 respondent HRET issued an order, dismissing the petition as against
Aangat Tayo but upholding its jurisdiction over the qualifications of petitioner Abayon.1 The
latter moved for reconsideration but the HRET denied the same on September 17, 2009,
prompting Abayon to file the present petition for special civil action of certiorari.
In G.R. 189506, petitioner Jovito S. Palparan, Jr. is the first nominee of the Bantay party-
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list group that won a seat in the 2007 elections for the members of the House of
Representatives. Respondents Reynaldo Lesaca, Jr., Cristina Palabay, Renato M. Reyes,
Jr., Erlinda Cadapan, Antonio Flores, and Joselito Ustarez are members of some other
party-list groups.
Shortly after the elections, respondent Lesaca and the others with him filed with
respondent HRET a petition for quo warranto against Bantay and its nominee, petitioner
Palparan, in HRET Case 07-040. Lesaca and the others alleged that Palparan was
ineligible to sit in the House of Representatives as party-list nominee because he did not
belong to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors that Bantay represented,
namely, the victims of communist rebels, Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units
(CAFGUs), former rebels, and security guards. Lesaca and the others said that Palparan
committed gross human rights violations against marginalized and underrepresented
sectors and organizations.
Petitioner Palparan countered that the HRET had no jurisdiction over his person since it
was actually the party-list Bantay, not he, that was elected to and assumed membership in
the House of Representatives. Palparan claimed that he was just Bantay’s nominee.
Consequently, any question involving his eligibility as first nominee was an internal
concern of Bantay. Such question must be brought, he said, before that party-list group,
not before the HRET.
On July 23, 2009 respondent HRET issued an order dismissing the petition against Bantay
for the reason that the issue of the ineligibility or qualification of the party-list group fell
within the jurisdiction of the COMELEC pursuant to the Party-List System Act. HRET,
however, defended its jurisdiction over the question of petitioner Palparan’s qualifications.3
Palparan moved for reconsideration but the HRET denied it by a resolution dated
September 10, 2009,4 hence, the recourse to this Court through this petition for special
civil action of certiorari and prohibition.
Since the two cases raise a common issue, the Court has caused their consolidation.
Issue: Whether or not respondent HRET has jurisdiction over the question of qualifications
of petitioners Abayon and Palparan as nominees of Aangat Tayo and Bantay party-list
organizations, respectively, who took the seats at the House of Representatives that such
organizations won in the 2007 elections.
Ruling:
Sec. 9. Qualification of Party-List Nominees. – No person shall be nominated as party-list
representative unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, a
resident of the Philippines for a period of not less than one (1) year immediately preceding
the day of the election, able to read and write, bona fide member of the party or
organization which he seeks to represent for at least ninety (90) days preceding the day of
the election, and is at least twenty-five (25) years of age on the day of the
election.1avvphi1
In case of a nominee of the youth sector, he must at least be twenty-five (25) but not more
than thirty (30) years of age on the day of the election. Any youth sectoral representative
who attains the age of thirty (30) during his term shall be allowed to continue until the
expiration of his term.
In the cases before the Court, those who challenged the qualifications of petitioners
Abayon and Palparan claim that the two do not belong to the marginalized and
underrepresented sectors that they ought to represent. The Party-List System Act provides
that a nominee must be a "bona fide member of the party or organization which he seeks
to represent."7
Petitioners Abayon and Palparan of course point out that the authority to determine the
qualifications of a party-list nominee belongs to the party or organization that nominated
him. This is true, initially. The right to examine the fitness of aspiring nominees and,
eventually, to choose five from among them after all belongs to the party or organization
that nominates them.8 But where an allegation is made that the party or organization had
chosen and allowed a disqualified nominee to become its party-list representative in the
lower House and enjoy the secured tenure that goes with the position, the resolution of the
dispute is taken out of its hand.
Parenthetically, although the Party-List System Act does not so state, the COMELEC
seems to believe, when it resolved the challenge to petitioner Abayon, that it has the power
to do so as an incident of its authority to approve the registration of party-list organizations.
But the Court need not resolve this question since it is not raised here and has not been
argued by the parties.
What is inevitable is that Section 17, Article VI of the Constitution provides that the
HRET shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to, among other things, the
qualifications of the members of the House of Representatives. Since, as pointed
out above, party-list nominees are "elected members" of the House of
Representatives no less than the district representatives are, the HRET has
jurisdiction to hear and pass upon their qualifications. By analogy with the cases of
district representatives, once the party or organization of the party-list nominee has
been proclaimed and the nominee has taken his oath and assumed office as
member of the House of Representatives, the COMELEC’s jurisdiction over election
contests relating to his qualifications ends and the HRET’s own jurisdiction begins.
The Court holds that respondent HRET did not gravely abuse its discretion when it
dismissed the petitions for quo warranto against Aangat Tayo party-list and Bantay
party-list but upheld its jurisdiction over the question of the qualifications of
petitioners Abayon and Palparan.
As early as the 1936 case of The People of the Philippine Islands v. Corral, it has
been recognized that "[t]he right to vote is not a natural right but is a right
created by law. Suffrage is a privilege granted by the State to such persons or
classes as are most likely to exercise it for the public good. In the early
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stages of the evolution of the representative system of government, the
exercise of the right of suffrage was limited to a small portion of the
inhabitants. But with the spread of democratic ideas, the enjoyment of the
franchise in the modern states has come to embrace the mass of the audit
classes of persons are excluded from the franchise."
The second item more prominently reflects the franchised nature of the right of
suffrage. The State may therefore regulate said right by imposing statutory
disqualifications, with the restriction, however, that the same do not amount
to, as per the second sentence of the provision, a "literacy, property or other
substantive requirement." Based on its genesis, it may be gleaned that the
limitation is geared towards the elimination of irrelevant standards that are
purely based on socio-economic considerations that have no bearing on the
right of a citizen to intelligently cast his vote and to further the public good.
(b) Any person who has been adjudged by final judgment by competent court or
tribunal of having committed any crime involving disloyalty to the duly constituted
government such as rebellion, sedition, violation of the anti-subversion and firearms
laws, or any crime against national security, unless restored to his full civil and
political rights in accordance with law: Provided, That he shall regain his right to
vote automatically upon expiration of five years after service of sentence.
Registration regulates the exercise of the right of suffrage. It is not a qualification for
such right.80 (Emphasis supplied)
As a form of regulation, compliance with the registration procedure is dutifully
enjoined. Section 115 of the Omnibus Election Code provides:
Section 115. Necessity of Registration. - In order that a qualified elector may vote in
any election, plebiscite or referendum, he must be registered in the permanent list
of voters for the city or municipality in which he resides. (Emphasis supplied)
Thus, although one is deemed to be a "qualified elector," he must nonetheless still
comply with the registration procedure in order to vote.
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Youth), wherein the Court pronounced that the process of registration is a
procedural limitation on the right to vote. Albeit procedural, the right of a citizen to
vote nevertheless remains conditioned upon it:
Needless to say, the exercise of the right of suffrage, as in the enjoyment of all
other rights, is subject to existing substantive and procedural requirements
embodied in our Constitution, statute books and other repositories of law. Thus, as
to the substantive aspect, Section 1, Article V of the Constitution provides:
xxxx
[T]he act of registration is an indispensable precondition to the right of suffrage. For
registration is part and parcel of the right to vote and an indispensable element in
the election process. Thus, contrary to petitioners' argument, registration cannot
and should not be denigrated to the lowly stature of a mere statutory requirement.
