Case Digest (G.R. No. 100710)
Facts:
Benjamin P. Abella, G.R. No. 100710, and Adelina Y. Larrazabal, G.R. No. 100739, September 03, 1991, Supreme Court En Banc, Gutierrez, Jr., J., writing for the Court. These are consolidated petitions questioning the Commission on Elections’ (COMELEC) decision disqualifying Adelina Y. Larrazabal as Governor of Leyte, the COMELEC en banc’s refusal to proclaim Benjamin P. Abella (the second-placer) as governor, and the resulting assumption of office by Vice‑Governor Leopoldo E. Petilla.The dispute began with the February 1, 1988 local elections in Leyte. Larrazabal substituted for her husband, Emeterio V. Larrazabal, who had been earlier disqualified for lack of residence. After the election Silvestre de la Cruz filed a petition to deny due course / disqualify Larrazabal for alleged false statements about her residence; Abella lodged multiple pre‑proclamation objections during canvass and later intervened in the disqualification proceeding and filed a criminal charge for falsification. The COMELEC consolidated the pre‑proclamation and disqualification matters (SPC No. 88‑546 and related SPCs). The Supreme Court earlier remanded the disqualification petition to COMELEC for direct hearing under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code (as reiterated in G.R. No. 88004), and ordered speedy resolution so the regular governor could be ascertained and installed.
COMELEC’s Second Division, after hearings, on February 14, 1991 disqualified Larrazabal for lack of the required residence and voter registration; the COMELEC en banc on July 18, 1991 denied Larrazabal’s motion for reconsideration and affirmed the Second Division decision while also disallowing Abella’s proclamation as governor. Larrazabal obtained and the Court granted a temporary restraining order on August 1, 1991 enjoining COMELEC from enforcing its February 14 and July 18, 1991 rulings and ordering Vice‑Governor Petilla to maintain the status quo and desist from assuming the governorship pending resolution.
At the COMELEC hearings the issues were predominantly factual: whether Larrazabal’s domicile was Kananga, Leyte (so that she was a qualified voter and resident there) or Ormoc City (an independent component city whose charter, by Section 89 of R.A. No. 179 and Article X, Section 12 of the Constitution, prohibits its registered voters from voting for or being elected to provincial offices). COMELEC found the evidence showed Larrazabal habitually resided and was registered in Ormoc City, that the purported cancellation and transfer to Kananga were tainted by irregularities, and, applying Articles 68–69 of the Family Code on family domicile and the doctrine of animus revertendi, concluded she lacked the legal residence in ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the COMELEC correctly find that Adelina Y. Larrazabal lacked the legal residence and voter registration in Kananga, Leyte, and thus properly disqualify her as governor?
- Is Benjamin P. Abella, who obtained the second highest number of votes, entitled to be proclaimed governor after Larrazabal’s disqualification?
- Did any alleged expiration of Commissioner Andres Flores’ term invalidate the COMELEC rulings (i.e., is the February 14, 1991 d...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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