Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SO ORDERED.
_______________
* EN BANC.
259
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 1/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
260
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 2/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
261
262
263
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 5/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
264
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 6/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
265
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 7/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
266
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 8/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
NACHURA, J.:
“In our predisposition to discover the ‘original intent’ of
a statute, courts become the unfeeling pillars of the status
quo. Little do we realize that statutes or even constitutions
are bundles of compromises thrown our way by their
framers. Unless we exercise vigilance, the statute may
already be out of tune and irrelevant to our day.”1 It is in
this light that we should address the instant case.
Before the Court is a petition for prohibition and
certiorari, with prayer for the issuance of a temporary
restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction,
assailing Section 4(a) of Resolution No. 8678 of the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC). In view of pressing
contemporary events, the petition begs for immediate
resolution.
The Antecedents
_______________
268
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 9/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
269
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 10/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
2 Emphasis supplied.
270
that the voter sees all of the ballot options on all pages before
completing his or her vote and to allow the voter to review and
change all ballot choices prior to completing and casting his or her
ballot. Under each position to be filled, the names of candidates
shall be arranged alphabetically by surname and uniformly
indicated using the same type size. The maiden or married name
shall be listed in the official ballot, as preferred by the female
candidate. Under each proposition to be vote upon, the choices
should be uniformly indicated using the same font and size.
“A fixed space where the chairman of the board of election
inspectors shall affix his/her signature to authenticate the official
ballot shall be provided.
“For this purpose, the Commission shall set the deadline
for the filing of certificate of candidacy/petition of
registration/manifestation to participate in the election.
Any person who files his certificate of candidacy within
this period shall only be considered as a candidate at the
start of the campaign period for which he filed his
certificate of candidacy: Provided, That, unlawful acts or
omissions applicable to a candidate shall take effect only
upon the start of the aforesaid campaign period: Provided,
finally, That any person holding a public appointive office
or position, including active members of the armed forces,
and officers and employees in government-owned or -
controlled corporations, shall be considered ipso facto
271
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 12/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
as, but not limited to, bar codes, holograms, color shifting ink,
microprinting, are provided on the ballot.
“The official ballots shall be printed and distributed to each
city/municipality at the rate of one ballot for every registered
voter with a provision of additional three ballots per precinct.”3
_______________
3 Emphasis supplied.
4 Promulgated on October 6, 2009.
272
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 13/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
273
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 14/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
274
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 15/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
275
_______________
276
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 16/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
LEC resolution and the law. Given this scenario, the Court
may step in and resolve the instant petition.
The transcendental nature and paramount importance
of the issues raised and the compelling state interest
involved in their early resolution—the period for the filing
of CoCs for the 2010 elections has already started and
hundreds of civil servants intending to run for elective
offices are to lose their employment, thereby causing
imminent and irreparable damage to their means of
livelihood and, at the same time, crippling the
government’s manpower—further dictate that the Court
must, for propriety, if only from a sense of obligation,
entertain the petition so as to expedite the adjudication of
all, especially the constitutional, issues.
In any event, the Court has ample authority to set aside
errors of practice or technicalities of procedure and resolve
the merits of a case. Repeatedly stressed in our prior
decisions is the principle that the Rules were promulgated
to provide guidelines for the orderly administration of
justice, not to shackle the hand that dispenses it.
Otherwise, the courts would be consigned to being mere
slaves to technical rules, deprived of their judicial
discretion.14
II.
_______________
277
“For this purpose, the Commission shall set the deadline for
the filing of certificate of candidacy/petition for registration/mani-
festation to participate in the election. Any person who files his
certificate of candidacy within this period shall only be considered
as a candidate at the start of the campaign period for which he
filed his certificate of candidacy: Provided, That, unlawful acts or
omissions applicable to a candidate shall take effect only upon the
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 17/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
15 Emphasis supplied.
278
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 19/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
280
Senator Osmeña. May I just opine here and perhaps obtain the
opinion of the good Sponsor. This reads like, “ANY PERSON
HOLDING [means currently] A PUBLIC APPOINTIVE
POSITION… SHALL BE CONSIDERED IPSO FACTO
RESIGNED” [which means that the prohibition extends only to
appointive officials] “INCLUDING ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE
ARMED FORCES, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES”… This is a
prohibition, Mr. President. This means if one is chairman of SSS
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 20/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
281
_______________
16 Record of the Senate, Vol. III, Session No. 29, September 27, 2006, pp. 69-70.
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 21/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
282
_______________
17 Record of the Senate, Vol. III, Session No. 12, August 16, 2006, pp.
71-72.
