Case Digest (G.R. No. 147927)
Case Digest (G.R. No. 147927)
Facts:
Raymundo M. Adormeo v. Commission on Elections and Ramon Y. Talaga, Jr., G.R. No. 147927, September 27, 2004, the Supreme Court En Banc, Quisumbing, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner challenged the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) en banc resolution of May 9, 2001 in Comelec SPA No. 01‑055, which granted a motion for reconsideration and declared private respondent Ramon Y. Talaga, Jr. qualified to run for Mayor of Lucena City in the May 14, 2001 elections; petitioner sought certiorari relief and prayed for injunctive relief to prevent votes for Talaga from being counted and, if Talaga had already been proclaimed, to nullify any proclamation.
The essential antecedent events are: both petitioner and Talaga filed certificates of candidacy for Mayor of Lucena City for the May 14, 2001 elections; Talaga was the incumbent. Talaga had been elected mayor in May 1992 (served full term), re‑elected in 1995 (served full term), lost the 1998 regular election to Bernard G. Tagarao and thus was a private citizen from June 30, 1998 until he won a recall election on May 12, 2000 and served the unexpired term until June 30, 2001.
On March 2, 2001 petitioner filed with the Office of the Provincial Election Supervisor a Petition to Deny Due Course to or Cancel Certificate of Candidacy and/or Disqualification of Talaga, asserting that Talaga had already served three consecutive terms and was therefore barred by Section 8, Article X of the 1987 Constitution (and Section 43(b), R.A. 7160) from seeking reelection. Talaga replied (March 9, 2001) that he had not been elected for three consecutive terms because he lost in the May 11, 1998 election and that his service following the recall election did not constitute a full term.
The COMELEC First Division, on April 20, 2001, found Talaga disqualified and ordered his Certificate of Candidacy cancelled. Talaga filed a motion for reconsideration (April 27, 2001) reiterating that his 1998 defeat interrupted any continuity of service and stressing that recall elections are special and not regular elections. Petitioner opposed the motion (May 3, 2001), arguing the unexpired term won in the recall election should be counted as a term.
On May 9, 2001 the COMELEC en banc reversed the First Division, ruling Talaga was not elected for three consecutive terms because he lost in the May 11, 1998 elections; his recall victory constituted installation as mayor but was not to be counted as a “term” for purposes of the three‑term rule; and he did not fully serve three consecutive full terms. After canvassing, Talaga was proclaimed duly elected on May 19, 2001.
Petitioner filed a petition for certiorari with this Court (seeking preliminary injunctive relief and/or TRO), asserting that the COMELEC en banc acted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in ruling Talaga qualified. The case was submitted to the Supreme Court En Banc with Justice Quisumbing as ponente.
Issues:
- Did the COMELEC act with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when it declared Ramon Y. Talaga, Jr. qualified to run for Mayor of Lucena City in its May 9, 2001 resolution — i.e., was Talaga disqualified under the three‑term limitation of Section 8, Article X of the 1987 Constitution (and Section 43(b), R.A. 7160)?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)