Proceeding from the significance of registration as a necessary requisite to the right
to vote, the State undoubtedly, in the exercise of its inherent police power, may
then enact laws to safeguard and regulate the act of voter's registration for the
ultimate purpose of conducting honest, orderly and peaceful election, to the
incidental yet generally important end, that even pre-election activities could be
performed by the duly constituted authorities in a realistic and orderly manner - one
which is not indifferent, and so far removed from the pressing order of the day and
the prevalent circumstances of the times.88 (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)
Thus, unless it is shown that a registration requirement rises to the level of a
literacy, property or other substantive requirement as contemplated by the Framers
of the Constitution - that is, one which propagates a socio-economic standard which
is bereft of any rational basis to a person's ability to intelligently cast his vote and to
further the public good - the same cannot be struck down as unconstitutional, as in
this case.
That being said, the assailed regulation on the right to suffrage was sufficiently
justified as it was indeed narrowly tailored to achieve the compelling state interest
of establishing a clean, complete, permanent and updated list of voters, and was
demonstrably the least restrictive means in promoting that interest.
b. RA 10742, Sec. 4
SEC. 4. Katipunan ng Kabataan. – There shall be in every barangay a Katipunan
ng Kabataan to be composed of all citizens of the Philippines residing in the
barangay for at least six (6) months, who are at least fifteen (15) but not more than
thirty (30) years of age, and who are duly registered in the list of the Commission
on Elections (COMELEC) and/or the records of the Sangguniang Kabataan
secretary.
The remedies available in the two proceedings likewise differ. Velasco's remedy
from the adverse decision in his petition for inclusion as voter is as provided
under Section 138 of the OEC quoted above. From the MTC, the recourse is to
the RTC whose decision is final and executory, correctible by the Court of
Appeals only by a writ of certiorari based on grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack of jurisdiction. On the other hand, the approval of a certificate
of candidacy or its denial is a matter directly cognizable by the COMELEC, with
the decision of its Division reviewable by the COMELEC en banc whose decision
is in turn reviewable by this Court under Rule 64 of the Rules of Court and
Section 7, of Article IX-A of the 1987 Constitution.
That the COMELEC relied on the RTC ruling in canceling the COC of Velasco cannot
likewise be a legal error as Section 138 of the OEC is clear and categorical in its terms:
"Decisions of the Municipal or Metropolitan Trial Courts may be appealed by the aggrieved
party to the Regional Trial Courts within five (5) days from receipt of notice thereof.
Otherwise, said decision shall become final and executory. The regional trial court shall
decide the appeal within ten days from the time the appeal was received and its decision
shall be final and executory." We note that when Velasco sought recourse with the Court of
Appeals, he did so by way of appeal under Rule 42 of the Rules of Court - a recourse that
was not available to him because an RTC ruling in an inclusion/exclusion is final and
executory. This led the appellate court to recognize in its Amended Decision of August 19,
2008, albeit on motion for reconsideration, that it had no jurisdiction to entertain Velasco's
appeal.
This conclusion is not a hairsplitting sophistry, but one based on clear distinctions drawn by
the law. As above pointed out, inclusion/exclusion and COC denial/cancellation
proceedings, while they may ultimately have common factual bases, are still proceedings
poles apart in terms of the issues, reliefs, and remedies involved. That at some point they
may converge (as in this case, where the COC denial/cancellation proceeding relied on and
used the results of the voters' inclusion/exclusion proceeding) does not erase the
distinctions between them. In the context of this case, it does not mean that the COMELEC
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- commonly with the ERB, the MTC and the RTC -ruled on Velasco's right to vote because
the COMELEC relied on the latter's ruling.
Whether Velasco possesses all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications to
register as a voter of Sasmuan, Pampanga is a matter that is not directly before us as his
inclusion as a Sasmuan voter is not before us. As the COMELEC did, we rely on the final
and executory RTC ruling excluding Velasco from the Sasmuan voters' list. We observe,
however, that at the time he filed his application for registration with the COMELEC local
office on October 13, 2006, Velasco was a dual citizen. The records show that Velasco
renounced his American citizenship only on March 28, 2007, although he secured his dual
citizenship status as early as July 31, 2006 at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco,
California. Under his dual citizenship status, he possessed the right to vote in Philippine
elections through the absentee voting scheme under Republic Act No. 9189 (the Oversees
Absentee Voting Law or the OAVL) as we ruled in Nicolas-Lewis v.
COMELEC. In Macalintal v. COMELEC, we significantly said that absentee voters are
exempted from the constitutional residency requirement for regular Philippine voters. Thus,
the residency requirements we cited above under the VRA and the LGC do not apply to
Velasco, assuming he registered as a dual citizen/absentee voter.
By law, however, the right of dual citizens who vote as absentee voters pertains only to the
election of national officials, specifically: the president, the vice-president, the senators, and
party-list representatives. Thus, Velasco was not eligible to vote as an absentee voter in the
local election of 2007. In fact, the records do not show that Velasco ever registered as an
absentee voter for the 2007 election.
On the other hand, Velasco could not have registered as a regular voter because he did not
possess the residency requirement of one-year stay in the Philippines and six-months stay
in the municipality where he proposed to vote at the time of the election. The records show
that he arrived in the Philippines only on September 14, 2006 and applied for registration on
October 13 of that year20 for the election to be held in May of the following year (2007). To
hark back and compare his case to a similar case, Coquilla v. COMELEC,21 Velasco, before
acquiring his dual citizenship status, was an American citizen who had lost his residency
and domiciliary status in the Philippines; whose sojourn in the Philippines was via a visitor's
visa; and who never established permanent residence in the Philippines.
Like Coquilla before him, Velasco could not have therefore validly registered as a regular
voter eight months before the May 2007 local elections.
Finally, we see no merit in Velasco's argument that the COMELEC annulled his
proclamation as Mayor without due process. The nullification of his proclamation as a
winning candidate was an outcome - a necessary legal consequence - of the cancellation of
his COC pursuant to Section 78 of the OEC. A COC cancellation proceeding essentially
partakes of the nature of a disqualification case. In the present case, Velasco filed an
Answer to Panlaqui's petition to cancel or deny due course to his (Velasco's) COC; hence,
he was afforded the opportunity to be heard in the cancellation of his COC.
Under the combined application of Sections 6 and 7 of Republic Act No. 6646, candidates
who are disqualified by final judgment before the election shall not be voted for and the
votes cast for them shall not be counted. If the disqualification or COC cancellation/denial
case is not resolved before election day, the proceedings shall continue even after the
election and the proclamation of the winner. In the meanwhile, the candidate may be voted
for and be proclaimed if he or she wins, but the COMELEC's jurisdiction to deny due course
and cancel his or her COC continues. This rule applies even if the candidate facing
disqualification is voted for and receives the highest number of votes, and even if the
candidate is proclaimed and has taken his oath of office. The only exception to this rule is in
the case of congressional or senatorial candidates with unresolved disqualification or COC
denial/cancellation cases after the elections. Pursuant to Section 17 of Article VI of the
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Constitution, the COMELEC ipso jure loses jurisdiction over these unfinished cases in favor
of the respective Senate or the House of Representatives electoral tribunals after the
candidates take their oath of office.
Under these circumstances, Velasco's claim of denial of due process is misplaced since he
was given the opportunity to be heard in a proceeding that would result in the annulment of
his proclamation; due process was duly served because its essence is the opportunity to be
heard and this was fully given to Velasco.
In sum, the COMELEC resolutions canceling Velasco's COC are procedurally and
substantively correct, thus negating the grave abuse of discretion that Velasco alleges.