18 Senate Records and Archives, 13th CP, 3rd Regular Session, Vol. III,
August 1, 2006, p. 25.
283
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 22/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
284
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 23/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
285
_______________
22 Citations omitted.
286
III.
The instant case presents a rare opportunity for the
Court, in view of the constitutional challenge advanced by
petitioners, once and for all, to settle the issue of whether
the second proviso in the third paragraph of Section 13 of
R.A. No. 9369, a reproduction of Section 66 of the OEC,
which, as shown above, was based on provisions dating
back to the American occupation, is violative of the equal
protection clause.
But before delving into the constitutional issue, we shall
first address the issues on legal standing and on the
existence of an actual controversy.
Central to the determination of locus standi is the
question of whether a party has alleged such a personal
stake in the outcome of the controversy as to assure that
concrete adverseness which sharpens the presentation of
issues upon which the court so largely depends for
illumination of difficult constitutional questions.23 In this
case, petitioners allege that they will be directly affected by
COMELEC Resolution No. 8678 for they intend, and they
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 25/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
23 Province of Batangas v. Romulo, G.R. No. 152774, May 27, 2004, 429
SCRA 736, 755.
287
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 26/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
288
IV.
_______________
28 Clements v. Fashing, 457 U.S. 957, 960; 102 S.Ct. 2836, 2843 (1982).
29 Supra note 25, at 195-196.
289
290
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 28/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
30 Citations omitted.
291
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 29/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
292
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 30/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
293
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 31/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
294
_______________
295
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 33/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
296
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 34/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
297
298
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 35/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
299
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 36/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
38 Citations omitted.
39 Supra note 28.
300
301
DISSENTING OPINION
PUNO, C.J.:
The case at bar is a Petition for Certiorari and
Prohibition with Prayer for Temporary Restraining Order
and/or Writ of Preliminary Injunction seeking to nullify
Section 4(a) of Resolution No. 8678 of the Commission on
Elections (COMELEC) insofar as it decrees that “[a]ny
person holding a public appointive office or position … shall
be considered ipso facto resigned from his office upon the
filing of his certificate of candidacy.”
I.
On October 6, 2009, the COMELEC issued Resolution
No. 86781 (Resolution 8678) which lays down the rules and
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 38/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
OFFICIAL CANDIDATES OF REGISTERED POLITICAL PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE MAY 10,
2010 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS; Annex “A,” Petition.
302
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 39/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
2 Rollo, p. 23.
3 Eleazar P. Quinto is the incumbent Undersecretary for Field
Operations of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; he
intends to run for the position of Member, House Representatives for the
4th District of Pangasinan in the forthcoming 2010 elections. On the other
hand, Gerino A. Tolentino is the incumbent OIC-Director, Land
Management Bureau; he intends to run for the position of City Councilor
for the 4th District of the City of Manila in the forthcoming 2010 elections.
303
_______________
4 Rollo, p. 3.
5 Id., at pp. 5-7.
6 Republic Act No. 8436 is entitled, “AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 40/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
304
_______________
PURPOSE BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 881, AS AMENDED, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7166 AND
OTHER RELATED ELECTION LAWS, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES. It took effect on January 23, 2007.
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 41/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
305
_______________
306
_______________
13 Id.
14 Id., at pp. 12-13.
307
_______________
308
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 44/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 45/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
17 Effective June 21, 1947. This expressly repealed Commonwealth Act No. 357
and Commonwealth Act No. 666, viz.:
SECTION 190. Repeal of laws.—Commonwealth Acts Numbered Three
hundred and fifty-seven, Six hundred and fifty-seven, Six hundred and sixty-six,
Seven hundred and twenty-five, and all other acts or parts of acts inconsistent
with this Code are hereby repealed.
310
from his office from the moment of the filing of his certificate of
candidacy.
