Case Digest (G.R. No. 236573)
Case Digest (G.R. No. 236573)
Facts:
Barangay Chairman Herbert O. Chua v. Commission on Elections, Hon. Marianito C. Santos, in his capacity as the Presiding Judge of MeTC, Branch 57, San Juan City, and Sophia Patricia K. Gil, G.R. No. 236573, August 14, 2018, Supreme Court En Banc, Reyes, Jr., J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Herbert O. Chua and private respondent Sophia Patricia K. Gil were opposing candidates for Punong Barangay of Barangay Addition Hills, San Juan City in the October 28, 2013 Barangay Elections; Chua was proclaimed winner by a plurality (465 to Gil's 460, as reflected in the records). Gil filed an election protest with the Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC), docketed EAC (BRGY) No. 165-2014, alleging nonresident voters, erroneous counting favoring Chua by Board of Election Tellers chairmen, and miscredited ballots; Chua answered, attacking the protest's verification and characterizing the allegations as hearsay.
On May 20, 2014 the MeTC dismissed Gil's protest and affirmed Chua's proclamation. Gil appealed to the Commission on Elections (Comelec); the Comelec First Division, in a Resolution dated April 7, 2017, reversed the MeTC and declared Gil duly elected. Chua then filed a motion for reconsideration to the Comelec En Banc; the Comelec En Banc, by Resolution dated November 6, 2017, affirmed the First Division's April 7, 2017 Resolution.
On November 10, 2017 Chua filed a "Manifestation with Clarification and Motion to Stay Execution" alleging Gil abandoned her protest by filing a certificate of candidacy for City Councilor in October 2015; the Comelec En Banc on January 19, 2018 denied that pleading as a prohibited motion for reconsideration under Section 1(d), Rule 13 of the Comelec Rules. The Comelec's November 6, 2017 Resolution attained finality and was recorded; a Certificate of Finality was issued and entered in the Book of Entries of Judgments on January 23, 2018.
Chua filed this petition for certiorari and prohibition under Rule 64, in relation to Rule 65, on January 31, 2018, seeking to annul the Comelec En Banc resolutions and challenging the Comelec's alleged failure to rule on mootness; the Office of the Solicitor General and counsel for Gil filed comments. The Supreme Court, in an en banc decision penned by Justice Reyes, Jr., dismissed the petition.
Issues:
- Was petitioner Chua's petition for certiorari under Rule 64 timely filed against the Comelec En Banc Resolution?
- Did Chua’s "Manifestation with Clarification and Motion to Stay Execution" interrupt or toll the reglementary period for filing a petition for certiorari or was it a prohibited pleading?
- Assuming the petition were timely, is the controversy moot and academic because subsequent events (including the May 2018 Barangay elections) rendered any relief impracticable?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)