As our final point, we are aware that Velasco won the May 14, 2007 mayoralty election in
Sasmuan. We recognize, too, that we have ruled in the past that a candidate's victory in the
election may be considered a sufficient basis to rule in favor of the candidate sought to be
disqualified if the main issue involves defects in the candidate's certificate of candidacy. We
said that while provisions relating to certificates of candidacy are mandatory in terms, it is
an established rule of interpretation as regards election laws, that mandatory provisions
requiring certain steps before elections will be construed as directory after the elections, to
give effect to the will of the people. We so ruled in Quizon v. COMELEC and Saya-ang v.
COMELEC.31
The present case perhaps presents the proper time and opportunity to fine-tune our above
ruling. We say this with the realization that a blanket and unqualified reading and
application of this ruling can be fraught with dangerous significance for the rule of law and
the integrity of our elections. For one, such blanket/unqualified reading may provide a way
around the law that effectively negates election requirements aimed at providing the
electorate with the basic information to make an informed choice about a candidate's
eligibility and fitness for office.
The first requirement that may fall when an unqualified reading is made is Section 39 of the
LGC which specifies the basic qualifications of local government officials. Equally
susceptive of being rendered toothless is Section 74 of the OEC that sets out what should
be stated in a COC. Section 78 may likewise be emasculated as mere delay in the
resolution of the petition to cancel or deny due course to a COC can render a Section 78
petition useless if a candidate with false COC data wins. To state the obvious, candidates
may risk falsifying their COC qualifications if they know that an election victory will cure any
defect that their COCs may have. Election victory then becomes a magic formula to bypass
election eligibility requirements.
In the process, the rule of law suffers; the clear and unequivocal legal command, framed by
a Congress representing the national will, is rendered inutile because the people of a given
locality has decided to vote a candidate into office despite his or her lack of the
qualifications Congress has determined to be necessary.
In the present case, Velasco is not only going around the law by his claim that he is
registered voter when he is not, as has been determined by a court in a final judgment.
Equally important is that he has made a material misrepresentation under oath in his COC
regarding his qualification. For these violations, he must pay the ultimate price - the
nullification of his election victory. He may also have to account in a criminal court for
making a false statement under oath, but this is a matter for the proper authorities to decide
upon.
We distinguish our ruling in this case from others that we have made in the past by the
clarification that COC defects beyond matters of form and that involve material
misrepresentations cannot avail of the benefit of our ruling that COC mandatory
requirements before elections are considered merely directory after the people shall have
spoken. A mandatory and material election law requirement involves more than the will of
the people in any given locality. Where a material COC misrepresentation under oath is
made, thereby violating both our election and criminal laws, we are faced as well with an
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assault on the will of the people of the Philippines as expressed in our laws. In a choice
between provisions on material qualifications of elected officials, on the one hand, and the
will of the electorate in any given locality, on the other, we believe and so hold that we
cannot choose the electorate will. The balance must always tilt in favor of upholding and
enforcing the law. To rule otherwise is to slowly gnaw at the rule of law.
b. Cases:
i. Veterans Federation Party vs. COMELEC, GR No. 136781, 6
October2000
In sum, we hold that the Comelec gravely abused its discretion in ruling that the
thirty-eight (38) herein respondent parties, organizations and coalitions are each
entitled to a party-list seat, because it glaringly violated two requirements of RA
7941: the two percent threshold and proportional representation.
Indeed, the Comelec and the other parties in these cases - both petitioners and
respondents - have failed to demonstrate that our lawmakers gravely abused their
discretion in prescribing such requirements. By grave abuse of discretion is meant
such capricious or whimsical exercise of judgment equivalent to lack or excess of
jurisdiction.29
Neither can we grant petitioners’ prayer that they each be given additional seats (for
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a total of three each), because granting such plea would plainly and simply violate
the "proportional representation" mandated by Section 11 (b) of RA 7941.
The low turnout of the party-list votes during the 1998 elections should not be
interpreted as a total failure of the law in fulfilling the object of this new system of
representation. It should not be deemed a conclusive indication that the
requirements imposed by RA 7941 wholly defeated the implementation of the
system. Be it remembered that the party-list system, though already popular in
parliamentary democracies, is still quite new in our presidential system. We should
allow it some time to take root in the consciousness of our people and in the heart of
our tripartite form of republicanism. Indeed, the Comelec and the defeated litigants
should not despair.
Quite the contrary, the dismal result of the first election for party-list representatives
should serve as a challenge to our sectoral parties and organizations. It should stir
them to be more active and vigilant in their campaign for representation in the
State's lawmaking body. It should also serve as a clarion call for innovation and
creativity in adopting this novel system of popular democracy.
With adequate information dissemination to the public and more active sectoral
parties, we are confident our people will be more responsive to future party-list
elections. Armed with patience, perseverance and perspicacity, our marginalized
sectors, in time, will fulfill the Filipino dream of full representation in Congress under
the aegis of the party-list system, Philippine style.
Neither the Constitution nor R.A. No. 7941 mandates the filling-up of the entire 20%
allocation of party-list representatives found in the Constitution. The Constitution, in
paragraph 1, Section 5 of Article VI, left the determination of the number of the members of
the House of Representatives to Congress: "The House of Representatives shall be
composed of not more than two hundred and fifty members, unless otherwise fixed by law, x
x x." The 20% allocation of party-list representatives is merely a ceiling; party-list
representatives cannot be more than 20% of the members of the House of Representatives.
However, we cannot allow the continued existence of a provision in the law which will
systematically prevent the constitutionally allocated 20% party-list representatives from being
filled. The three-seat cap, as a limitation to the number of seats that a qualified party-list
organization may occupy, remains a valid statutory device that prevents any party from
dominating the party-list elections. Seats for party-list representatives shall thus be allocated
in accordance with the procedure used in Table 3 above.
However, by a vote of 8-7, the Court decided to continue the ruling in Veterans disallowing
major political parties from participating in the party-list elections, directly or indirectly. Those
who voted to continue disallowing major political parties from the party-list elections joined
Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno in his separate opinion. On the formula to allocate party-list
seats, the Court is unanimous in concurring with this ponencia.
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We hold that the COMELEC did not commit grave abuse of discretion in following
prevailing decisions of this Court in disqualifying petitioners from participating in the
coming 13 May 2013 party-list elections. However, since the Court adopts in this
Decision new parameters in the qualification of national, regional, and sectoral
parties under the party-list system, thereby abandoning the rulings in the decisions
applied by the COMELEC in disqualifying petitioners, we remand to the COMELEC
all the present petitions for the COMELEC to determine who are qualified to register
under the party-list system, and to participate in the coming 13 May 2013 party-list
elections, under the new parameters prescribed in this Decision.
The 1987 Constitution provides the basis for the party-list system of representation.
Simply put, the party-list system is intended to democratize political power by giving
political parties that cannot win in legislative district elections a chance to win seats
in the House of Representatives.50 The voter elects two representatives in the
House of Representatives: one for his or her legislative district, and another for his
or her party-list group or organization of choice. The 1987 Constitution provides:
Section 5, Article VI
(1) The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than two hundred
and fifty members, unless otherwise fixed by law, who shall be elected from
legislative districts apportioned among the provinces, cities, and the
Metropolitan Manila area in accordance with the number of their respective
inhabitants, and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio, and those who,
as provided by law, shall be elected through a party-list system of registered
national, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations.
(2) The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum of the total
number of representatives including those under the party list. For three
consecutive terms after the ratification of this Constitution, one-half of the seats
allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as provided by law, by
selection or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural
communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by law,
except the religious sector.