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 46/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
311
312
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 47/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
313
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 48/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
314
315
316
RETENTION OF OFFICE
We have, heretofore[,] discussed the case as regards the
resignation of an office holder from his office by reason of his
running for an office different from it; and our conclusion is that it
must be an office that he can or may resign or be considered
resigned from; and that the office of Mayor is not such an office
from the stand point of a Vice Mayor. Let us now consider the
case from the point of view of retaining his office because he is
running for the same office, namely—retention of his office. As we
have already said, the Legislature intended to allow an office
holder and incumbent to retain his office provided that he runs for
the same. In other words, he is supposed to retain the office
317
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 52/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
official involved shall file his candidacy for an office other than
that which he is actually holding. The law nowhere men-
_______________
318
319
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 53/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
320
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 54/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
district officer running for an office other than the one which he is
holding in a permanent capacity shall be considered ipso facto
resigned from his office from the moment of the filing of his
certificate of candidacy.
Every elected official shall take his oath of office on the day his
term of office commences, or within ten days after his
proclamation if said proclamation takes place after such day. His
failure to take his oath of office as herein provided shall be
considered forfeiture of his right to the new office to which he has
been elected unless said failure is for a cause or causes beyond his
control.
_______________
321
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 55/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
322
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 56/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
323
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 57/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
324
It must be noted that only in B.P. Blg. 881 are members of the
legislature included in the enumeration of elective public officials
who are to be considered resigned from office from the moment of
the filing of their certificates of candidacy for another office,
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 58/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
325
_______________
326
327
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 60/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
Corollarily, Dimaporo v. Mitra, et al. involved
Mohamad Ali Dimaporo, who was elected Representative
for the Second Legislative District of Lanao del Sur during
the 1987 congressional elections. He took his oath of office
on January 9, 1987 and thereafter performed the duties
and enjoyed the rights and privileges pertaining thereto.
Three years later, he filed with the COMELEC a
Certificate of Candidacy for the position of Regional
Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Upon being informed of this development, the Speaker and
Secretary of the House of Representatives excluded
Dimaporo’s name from the Roll of Members of the House of
Representatives
_______________
328
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 61/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
329
MR. ROÑO:
Yes, sir. That’s precisely, Mr. Speaker, what I am saying
that while I do not disagree with the conclusion that the
intention cannot be enough, but I am saying that the filing
of the certificate of candidacy is an overt act of such
intention. It’s not just an intention: it’s already there.”
In Monroy vs. Court of Appeals, a case involving Section 27 of
R.A. No. 180 above-quoted, this Court categorically pronounced
that “forfeiture (is) automatic and permanently effective upon the
filing of the certificate of candidacy for another office. Only the
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 62/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
330
_______________
331
332
if not covered by the Civil Service but by the Labor Code, are
nonetheless “employees in government-owned or controlled
corporations,” and come within the letter of Section 66 of the
Omnibus Election Code, declaring them “ipso facto resigned from .
. . office upon the filing of . . . (their) certificate of candidacy.”
What all this imports is that Section 66 of the Omnibus
Election Code applies to officers and employees in government-
owned or controlled corporations, even those organized under the
general laws on incorporation and therefore not having an
original or legislative charter, and even if they do not fall under
the Civil Service Law but under the Labor Code. In other words,
Section 66 constitutes just cause for termination of employment in
addition to those set forth in the Labor Code, as amended.40
(italics supplied)
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 65/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
333
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 66/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
334
_______________
41 Records of the Bicameral Conference Committee, December 16, 1997, pp. 42-
46, 55-57, 131-139.
335
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 67/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
336
337
338
339
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 70/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
340
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 71/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
42 Effective March 20, 2001. Republic Act No. 9006 is entitled “AN ACT
TO ENHANCE THE HOLDING OF FREE, ORDERLY, HONEST, PEACEFUL AND CREDIBLE
ELECTIONS THROUGH FAIR ELECTION PRACTICES.”
341
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 72/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
The Presiding officer [Sen. Sotto]. May we know the effect as far
as the other positions are concerned—elective officials are
concerned?
Senator Roco. What we have done, Mr. President, is everybody
who is elected can run for any other position that he may desire
without forfeiting his seat.
We have reversed the old election law[, and now] an elected official
is not required to forfeit his seat simply because he is running for
another position. (italics supplied)
_______________
342
_______________
343
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 74/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
V.
