Case Digest (G.R. No. 138033) Core Legal Reasoning Model
Core Legal Reasoning Model
Facts:
In Benjamin U. Borja, Jr. vs. Commission on Elections and Jose T. Capco, Jr. (G.R. No. 133495, September 3, 1998), private respondent Jose T. Capco, Jr. was elected Vice-Mayor of Pateros on January 18, 1988 for a term ending June 30, 1992. Upon the death of Mayor Cesar Borja on September 2, 1989, Capco automatically succeeded to the mayorship by operation of law and served the unexpired portion of that term. Thereafter, he was elected Mayor on May 11, 1992 for a three-year term and reelected on May 8, 1995 for another three-year term ending June 30, 1998. On March 27, 1998, Capco filed his certificate of candidacy for Mayor in the May 11, 1998 elections. Petitioner Benjamin U. Borja, Jr., also a mayoral candidate, sought Capco’s disqualification on the ground that Capco would have served three consecutive terms as Mayor by June 30, 1998—namely, the unexpired term (1989–1992) and the two elected terms (1992–1995 and 1995–1998)—and thus was barred under Article X, Section 8 of the Case Digest (G.R. No. 138033) Expanded Legal Reasoning Model
Expanded Legal Reasoning Model
Facts:
- Election and Succession
- Jose T. Capco, Jr. was elected Vice-Mayor of Pateros on January 18, 1988 for the term January 18, 1988–June 30, 1992.
- On September 2, 1989, upon the death of Mayor Cesar Borja, Capco succeeded as Mayor by operation of law and served the unexpired term until June 30, 1992.
- Subsequent Elections and Terms
- Capco was elected Mayor on May 11, 1992 for a three-year term ending June 30, 1995.
- He was reelected on May 8, 1995 for another three-year term ending June 30, 1998.
- Disqualification Proceedings
- On March 27, 1998, Capco filed his certificate of candidacy for Mayor in the May 11, 1998 elections.
- Benjamin U. Borja, Jr., opponent and petitioner, moved to disqualify Capco on the ground that he would have served three consecutive terms (1989–1998) and was thus ineligible under Art. X, Sec. 8, 1987 Constitution and Sec. 43(b), LGC.
- Commission on Elections Decisions
- The Second Division, COMELEC, on April 30, 1998, declared Capco disqualified.
- On reconsideration, the COMELEC en banc (5–2) on May 7, 1998, reversed the Second Division, holding that only terms to which an official was elected count toward the three-term limit.
- Petition for Certiorari
- Borja filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking to annul the COMELEC en banc resolution and declare Capco ineligible for reelection.
- The petition raised the issue whether service by succession to the mayoralty constitutes a term “served” for purposes of the constitutional and statutory term-limit provisions.
Issues:
- Primary Issue
- Does a local elective official’s service by automatic succession to an office count as a “term served” under the three consecutive-term limitation of Art. X, Sec. 8, 1987 Constitution and Sec. 43(b), LGC?
- Subsidiary Issue
- How should the constitutional policy of preventing monopolization of power be balanced against the people’s freedom of choice in the context of term limits?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)