The COMELEC may look into the truth of whether or not a political party is really
organized along a specific sectoral line. If such is verified or confirmed, the
political party may submit a list of individuals who are actually members of such
sectors. The lists are to be published to give individuals or organizations
belonging to such sector the chance to present evidence contradicting claims of
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membership in the said sector or to question the claims of the existence of such
sectoral organizations or parties. This proceeding shall be conducted by the
COMELEC and shall be summary in character. In other words, COMELEC
decisions on this matter are final and unappealable.
Indisputably, the framers of the 1987 Constitution intended the party-list system to
include not only sectoral parties but also non-sectoral parties. The framers intended the
sectoral parties to constitute a part, but not the entirety, of the party-list system. As
explained by Commissioner Wilfredo Villacorta, political parties can participate in
the party-list system "For as long as they field candidates who come from the
different marginalized sectors that we shall designate in this Constitution."
In disqualifying petitioners, the COMELEC used the criteria prescribed in Ang Bagong
Bayani and BANAT. Ang Bagong Bayani laid down the guidelines for qualifying those
who desire to participate in the party-list system:
First, the political party, sector, organization or coalition must represent the
marginalized and underrepresented groups identified in Section 5 of RA 7941. x x x
Second, while even major political parties are expressly allowed by RA 7941 and the
Constitution to participate in the party-list system, they must comply with the declared
statutory policy of enabling "Filipino citizens belonging to marginalized and
underrepresented sectors x x x to be elected to the House of Representatives." x x x.
xxxx
Third, x x x the religious sector may not be represented in the party-list system. x x x.
xxxx
(4) It is receiving support from any foreign government, foreign political party,
foundation, organization, whether directly or through any of its officers or members
or indirectly through third parties for partisan election purposes;
(5) It violates or fails to comply with laws, rules or regulations relating to elections;
(8) It fails to participate in the last two (2) preceding elections or fails to obtain at least
two per centum (2%) of the votes cast under the party-list system in the two (2)
preceding elections for the constituency in which it has registered."
Fifth, the party or organization must not be an adjunct of, or a project organized or an
entity funded or assisted by, the government. x x x.
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xxxx
Sixth, the party must not only comply with the requirements of the law; its nominees
must likewise do so. Section 9 of RA 7941 reads as follows:
In case of a nominee of the youth sector, he must at least be twenty-five (25) but not
more than thirty (30) years of age on the day of the election. Any youth sectoral
representative who attains the age of thirty (30) during his term shall be allowed to
continue in office until the expiration of his term."
Seventh, not only the candidate party or organization must represent marginalized and
underrepresented sectors; so also must its nominees. x x x.
Eighth, x x x the nominee must likewise be able to contribute to the formulation and
enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole. (Emphasis
supplied)
In 2009, by a vote of 8-7 in BANAT, this Court stretched the Ang Bagong Bayani ruling
further. In BANAT, the majority officially excluded major political parties from
participating in party-list elections, abandoning even the lip-service that Ang Bagong
Bayani accorded to the 1987 Constitution and R.A.No. 7941 that major political parties
can participate in party-list elections.
The minority in BANAT, however, believed that major political parties can participate in
the party-list system through their sectoral wings. The minority expressed that
"[e]xcluding the major political parties in party-list elections is manifestly against the
Constitution, the intent of the Constitutional Commission, and R.A. No. 7941. This Court
cannot engage in socio-political engineering and judicially legislate the exclusion of
major political parties from the party-list elections in patent violation of the Constitution
and the law." The experimentations in socio-political engineering have only resulted in
confusion and absurdity in the party-list system. Such experimentations, in clear
contravention of the 1987 Constitution and R.A. No. 7941, must now come to an end.
Thus, we remand all the present petitions to the COMELEC. In determining who may
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participate in the coming 13 May 2013 and subsequent party-list elections, the
COMELEC shall adhere to the following parameters:
1. Three different groups may participate in the party-list system: (1) national parties or
organizations, (2) regional parties or organizations, and (3) sectoral parties or
organizations.
3. Political parties can participate in party-list elections provided they register under the
party-list system and do not field candidates in legislative district elections. A
political party, whether major or not, that fields candidates in legislative district
elections can participate in party-list elections only through its sectoral wing that can
separately register under the party-list system. The sectoral wing is by itself an
independent sectoral party, and is linked to a political party through a coalition.
The COMELEC excluded from participating in the 13 May 2013 party-list elections
those that did not satisfy these two criteria: (1) all national, regional, and sectoral
groups or organizations must represent the "marginalized and underrepresented"
sectors, and (2) all nominees must belong to the "marginalized and underrepresented"
sector they represent. Petitioners may have been disqualified by the COMELEC
because as political or regional parties they are not organized along sectoral lines and
do not represent the "marginalized and underrepresented." Also, petitioners' nominees
who do not belong to the sectors they represent may have been disqualified, although
they may have a track record of advocacy for their sectors. Likewise, nominees of non-
sectoral parties may have been disqualified because they do not belong to any sector.
Moreover, a party may have been disqualified because one or more of its nominees
failed to qualify, even if the party has at least one remaining qualified nominee. As
discussed above, the disqualification of petitioners, and their nominees, under such
circumstances is contrary to the 1987 Constitution and R.A. No. 7941.
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Section 8. Nomination of Party-List Representatives.-Each registered party,
organization or coalition shall submit to the COMELEC not later that forty-five
(45) days before the election a list of names, not less than five (5), from which
party-list representatives shall be chosen in case it obtains the required number
of votes.
A person may be nominated in one (1) list only. Only persons who have given
their consent in writing may be named in the list. The list shall not include any
candidate of any elective office or a person who has lost his bid for an elective
office in the immediately preceding election. No change of names or alteration
of the order of nominees shall be allowed after the same shall have been
submitted to the COMELEC except in cases where the nominee dies, or
withdraws in writing his nomination, becomes incapacitated in which case the
name of the substitute nominee shall be placed last in the list. Incumbent
sectoral representatives in the House of Representatives who are nominated in
the party-list system shall not be considered resigned.
The provision is daylight clear. The Legislature thereby deprived the party-list
organization of the right to change its nominees or to alter the order of
nominees once the list is submitted to the COMELEC, except when: (a) the
nominee dies; (b) the nominee withdraws in writing his nomination; or (c) the
nominee becomes incapacitated. The provision must be read literally because
its language is plain and free from ambiguity, and expresses a single, definite,
and sensible meaning. Such meaning is conclusively presumed to be the
meaning that the Legislature has intended to convey. Even where the courts
should be convinced that the Legislature really intended some other meaning,
and even where the literal interpretation should defeat the very purposes of the
enactment, the explicit declaration of the Legislature is still the law, from which
the courts must not depart.34 When the law speaks in clear and categorical
language, there is no reason for interpretation or construction, but only for
application.35 Accordingly, an administrative agency tasked to implement a
statute may not construe it by expanding its meaning where its provisions are
clear and unambiguous
IV. Candidacy
1. Qualifications/Eligibilities of Candidates
-This Court will not permit the anomaly of a person sitting as provincial
governor in this country while owing exclusive allegiance to another country.
The fact that he was elected by the people of Sorsogon does not excuse this
patent violation of the salutary rule limiting public office and employment only
to the citizens of this country. The qualifications prescribed for elective office
cannot be erased by the electorate alone. The will of the people as expressed
through the ballot cannot cure the vice of ineligibility, especially if they
mistakenly believed, as in this case, that the candidate was qualified.
Obviously, this rule requires strict application when the deficiency is lack of
citizenship. If a person seeks to serve in the Republic of the Philippines, he
must owe his total loyalty to this country only, abjuring and renouncing all
fealty and fidelity to any other state.