After a review of the legislative and case history of the
law on deemed resignations of public officials, I now turn to
the case at bar.
At the core of the controversy is Section 4(a) of
COMELEC Resolution No. 8678, which is reproduced below
for easy reference:
345
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 75/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
facto resigned from the office they are holding only upon
the start of the campaign period.49
Petitioners maintain that this interpretation is the
better approach, since it reconciles and harmonizes the
perceived conflict between that portion of Section 13 of RA
9369, which states that “[a]ny person who files his
certificate of candidacy within this period shall only be
considered as a candidate at the start of the campaign
period for which he filed his certificate of candidacy” and
the subsequent proviso in the same section which provides
that “any person holding a public appointive office or
position x x x
_______________
46 Supra note 8.
47 Rollo, p.10, citing Lanot v. COMELEC, Id.
48 Id., at p. 12.
49 Id.
347
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 77/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
348
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 78/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
52 Corona, et al. v. Court of Appeals, et al., G.R. No. 97356, September 30, 1992,
214 SCRA 378, 392.
53 G.R. No. 149072, September 21, 2007, 533 SCRA 623.
349
_______________
350
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 79/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
351
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 80/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
352
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 81/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
facto resigned from his office upon the filing of his certificate
of candidacy.
They contend that Section 14 of Rep. Act No. 9006 discriminates
against appointive officials. By the repeal of Section 67, an elective
official who runs for office other than the one which he is holding
is no longer considered ipso facto resigned therefrom upon filing
his certificate of candidacy. Elective officials continue in public
office even as they campaign for reelection or election for another
elective position. On the other hand, Section 66 has been retained;
thus, the limitation on appointive officials remains—they are still
considered ipso facto resigned from their offices upon the filing of
their certificates of candidacy.
The petitioners assert that Rep. Act No. 9006 is null and void
in its entirety as irregularities attended its enactment into law. x
xx
Finally, the petitioners maintain that Section 67 of the
Omnibus Election Code is a good law; hence, should not have been
repealed. x x x”68 (italics supplied)
to which we responded:
_______________
353
354
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 83/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
355
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 84/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
356
_______________
76 Infra.
77 Grosjean v. American Press Co., 297 U.S. 233, 243, 56 S.Ct. 444, 446,
80 L.Ed. 660 (1936).
78 Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Comm., 372 U.S. 539,
544, 83 S.Ct. 889, 892-93, 9 L.Ed.2d 929 (1963).
79 Carver v. Dennis, 104 F.3d 847, 65 USLW 2476 (1997); American
Constitutional Law Foundation, Inc. v. Meyer, 120 F.3d 1092, 1101 (1997);
NAACP, Los Angeles Branch v. Jones, 131 F.3d 1317, 1324 (1997); Brazil-
Breashears v. Bilandic, 53 F.3d 789, 792 (1995). See also Bullock v. Carter,
405 U.S. 134, 143, 92 S.Ct. 849, 855-56, 31 L.Ed.2d 92 (1972), quoted in
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 85/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
Clements v. Fashing, 457 U.S. 957, 963, 102 S.Ct. 2836, 2843, 73 L.Ed.2d
508 (1982).
80 677 F.2d 622, 624 (1982).
357
_______________
358
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 86/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
Whether the right to run for office is looked at from the point of
view of individual expression or associational effectiveness, wide
opportunities exist for the individual who seeks public office. x x x
Consequently[,] we hold that candidacy is both a protected First
Amendment right and a fundamental interest. Hence any
legislative classification that significantly burdens that interest
must be subjected to strict equal protection review.
xxxx
x x x It is obviously conceivable that the impartial character of
the civil service would be seriously jeopardized if people in
positions of authority used their discretion to forward their
electoral ambitions rather than the public welfare. Similarly if a
public employee pressured other fellow employees to engage in
corrupt practices in return for promises of post-election reward, or
if an employee invoked the power of the office he was seeking to
extract special favors from his superiors, the civil service would be
done irreparable injury. Conversely, members of the
359
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 87/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
360
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 88/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
The city might also promote its interest in the integrity of the
civil service by enforcing, through dismissal, discipline, or
criminal prosecution, rules or statutes that treat conflict of
interests, bribery, or other forms of official corruption. By thus
attacking the problem directly, instead of using a broad
prophylactic rule, the city could pursue its objective without
unduly burdening the First Amendment rights of its employees
and the voting rights of its citizens. x x x (citations omitted)
_______________
361
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 89/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
(1) use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering
with or affecting the result of an election; or
(2) take an active part in political management or in political
campaigns. ‘For the purpose of this subsection, the phrase ‘an active part
in political management or in political campaigns’ means those acts of
political management or political campaigning which were prohibited on
the part of employees in the competitive service before July 19, 1940, by
determinations of the Civil Service Commission under the rules prescribed
by the President.
