G.R. No. 173165, February 17, 2010 ATTY. LUCKY M. DAMASEN v. OSCAR G.

TUMAMAO Facts: A permanent vacancy occurred in the office of the Vice Mayor of San Isidro, Isabella when incumbent Vice Mayor Nelia Tumamao died (December 2, 2004), and in the Sangguniang Bayan when Ligaya Alonzo, who was the highest ranking member of the Sangguniang Bayan (having garnered the highest number of votes for that office in the May 2004 elections), was appointed vice mayor pursuant to Secs. 44 and 45 of the Local Government Code. Sec. 44 of the LGC provides:
Section 44. Permanent Vacancies in the Offices of the Governor, Vice-Governor, Mayor, and Vice-Mayor. - xxx If a permanent vacancy occurs in the offices of the governor, vice-governor, mayor, or vice-mayor, the highest ranking sanggunian member xxx shall become the governor, vice-governor, mayor or vice-mayor, as the case may be. Subsequent vacancies in the said office shall be filled automatically by the other sanggunian members according to their ranking as defined herein. xxx For purposes of this Chapter, a permanent vacancy arises when an elective local official fills a higher vacant office, refuses to assume office, fails to qualify, dies, is removed from office, voluntarily resigns, or is otherwise permanently incapacitated to discharge the functions of his office. For purposes of succession as provided in the Chapter, ranking in the sanggunian shall be determined on the basis of the proportion of votes obtained by each winning candidate to the total number of registered voters in each district in the immediately preceding local election.

Under Sec. 45 of the LGC, vacancies in the Sanggunian Bayan are filled in the following manner:
Section 45. Permanent Vacancies in the Sanggunian. (a) Permanent vacancies in the sanggunian where automatic succession provided above do not apply shall be filled by appointment in the following manner: xxx (2) The governor, in the case of the sangguniang panlungsod of component cities and the sangguniang bayan; xx (b) Except for the sangguniang barangay, only the nominee of the political party under which the sanggunian member concerned had been elected and whose elevation to the position next higher in rank created the last vacancy in the sanggunian shall be appointed in the manner hereinabove provided. The appointee shall come from the same political party as that of the sanggunian member who caused the vacancy and shall serve the unexpired term of the vacant office. In the appointment herein mentioned, a nomination and a certificate of membership of the appointee from the highest official of the political party concerned are conditions sine qua non, and any appointment without such nomination and certification shall be null and void ab initio and shall be a ground for administrative action against the official responsible therefore.

Upon recommendation of Mayor Abraham Lim, Governor Maria Gracia Cielo Padaca appointed Oscar Tumamao as member of the Sangguniang Bayan. Tumamao was a member of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), the same political party to which Alonzo belonged. He was nominated to fill the vacancy by Senator Edgardo Angara, the Party Chairman and the highest official of the LDP, as much as he was a member in good standing. Tumamao thus took his oath (April 15, 2005), assumed the position, and attended the councils regular sessions (April 26 and May 3, 2005). Subsequently, however, Attorney Lucky Damasen was appointed for the same vacancy in the municipal council (May 12, 2005). He had a Certificate of Membership from and the nomination of LDP Provincial Chairman Benita Balauag, before whom he took his oath of affiliation to the LDP only on May 5. Because of Tumamaos previous appointment and despite taking the oath of office by Damasen before Gov. Padaca, Damasens presence in the May 17 session of the municipal council was not recognized. Aggrieved, he filed a Petition for Quo Warranto against Tumamao before RTC of Santiago City, seeking to be declared the rightful member of the Sangguniang Bayan. As part of his defense, Tumamao presented a Letter dated June 14, 2005 (addressed to Gov. Padaca) by and the testimony of LDP Provincial Chairman Balauag that confirmed Tumamaos nomination and revoked the nomination of Damasen. Balauag testified that she nominated Damasen believing him to be unaffiliated and not knowing that the latter was a still member of the Lakas CMD Party; Tumamao has not yet resigned from Lakas and was even a mayoralty candidate under Lakas in the past election. His membership is thus contrary to LDPs By-Laws (Sec. 2, Art. IV) especially where he joined LDP because he just wanted to. Tumamao also presented

the Letter dated June 16, 2005 (addressed to Gov. Padaca also) by LDP Deputy Secretary Counsel Demaree Raval that Damasen was not a bona fide member of the LDP. The RTC, however, ruled in favor of Damasen. It found that Damasen had fully complied with the requirements of Sec. 45 and that the subsequent revocation of nomination of Damasen by LDP Provincial Chairman Balauag cannot undo the act of appointment of Governor Padaca. The Court of Appeals reversed such findings. Before the Supreme Court, Damasen contended that he obtained membership in and nomination of LDP without misrepresentation: (a) LDP Provincial Chairman Balauag could have not known that he ran for mayor under Laban because Balauag was also a candidate for mayor in the adjoining town of Echague, Isabela; and (b) Philippine politicians change political affiliation more often than not. He also stressed that he was already appointed by Gov. Padaca previous to the revocation of his nomination. Thus, the latter has no legal effect as to his appointment. The Supreme Court upheld the CA. Issue/s: Whether an appointed party member can be disqualified from office by a subsequent revocation of his nomination by his party Yes. Held: Damasen is disqualified and Tumamao is entitled to office. 1. Previous appointment does not bar contests against it on the basis of failure to comply with the legal requirements for succession. The SC ruled that while the revocation of Damasens nomination came after the fact of his appointment by Gov. Padaca, the same should not serve to bar any contest on said appointment as the primordial issue to be determined is whether or not Damasen has complied with the requirements of Sec. 45 of the LGC, which are sine qua non requirements of the law. 2. The following are the Rules on Succession in the Sangguniang Bayan. Under Sec. 45 of the LGC, succession in the Sangguniang Bayan operates upon compliance with two sine qua non conditions: (1) the appointee shall come from the same political party as that of the Sanggunian member who caused the vacancy; and (2) the appointee must have the a nomination and a Certificate of Membership from the highest official of the political party concerned. The rationale behind the law was stated in Navarro v. CA: to maintain and preserve party representation as willed by the people in the election. 3. Damasen is not qualified to fill the vacancy in the Sanggunian Bayan because he failed to comply with the two conditions abovestated. Damasen is not a member of the LDP, the party of the Sanggunian member who caused the vacancy. The Letter of LDP Deputy Secretary Counsel Raval to Gov. Padaca categorically stated that Damasen was not a bona fide member of the LDP; while he was issued a Certificate of Membership by Provincial Chairman Balauag, his membership has not yet been endorsed to the LDP National Council for approval. According to the LDP, issuance of Certificate merely starts the process of membership and it does not mean automatic membership thereto. Such procedural requirements cannot be questioned by the Court because acceptance of members is discretionary with the political party as a matter of right for being purely internal. Also, Damasen himself admitted that he was a member of Lakas-CMD and was the mayoralty candidate for the election of May 2004; he also admitted that he had not resigned from Lakas-CMD when he joined LDP and he changed parties just because he wanted to, and not because of party ideals. Given such admission, his appointment would diminish party representation rather than strengthen it. Damasen was not nominated by the highest official of LDP. His nomination was simply from Provincial Chairman Balauag, who was even misled into accepting his membership and nominating him for the municipal council. 4. Tumamao is entitled to fill the vacancy in the Sangguniang Bayan. Tumamao was undeniably a member of the LDP and was nominated for the vacancy by Party Chairman Angara, the highest official of the LDP. He was also a member in good standing.