It is true as the petitioner points out that the status of the natural-born citizen is
favored by the Constitution and our laws, which is all the more reason why it
should be treasured like a pearl of great price. But once it is surrendered and
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renounced, the gift is gone and cannot be lightly restored. This country of ours,
for all its difficulties and limitations, is like a jealous and possessive mother.
Once rejected, it is not quick to welcome back with eager arms its prodigal if
repentant children. The returning renegade must show, by an express and
unequivocal act, the renewal of his loyalty and love.
On May 13, 2013, Hayudini won the mayoralty race in South Ubian, Tawi-
Tawi. He was proclaimed and, consequently, took his oath of office.
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Section 74 requires the candidate to state under oath in his CoC "that he is
eligible for said office." A candidate is eligible if he has a right to run for the
public office. If a candidate is not actually eligible because he is not a registered
voter in the municipality where he intends to be elected, but still he states under
oath in his certificate of candidacy that he is eligible to run for public office, then
the candidate clearly makes a false material representation, a ground to support
a petition under Section 78. It is interesting to note that Hayudini was, in fact,
initially excluded by the ERB as a voter. On November 30, 2012, the ERB
issued a certificate confirming the disapproval of Hayudini’s petition for
registration. This is precisely the reason why he needed to file a Petition for
Inclusion in the Permanent List of Voters in Barangay Bintawlan before the
MCTC. Thus, when he stated in his CoC that "he is eligible for said office,"
Hayudini made a clear and material misrepresentation as to his eligibility,
because he was not, in fact, registered as a voter in Barangay Bintawlan.
Had the COMELEC not given due course to Omar’s petition solely based on
procedural deficiencies, South Ubian would have a mayor who is not even a
registered voter in the locality he is supposed to govern, thereby creating a
ridiculously absurd and outrageous situation. Hence, the COMELEC was
accurate in cancelling Hayudini’s certificate of candidacy. Hayudini likewise
protests that it was a grave error on the part of the COMELEC to have declared
his proclamation null and void when no petition for annulment of his
proclamation was ever filed. What petitioner seems to miss, however, is that the
nullification of his proclamation as a winning candidate is also a legitimate
outcome − a necessary legal consequence − of the cancellation of his CoC
pursuant to Section 78. A CoC cancellation proceeding essentially partakes of
the nature of a disqualification case. The cancellation of a CoC essentially
renders the votes cast for the candidate whose certificate of candidacy has
been cancelled as stray votes. If the disqualification or CoC cancellation or
denial case is not resolved before the election day, the proceedings shall
continue even after the election and the proclamation of the winner. Meanwhile,
the candidate may be voted for and even be proclaimed as the winner, but the
COMELEC's jurisdiction to deny due course and cancel his or her CoC
continues. This rule likewise applies even if the candidate facing disqualification
has already taken his oath of office. The only exception to this rule is in the case
of congressional and senatorial candidates where the COMELEC ipso jure
loses jurisdiction in favor of either the Senate or the House of Representatives
Electoral Tribunal after the candidates have been proclaimed, taken the proper
oath, and also assumed office.
Since Hayudini was never a valid candidate for the position of the Municipal
Mayor of South Ubian, Tawi-Tawi, the votes cast for him should be considered
stray votes, Consequently, the COMELEC properly proclaimed Salma Omar,
who garnered the highest number of votes in the remaining qualified candidates
for the mayoralty post, as the duly-elected Mayor of South Ubian, Tawi Tawi.
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SECTION 1. Coverage. - All candidates for public office, both national and
local, in the May 10, 2004 Synchronized National and Local Elections shall
undergo mandatory drug test in government forensic laboratories or any drug
testing laboratories monitored and accredited by the Department of Health.
SEC. 3. x x x
On March 25, 2004, in addition to the drug certificates filed with their
respective offices, the Comelec Offices and employees concerned shall
submit to the Law Department two (2) separate lists of candidates. The first
list shall consist of those candidates who complied with the mandatory drug
test while the second list shall consist of those candidates who failed to
comply x x x.
SEC. 5. Effect of failure to undergo mandatory drug test and file drug test
certificate. - No person elected to any public office shall enter upon the duties
of his office until he has undergone mandatory drug test and filed with the
offices enumerated under Section 2 hereof the drug test certificate herein
required. (Emphasis supplied.)
Pimentel invokes as legal basis for his petition Sec. 3, Article VI of the
Constitution, which states:
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i. Update on SK qualifications: RA 10742,
Sec.10
c. Citizenship
Who are Filipino citizens?
In Sum –
(1) The Court, in the exercise of its power of judicial review, possesses
jurisdiction over the petition in G. R. No. 161824, filed under Rule 64, in
relation to Rule 65, of the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure. G.R. No.
161824 assails the resolution of the COMELEC for alleged grave abuse
of discretion in dismissing, for lack of merit, the petition in SPA No. 04-
003 which has prayed for the disqualification of respondent FPJ from
running for the position of President in the 10th May 2004 national
elections on the contention that FPJ has committed material
representation in his certificate of candidacy by representing himself to
be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines.
(2) The Court must dismiss, for lack of jurisdiction and prematurity, the
petitions in G. R. No. 161434 and No. 161634 both having been directly
elevated to this Court in the latter’s capacity as the only tribunal to
resolve a presidential and vice-presidential election contest under the
Constitution. Evidently, the primary jurisdiction of the Court can directly
be invoked only after, not before, the elections are held.
(4) But while the totality of the evidence may not establish conclusively that
respondent FPJ is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, the evidence
on hand still would preponderate in his favor enough to hold that he
cannot be held guilty of having made a material misrepresentation in his
certificate of candidacy in violation of Section 78, in relation to Section
74, of the Omnibus Election Code. Petitioner has utterly failed to
substantiate his case before the Court, notwithstanding the ample
opportunity given to the parties to present their position and evidence,
and to prove whether or not there has been material misrepresentation,
which, as so ruled in Romualdez-Marcos vs. COMELEC, must not only
be material, but also deliberate and willful.
No Costs.
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rendered inert and meaningless for them by mechanical judicial fiat.
Dura lex sed lex is not a callous and unthinking maxim to be deployed
against other reasonable interpretations of our basic law. It does command
us to consider legal text, but always with justice in mind.
The Senate Electoral Tribunal acted well within the bounds of its
constitutional competence when it ruled that private respondent is a natural-
born citizen qualified to sit as Senator of the Republic. Contrary to
petitioner's arguments, there is no basis for annulling its assailed Decision
and Resolution.
Requirements for a former Filipino who wants to run for public Office
after repatration: (for purposes of running an office)
-oath of allegiance
-Personal Sworn renunciation of any foreign citizenship
-Compliance with the requirements as a voter (third requirement)
To begin with, dual citizenship is different from dual allegiance. The former
arises when, as a result of the concurrent application of the different laws of
two or more states, a person is simultaneously considered a national by the
said states. For instance, such a situation may arise when a person whose
parents are citizens of a state which adheres to the principle of jus sanguinis
is born in a state which follows the doctrine of jus soli. Such a person, ipso
facto and without any voluntary act on his part, is concurrently considered a
citizen of both states. Considering the citizenship clause (Art. IV) of our
Constitution, it is possible for the following classes of citizens of the
Philippines to possess dual citizenship:
(1) Those born of Filipino fathers and/or mothers in foreign countries which
follow the principle of jus soli;
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(2) Those born in the Philippines of Filipino mothers and alien fathers if by
the laws of their fathers' country such children are citizens of that country;
(3) Those who marry aliens if by the laws of the latter's country the former
are considered citizens, unless by their act or omission they are deemed
to have renounced Philippine citizenship.