89 391 U.S. 563, 568, 88 S.Ct. 1731, 1734, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968).
362
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 90/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
363
As we see it, our task is not to destroy the Act if we can, but to
construe it, if consistent with the will of Congress, so as to
comport with constitutional limitations.” (italics supplied)
_______________
364
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 92/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
365
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 93/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
366
_______________
of this Section, the Board shall direct the appointing authority to dismiss such
officer or employee; and the appointing authority so directed shall comply.
92 United States Civil Service Commission v. National Association of Letter
Carriers, AFL-CIO, 413 U.S. 548, 93 S.Ct. 2880, 37 L.Ed.2d 796.
93 Connally v. General Construction Co., 269 U.S. 385, 391, 46 S.Ct. 126, 127,
70 L.Ed. 322 (1926). See Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 108-114, 92
S.Ct. 2294, 2298-2302, 33 L.Ed.2d 222 (1972); Colten v. Kentucky, 407 U.S. 104,
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 94/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
367
standards’ for those who must apply it. In the plainest language,
it prohibits any state classified employee from being ‘an officer or
member’ of a ‘partisan political club’ or a candidate for ‘any paid
public office.’ It forbids solicitation of contributions ‘for any
political organization, candidacy or other political purpose’ and
taking part ‘in the management or affairs of any political party or
in any political campaign.’ Words inevitably contain germs of
uncertainty and, as with the Hatch Act, there may be disputes
over the meaning of such terms in s 818 as ‘partisan,’ or ‘take part
in,’ or ‘affairs of’ political parties. But what was said in Letter
Carriers, is applicable here: ‘there are limitations in the English
language with respect to being both specific and manageably
brief, and it seems to us that although the prohibitions may not
satisfy those intent on finding fault at any cost, they are set out in
terms that the ordinary person exercising ordinary common sense
can sufficiently understand and comply with, without sacrifice to
the public interest.’ x x x
xxxx
[Appellants] nevertheless maintain that the statute is
overbroad and purports to reach protected, as well as unprotected
conduct, and must therefore be struck down on its face and held
to be incapable of any constitutional application. We do not
believe that the overbreadth doctrine may appropriately be
invoked in this manner here.
xxxx
The consequence of our departure from traditional rules of
standing in the First Amendment area is that any enforcement of
a statute thus placed at issue is totally forbidden until and unless
a limiting construction or partial invalidation so narrows it as to
remove the seeming threat or deterrence to constitutionally
protected expression. Application of the overbreadth doctrine in
this manner is, manifestly, strong medicine. It has been employed
by the Court sparingly and only as a last resort. x x x
x x x But the plain import of our cases is, at the very least, that
facial over-breadth adjudication is an exception to our traditional
rules of practice and that its function, a limited one at the outset,
attenuates as the otherwise unprotected behavior that it
368
369
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 96/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
370
_______________
371
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 98/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
97 See also Davis, R., Prohibiting Public Employee from Running for Elective
Office as Violation of Employee’s Federal Constitutional Rights, 44 A.L.R. Fed. 306.
372
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 99/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
373
374
375
376
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 102/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
377
be taken in the dark. On the other hand, the entire focus below, in
the short period before the election was held, was on the
constitutionality of the statute as applied. Plaintiffs may very well
feel that further efforts are not justified, but they should be
afforded the opportunity to demonstrate that the charter forecloses
access to a significant number of offices, the candidacy for which
by municipal employees would not pose the possible threats to
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 103/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
99 Fernandez v. State Personnel Board, et al., 175 Ariz. 39, 852 P.2d
1223 (1993).
