Case Digest (G.R. No. L-32546)
Facts:
Anacleto D. Badoy, Jr. v. Jaime N. Ferrer, et al., G.R. Nos. L-32546 and L-32551, October 17, 1970, the Supreme Court En Banc, Makasiar, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Anacleto D. Badoy, Jr. was a candidate for delegate to the Constitutional Convention for the lone district of North Cotabato who challenged provisions of the Constitutional Convention Act, R.A. No. 6132. In G.R. No. L-32546 he invoked Section 19 of R.A. No. 6132 and prayed that Section 12(F) of the Act be declared unconstitutional because, he alleged, it (1) denied non-candidates their freedom of speech and of the press and (2) deprived candidates of the right to speak, write, discuss and debate in favor of their candidacies or against others. The respondents were Jaime N. Ferrer (Chairman), Cesar Miraflor, and Lino M. Patajo, members of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In G.R. No. L-32551 petitioner sought (1) a construction of Section 12(F) to allow unpaid comments and articles for or against a candidate without requiring the mention of all other candidates with equal prominence; and (2) a declaration that Comelec Resolution No. RR-724 was unconstitutional insofar as it prohibited publication of such unpaid material absent mention of all other candidates with equal prominence. After these petitions were filed, Comelec amended paragraph 6 of Resolution No. RR-724 by promulgating Resolution No. RR-739 (September 29, 1970), which limited the ban in the paragraph to paid comments or paid articles that failed to mention all other candidates. That amendment synchronized paragraph 6 with the Court’s interpretation of Section 12(F), leaving unpaid comments/articles outside the prohibitory sweep.
Because the amended Comelec resolution no longer prohibited unpaid comments or unpaid articles without naming other candidates, the Court treated the petition in G.R. No. L-32551 as moot and academic. The Court therefore proceeded to address the substantive challenge in G.R. No. L-32546 — whether Section 12(F), which makes it unlawful outside Comelec space to print or publish paid advertisements, paid comments or paid articles in furtherance of or in opposition to a candidacy (or mentioning a candidate and the fact of his candidacy) unl...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Is the petition in G.R. No. L-32551 moot or academic after Comelec amended Resolution No. RR-724 by Resolution No. RR-739?
- Does Section 12(F) of R.A. No. 6132 unconstitutionally abridge the freedom of speech and of the press of candidates a...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)