Dual allegiance, on the other hand, refers to the situation in which a person
simultaneously owes, by some positive act, loyalty to two or more states.
While dual citizenship is involuntary, dual allegiance is the result of an
individual's volition.
Thus, the mere fact that private respondent Rosalind Ybasco Lopez was
a holder of an Australian passport and had an alien certificate of
registration are not acts constituting an effective renunciation of
citizenship and do not militate against her claim of Filipino citizenship. For
renunciation to effectively result in the loss of citizenship, the same must
be express. 8 As held by this court in the aforecited case of Aznar, an
application for an alien certificate of registration does not amount to an
express renunciation or repudiation of one’s citizenship. The application
of the herein private respondent for an alien certificate of registration, and
her holding of an Australian passport, as in the case of Mercado v.
Manzano, were mere acts of assertion of her Australian citizenship before
she effectively renounced the same. Thus, at the most, private
respondent had dual citizenship — she was an Australian and a Filipino,
as well.
Moreover, under Commonwealth Act 63, the fact that a child of Filipino
parents was born in another country has not been included as a ground
for losing one’s Philippine citizenship. Since private respondent did not
lose or renounce her Philippine citizenship, petitioner’s claim that
respondent must go through the process of repatriation does not hold
water.
Petitioner also maintains that even on the assumption that the private
respondent had dual citizenship, still, she is disqualified to run for
governor of Davao Oriental; citing Section 40 of Republic Act 7160
otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, which states:
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". . . the phrase ‘dual citizenship’ in R.A. No. 7160, ... 40 (d) and in R.A.
No. 7854, . . . 20 must be understood as referring to ‘dual allegiance’.
Consequently, persons with mere dual citizenship do not fall under
this disqualification."
Thus, the fact that the private respondent had dual citizenship did not
automatically disqualify her from running for a public office. Furthermore,
it was ruled that for candidates with dual citizenship, it is enough that they
elect Philippine citizenship upon the filing of their certificate of candidacy,
to terminate their status as persons with dual citizenship. The filing of a
certificate of candidacy sufficed to renounce foreign citizenship,
effectively removing any disqualification as a dual citizen. This is so
because in the certificate of candidacy, one declares that he/she is a
Filipino citizen and that he/she will support and defend the Constitution of
the Philippines and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto. Such
declaration, which is under oath, operates as an effective renunciation of
foreign citizenship. Therefore, when the herein private respondent filed
her certificate of candidacy in 1992, such fact alone terminated her
Australian citizenship:
Petitioner is correct insofar as the general rule is concerned, i.e. the principle
of res judicata generally does not apply in cases hinging on the issue of
citizenship. However, in the case of Burca v. Republic, an exception to this
general rule was recognized. The Court ruled in that case that in order that
the doctrine of res judicata may be applied in cases of citizenship, the
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following must be present:
Although the general rule was set forth in the case of Moy Ya Lim Yao, the
case did not foreclose the weight of prior rulings on citizenship. It elucidated
that reliance may somehow be placed on these antecedent official findings,
though not really binding, to make the effort easier or simpler. Indeed, there
appears sufficient basis to rely on the prior rulings of the Commission on
Elections in SPA.-No. 95-066 and EPC 92-54 which resolved the issue of
citizenship in favor of the herein private Respondent. The evidence adduced
by petitioner is substantially the same evidence presented in these two prior
cases. Petitioner failed to show any new evidence or supervening event to
warrant a reversal of such prior resolutions. However, the procedural issue
notwithstanding, considered on the merits, the petition cannot prosper.
from running for the position of vice-mayor for his failure to make a personal and
sworn renunciation of his American citizenship.
We find no reason to depart from the mandatory nature infused by the above rulings
to the phrase "sworn renunciation". The language of the provision is plain and
unambiguous. It expresses a single, definite, and sensible meaning and must thus be
read literally.The foreign citizenship must be formally rejected through an affidavit
duly sworn before an officer authorized to administer oath.
In fine, R.A. No. 9225 categorically demands natural-born Filipinos who re-acquire
their citizenship and seek elective office, to execute a personal and sworn
renunciation of any and all foreign citizenships before an authorized public officer
prior to or simultaneous to the filing of their certificates of candidacy, to qualify as
candidates in Philippine elections. The rule applies to all those who have re-acquired
their Filipino citizenship, like petitioner, without regard as to whether they are still dual
citizens or not. It is a pre-requisite imposed for the exercise of the right to run for
public office.
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-Private respondent is a natural born Filipino, who applied for an
Australian citizenship. He applied for reacquisition of her
citizenship in order to run for public office. However, she did not
renounce her allegiance to other citizenship of another country.
Arnado being a non-candidate, the votes cast in his favor should not
have been counted. This leaves Maquiling as the qualified candidate
who obtained the highest number of votes. Therefore, the rule on
succession under the Local Government Code will not apply.
d. Residency
i. Change of Domicile
1. Sabili vs. COMELEC, 670 SCRA 664(2012)
In view of this Court’s finding that petitioner has not misrepresented his
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residence at Pinagtong-ulan and the duration thereof, there is no need to
further discuss whether there was material and deliberate misrepresentation
of the residency qualification in his COC.
As a final note, we do not lose sight of the fact that Lipa City voters
manifested their own judgment regarding the qualifications of petitioner
when they voted for him, notwithstanding that the issue of his residency
qualification had been raised prior to the elections. Petitioner has garnered
the highest number of votes (55,268 votes as opposed to the 48,825 votes in
favor of his opponent, Oscar Gozos)95 legally cast for the position of Mayor
of Lipa City and has consequently been proclaimed duly elected municipal
Mayor of Lipa City during the last May 2010 elections96
e. Age
i. Garvida v. Sales, G.R. No. 124893, April 18,1997
June 11, 1974 – 22 on June 11 1996
"three-term limit rule" to apply, two conditions must concur: first, that the
official concerned has been elected for three consecutive terms in the
same local government post; and second, that he has fully served three
consecutive terms.
The facts involved in the present case are similar to those involved
There can be no quibbling that, during the term 2004-2007, and with the
enforcement of the decision of the election protest in his favor, Abundo
assumed the mayoralty post only on May 9, 2006 and served the term
until June 30, 2007 or for a period of a little over one year and one
month. xxx It cannot be said that Mayor Abundo was able to serve fully
the entire 2004-2007 term to which he was otherwise entitled.
Xxx
Needless to stress, the almost two-year period during which Abundo 's
opponent actually served as Mayor is and ought to be considered an
involuntary interruption of Abundo 's continuity of service. An involuntary
interrupted term,
Xxx
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Applying the foregoing in the instant case, since Respondent did not
serve the full 2007-2010 term, it cannot be considered as one term for
purposes of counting the three-term threshold. Consequently,
Respondent cannot be said to have continuously served as Governor for
three consecutive terms prior to the 2016 elections.
2. An elective official, who has served for three consecutive terms and
who did not seek the elective position for what could be his fourth
term, but later won in a recall election, had an interruption in the
continuity of the official’s service. For, he had become in the interim,
i.e., from the end of the 3rd term up to the recall election, a private
citizen (Adormeo and Socrates).