378
_______________
379
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 105/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
103 Ichong v. Hernandez, 101 Phil. 1155, 1164 (1957); Sison v. Ancheta,
et al., G.R. No. L-59431, July 25, 1984, 130 SCRA 654, 662; Association of
Small Landowners in the Philippines v. Secretary of Agrarian Reform,
G.R. No. 78742, July 14, 1989, 175 SCRA 343, 375.
104 The Philippine Judges Association, et al. v. Prado, et al., G.R. No.
105371, November 11, 1993, 227 SCRA 703, 712.
105 Id.
106 Id.
107 The National Police Commission v. De Guzman, et al., G.R. No.
106724, February 9, 1994, 229 SCRA 801, 809.
380
_______________
381
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 107/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
interior and local government, and foreign affairs). With the fact
that they both head executive offices, there is no valid
justification to treat them differently when both file their
[Certificates of Candidacy] for the elections. Under the present
state of our law, the Vice President, in the example, running this
time, let us say,
_______________
114 Id.; New Jersey State League of Municipalities, et al. v. State of New Jersey,
257 N.J.Super. 509, 608 A.2d 965 (1992).
115 Majority Decision, pp. 22-23.
382
for President, retains his position during the entire election period
and can still use the resources of his office to support his
campaign.”116
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 108/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
383
_______________
121 State v. Ewing, id.; Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, supra note 118.
122 Chicago National League Ball Club, Inc. v. Thompson, 108 Ill.2d 357, 91
Ill.Dec. 610, 483 N.E.2d 1245 (1985); People v. Adams, 144 Ill.2d 381, 581 N.E.2d
637, 163 Ill.Dec. 483 (1991).
123 Supra note 114.
124 Greenberg v. Kimmelman, 99 N.J. 552, 577, 494 A.2d 294 (1985).
125 Drew Assocs. of N.J., L.P. v. Travisano, 122 N.J. 249, 258, 584 A.2d 807
(1991).
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 109/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
126 Piscataway Tp. Bd. of Ed. v. Caffiero, 86 N.J. 308, 324-25, 431 A.2d 799
(1981); ADA Financial Serv. Corp. v. New Jersey, 174 N.J.Super. 337, 348, 416
A.2d 908 (1979).
384
_______________
385
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 110/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
356
_______________
134 Id.
387
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 112/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
388
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 113/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
389
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 114/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
390
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 115/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
391
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 116/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
148 Id.
149 Id.
150 Broadrick v. Oklahoma, supra note 87.
392
_______________
151 Id.
152 Id.
153 Mining v. Wheeler, 378 F. Supp. 1115 (1974).
393
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 117/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
A last word
DISSENTING OPINION
CARPIO, J.:
I join Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno in his dissent.
The law is plain, clear and unequivocal that appointive
public officials are deemed automatically resigned from
_______________
394
“For this purpose, the Commission shall set the deadline for
the filing of certificate of candidacy/petition of registration/mani-
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 118/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
396
_______________
3 Section 29 of the Civil Service Act of 1959 (RA No. 2260) provides:
“Section 29. Political Activity.—Officers and employees in the civil
service, whether in the competitive or classified, or non-competitive or
unclassified service, shall not engage directly or indirectly in partisan
political activities or take part in any election except to vote. xxx.”
Similar provisions appear in the charters of government agencies. Section
5, Article XII-B of the 1973 Constitution also provides: “No officer or
employee in the Civil Service, including members of the armed forces,
shall engage directly or indirectly, in any partisan political activity or take
part in any election except to vote.”
397
398
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 122/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
399
_______________
400
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 123/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
DISSENTING OPINION
401
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 124/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
402
_______________
403
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 126/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
404
Again, it is not within the power of the Court to pass upon or look
into the wisdom of this classification.
Since the classification justifying Section 14 of Rep. Act No.
9006, i.e., elected officials vis-à-vis appointive officials, is
anchored upon material and significant distinctions and all the
persons belonging under the same classification are similarly
treated, the equal protection clause of the Constitution is, thus,
not infringed.”3 (italics in the original; underscoring supplied)
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 127/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
405
_______________
406
_______________
407
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 129/131
5/21/2018 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 606
_______________
408
Petition granted.
_______________
http://www.central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000016381bbe81efb725590003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 131/131