G.R. No. L-47851 - Nakpil and Sons vs. Court of Appeals

On October 1, 2017, in Tuguegarao City, petitioner Dexter Bargado y Morgado was arrested by PNP officers for carrying a .45-caliber firearm with seven live rounds outside Hilaria Restaurant during the COMELEC-imposed gun ban for the October 2017 barangay elections.
He was charged under Section 261(q) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (Omnibus Election Code), as amended by Section 32 of Republic Act No. 7166 and COMELEC Resolution No. 10198, for carrying a firearm during the election period without COMELEC authorization.

That the gun ban was repealed by RA 10952 (which postponed the October 2017 elections), extinguishing the offense;
That COMELEC, not the Prosecutor’s Office, had exclusive power to file election offenses; and
That supervening events and lifting of the ban rendered the charge a non-offense.

The Regional Trial Court denied the Motion, held a full trial, and convicted petitioner, sentencing him to one (1) year imprisonment, disqualification from public office, and deprivation of suffrage.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction (with modification to an indeterminate sentence of one to two years, continued disqualifications, and forfeiture of the firearm), ruling that the gun ban remained effective until October 4, 2017.
Petitioner filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari before the Supreme Court, raising:

A claim of self-defense under Article 11 of the Revised Penal Code; and
The retroactive application of RA 10952 under Article 22 of the Revised Penal Code to negate the election period element of the offense.

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in rejecting petitioner’s claim of self-defense under Article 11 of the Revised Penal Code.
Whether Republic Act No. 10952, which postponed the October 2017 barangay and SK elections and repealed inconsistent laws, applies retroactively under Article 22 of the Revised Penal Code to eliminate the election period element of the gun ban offense.