Abundo argues that the RTC and the COMELEC erred in uniformly ruling
that he had already served three consecutive terms and is, thus, barred
by the constitutional three-term limit rule to run for the current 2010-2013
term. In gist, Abundo arguments run thusly:
1. Aldovino, Jr. is not on all fours with the present case as the former
dealt with preventive suspension which does not interrupt the
continuity of service of a term;
5. The COMELEC missed the point when it ruled that there was no
interruption in the service of Abundo since what he considered as an
"interruption" of his 2004-2007 term occurred before his term started;
and
Both respondents Vega and the COMELEC counter that the ratio
decidendi of Aldovino, Jr. finds application in the instant case. The
COMELEC ruled that Abundo did not lose title to the office as his victory
in the protest case confirmed his entitlement to said office and he was
only unable to temporarily discharge the functions of the office during the
pendency of the election protest.
We note that this present case of Abundo deals with the effects of an
election protest, for which the rulings in Lonzanida, Ong, Rivera and
Dizon appear to be more attuned than the case of Aldovino Jr., the
interrupting effects of the imposition of a preventive suspension being the
very lis mota in the Aldovino, Jr. case. But just the same, We find that
Abundo’s case presents a different factual backdrop.
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instructive, and consider several doctrines established from the 1998
case of Borja, Jr. up to the most recent case of Aldovino Jr. in 2009, as
potent aids in arriving at this Court’s conclusion.
The intention behind the three-term limit rule was not only to abrogate
the "monopolization of political power" and prevent elected officials from
breeding "proprietary interest in their position" but also to "enhance the
people’s freedom of choice." In the words of Justice Vicente V. Mendoza,
"while people should be protected from the evils that a monopoly of
power may bring about, care should be taken that their freedom of
choice is not unduly curtailed."
In the present case, the Court finds Abundo’s case meritorious and
declares that the two-year period during which his opponent, Torres, was
serving as mayor should be considered as an interruption, which
effectively removed Abundo’s case from the ambit of the three-term limit
rule.
It bears to stress at this juncture that Abundo, for the 2004 election for
the term starting July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2007, was the duly elected
mayor. Otherwise how explain his victory in his election protest against
Torres and his consequent proclamation as duly elected mayor.
Accordingly, the first requisite for the application of the disqualification
rule based on the three-term limit that the official has been elected is
satisfied.
This thus brings us to the second requisite of whether or not Abundo had
served for "three consecutive terms," as the phrase is juridically
understood, as mayor of Viga, Catanduanes immediately before the
2010 national and local elections. Subsumed to this issue is of course
the question of whether or not there was an effective involuntary
interruption during the three three-year periods, resulting in the disruption
of the continuity of Abundo’s mayoralty.
There can be no quibbling that, during the term 2004-2007, and with the
enforcement of the decision of the election protest in his favor, Abundo
assumed the mayoralty post only on May 9, 2006 and served the term
until June 30, 2007 or for a period of a little over one year and one
month. Consequently, unlike Mayor Ong in Ong and Mayor Morales in
Rivera, it cannot be said that Mayor Abundo was able to serve fully the
entire 2004-2007 term to which he was otherwise entitled.
In the present case, during the period of one year and ten months, or
from June 30, 2004 until May 8, 2006, Abundo cannot plausibly claim,
even if he wanted to, that he could hold office of the mayor as a matter of
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right. Neither can he assert title to the same nor serve the functions of
the said elective office. The reason is simple: during that period, title to
hold such office and the corresponding right to assume the functions
thereof still belonged to his opponent, as proclaimed election winner.
Accordingly, Abundo actually held the office and exercised the functions
as mayor only upon his declaration, following the resolution of the
protest, as duly elected candidate in the May 2004 elections or for only a
little over one year and one month. Consequently, since the legally
contemplated full term for local elected officials is three (3) years, it
cannot be said that Abundo fully served the term 2004-2007. The reality
on the ground is that Abundo actually served less.
In the case at bar, respondent cannot be said to have lost his title to the
office. On the contrary, he actively sought entitlement to the office when
he lodged the election protest case. And respondent-appellant’s victory
in the said case is a final confirmation that he was validly elected for the
mayoralty post of Viga, Catanduanes in 2004-2007. At most, respondent-
appellant was only unable to temporarily discharge the functions of the
office to which he was validly elected during the pendency of the election
protest, but he never lost title to the said office.72 (Emphasis added.)
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of an inflexible rule." Therefore we cannot subscribe to the argument that
since respondent Abundo served only a portion of the term, his 2004-
2007 "term" should not be considered for purposes of the application of
the three term limit rule. When the framers of the Constitution drafted
and incorporated the three term limit rule, it is clear that reference is to
the term, not the actual length of the service the public official may
render. Therefore, one’s actual service of term no matter how long or
how short is immaterial.
In fine, the COMELEC ruled against Abundo on the theory that the length
of the actual service of the term is immaterial in his case as he was only
temporarily unable to discharge his functions as mayor.
The COMELEC’s case disposition and its heavy reliance on Aldovino, Jr.
do not commend themselves for concurrence. The Court cannot simply
find its way clear to understand the poll body’s determination that
Abundo was only temporarily unable to discharge his functions as mayor
during the pendency of the election protest.
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said to have retained title to the mayoralty office as he was at that time
not the duly proclaimed winner who would have the legal right to assume
and serve such elective office. For another, not having been declared
winner yet, Abundo cannot be said to have lost title to the office since
one cannot plausibly lose a title which, in the first place, he did not have.
Thus, for all intents and purposes, even if the belated declaration in the
election protest accords him title to the elective office from the start of the
term, Abundo was not entitled to the elective office until the election
protest was finally resolved in his favor.1âwphi1
Consequently, the period during which Abundo was not serving as mayor
should be considered as a rest period or break in his service because, as
earlier stated, prior to the judgment in the election protest, it was
Abundo’s opponent, Torres, who was exercising such powers by virtue of
the still then valid proclamation.
As a final note, We reiterate that Abundo’s case differs from other cases
involving the effects of an election protest because while Abundo was, in
the final reckoning, the winning candidate, he was the one deprived of
his right and opportunity to serve his constituents. To a certain extent,
Abundo was a victim of an imperfect election system. While admittedly
the Court does not possess the mandate to remedy such imperfections,
the Constitution has clothed it with enough authority to establish a
fortress against the injustices it may bring.
In this regard, We find that a contrary ruling would work damage and
cause grave injustice to Abundo––an elected official who was belatedly
declared as the winner and assumed office for only a short period of the
term. If in the cases of Lonzanida and Dizon, this Court ruled in favor of a
losing candidate––or the person who was adjudged not legally entitled to
hold the contested public office but held it anyway––We find more
reason to rule in favor of a winning candidate-protestant who, by popular
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vote, deserves title to the public office but whose opportunity to hold the
same was halted by an invalid proclamation.
Also, more than the injustice that may be committed against Abundo is
the injustice that may likewise be committed against the people of Viga,
Catanduanes by depriving them of their right to choose their leaders.
Like the framers of the Constitution, We bear in mind that We "cannot
arrogate unto ourselves the right to decide what the people want"76 and
hence, should, as much as possible, "allow the people to exercise their
own sense of proportion and rely on their own strength to curtail the
power when it overreaches itself." For democracy draws strength from
the choice the people make which is the same choice We are likewise
bound to protect.
All told, applying the established principles of statutory construction, and more
significantly, considering the higher interests of preserving the sanctity of our
elections, the Court holds that Section 40(a) of the LGC has not removed the
penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification which petitioner continues to
suffer.1âwphi1 Thereby, he remains disqualified to run for any elective office
pursuant to Article 30 of the RPC.
2. Disqualification of Candidates
a. Grounds for Disqualification
i. To All Candidates – Omnibus Election Code, Secs. 68 and 12
SECTION 12. Disqualifications. – Any person who has been declared by competent
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authority insane or incompetent, or has been sentenced by final judgment for
subversion, insurrection, rebellion or for any offense for which he has been
sentenced to a penalty of more than eighteen months or for a crime involving moral
turpitude, shall be disqualified to be a candidate and to hold any office, unless he
has been given plenary pardon or granted amnesty.
(a) Those sentenced by final judgment for an offense involving moral turpitude or for
an offense punishable by one (1) year or more of imprisonment, within two (2)
years after serving sentence;
(c) Those convicted by final judgment for violating the oath of allegiance to the
Republic;
(f) Permanent residents in a foreign country or those who have acquired the right to
reside abroad and continue to avail of the same right after the effectivity of this
Code; and
Records clearly show that: (1) Richard was held ineligible as a congressional
candidate for the Fourth District of Leyte due to his failure to comply with the one
year residency requirement; (2) Juntilla’s petition prayed for the denial of due course
to and/or cancellation of his CoC; and (3) the COMELEC First Division granted the
foregoing petition without any qualification. By these undisputed and essential facts
alone, the HRET should not have adopted the COMELEC En Banc’s erroneous
finding that the COMELEC First Division’s February 17, 2010 Resolution "speaks
only of "disqualification and not of cancellation of Richard’s CoC"36 and thereby,
sanctioned the substitution of private respondent.
Private respondent concludes from the above that petitioner had no legal basis to
claim that the HRET, when reference to the qualification/s of Members of the House
of Representatives is concerned, is "co-equal", to the COMELEC respecting the
matter of eligibility and qualification of a member of the House of Representatives.
The truth is the other way around, because the COMELEC is subservient to the
HRET when the dispute or contest at issue refers to the eligibility and/or qualification
of a Member of the House of Representatives. A petition for quo warranto is within
the exclusive jurisdiction of the HRET as sole judge, and cannot be considered
forum shopping even if another body may have passed upon in administrative or
quasi-judicial proceedings the issue of the Member’s qualification while the Member
was still a candidate. There is forum-shopping only where two cases involve the
same parties and the same cause of action. The two cases here are distinct and
dissimilar in their nature and character. (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)
Notably, the phrase "election, returns, and qualifications" should be interpreted in its
totality as referring to all matters affecting the validity of the contestee’s title. More
particularly, the term "qualifications" refers to matters that could be raised in a quo
warranto proceeding against the pro-claimed winner, such as his disloyalty or
ineligibility, or the inadequacy of his certificate of candidacy. 60 As used in Section 74
of the OEC, the word "eligible" means having the right to run for elective public
office, that is, having all the qualifications and none of the ineligibilities to run for the
public office.61 In this relation, private respondent’s own qualification to run for public
office – which was inextricably linked to her husband’s own qualifications due to her
substitution – was the proper subject of quo warranto proceedings falling within the
exclusive jurisdiction of the HRET and independent from any previous proceedings
before the COMELEC, lest the jurisdiction divide between the two be blurred.
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Nonetheless, it must be pointed out that the HRET’s independence is not without
limitation. As earlier mentioned, the Court retains certiorari jurisdiction over the
HRET if only to check whether or not it has gravely abused its discretion. In this
regard, the Court does not endeavor to denigrate nor undermine the HRET’s
independence; rather, it merely fulfills its duty to ensure that the Constitution and the
laws are upheld through the exercise of its power of judicial review.
In fine, the Court observes that the HRET wantonly disregarded the law by
deliberately adopting the COMELEC En Banc’s flawed findings regarding private
respondent’s eligibility to run for public office which essentially stemmed from her
substitution. In this light, it cannot be gainsaid that the HRET gravely abused its
discretion.
Owing to the lack of proper substitution in its case, private respondent was therefore
not a bona fide candidate for the position of Representative for the Fourth District of
Leyte when she ran for office, which means that she could not have been elected.
Considering this pronouncement, there exists no cogent reason to further dwell on
the other issues respecting private respondent’s own qualification to office.
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. Accordingly, the March 22, 2012 Decision
rendered by the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal in HRET Case No. 10-
031 (QW) is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE.
Former President Estrada was granted an absolute pardon that fully restored
allhis civil and political rights, which naturally includes the right to seek public
elective office, the focal point of this controversy. The wording of the pardon
extended to former President Estrada is complete, unambiguous, and
unqualified. It is likewise unfettered by Articles 36 and 41 of the Revised Penal
Code. The only reasonable, objective, and constitutional interpretation of the
language of the pardon is that the same in fact conforms to Articles 36 and 41 of
the Revised Penal Code. Recall that the petition for disqualification filed by
Risos-Vidal against former President Estrada, docketed as SPA No. 13-211
(DC), was anchored on Section 40 of the LGC, in relation to Section 12 of the
OEC, that is, having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment of
one year or more, and involving moral turpitude, former President Estrada must
be disqualified to run for and hold public elective office notwithstanding the fact
that he is a grantee of a pardon that includes a statement expressing "[h]e is
hereby restored to his civil and political rights." Risos-Vidal theorizes that former
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President Estrada is disqualified from running for Mayor of Manila inthe May 13,
2013 Elections, and remains disqualified to hold any local elective post despite
the presidential pardon extended to him in 2007 by former President Arroyo for
the reason that it (pardon) did not expressly provide for the remission of the
penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification, particularly the restoration of his
(former President Estrada) right to vote and bevoted upon for public office. She
invokes Articles 36 and 41 of the Revised Penal Code as the foundations of her
theory.
He shall also have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a
majority of all the Members of the Congress.
viii. Effect of Penal Provision to the LGC Provision Which Allows Prior
Convict to Run After Two (2) Years - Jalosjos vs. Comelec, G.R. No.
205033, June 18,2013
ix. Administratively‘RemovedfromOffice’Defined-
Albaniavs.Comelec,G.R.No. 226792, June 7,2017
Second, the condonation doctrine is a peculiar jurisprudential creation that has persisted as
a defense of elective officials to escape administrative liability. It is the first time that the legal
intricacies of this doctrine have been brought to light; thus, this is a situation of exceptional
character which this Court must ultimately resolve. Further, since the doctrine has served as
a perennial obstacle against exacting public accountability from the multitude of elective local
officials throughout the years, it is indubitable that paramount public interest is involved.
Third, the issue on the validity of the condonation doctrine clearly requires the formulation of
controlling principles to guide the bench, the bar, and the public. The issue does not only
involve an in-depth exegesis of administrative law principles, but also puts to the forefront of
legal discourse the potency of the accountability provisions of the 1987 Constitution. The
Court owes it to the bench, the bar, and the public to explain how this controversial doctrine
came about, and now, its reasons for abandoning the same in view of its relevance on the
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parameters of public office.
And fourth, the defense of condonation has been consistently invoked by elective local
officials against the administrative charges filed against them. To provide a sample size, the
Ombudsman has informed the Court that "for the period of July 2013 to December 2014
alone, 85 cases from the Luzon Office and 24 cases from the Central Office were dismissed
on the ground of condonation. Thus, in just one and a half years, over a hundred cases of
alleged misconduct - involving infractions such as dishonesty, oppression, gross neglect of
duty and grave misconduct - were placed beyond the reach of the Ombudsman's
investigatory and prosecutorial powers."[315] Evidently, this fortifies the finding that the case is
capable of repetition and must therefore, not evade review.
In any event, the abandonment of a doctrine is wholly within the prerogative of the Court. As
mentioned, it is its own jurisprudential creation and may therefore, pursuant to its mandate to
uphold and defend the Constitution, revoke it notwithstanding supervening events that render
the subject of discussion moot.
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