Case Digest (G.R. No. 205033)
Facts:
Romeo G. Jalosjos v. The Commission on Elections, Maria Isabelle G. Climaco‑Salazar, Roel B. Natividad, Arturo N. Onrubia, Ahmad Narzad K. Sampang, Jose L. Lobregat, Adelante Zamboanga Party, and Elbert C. Atilano, G.R. No. 205033, June 18, 2013, Supreme Court En Banc, Perlas‑Bernabe, J., writing for the Court. The petition sought relief from COMELEC En Banc Resolution No. 9613 (Jan. 15, 2013) which cancelled and denied due course to petitioner Romeo G. Jalosjos’s certificate of candidacy (CoC) for Mayor of Zamboanga City in the May 13, 2013 elections.Petitioner was previously convicted by final judgment in People v. Jalosjos (G.R. Nos. 132875‑76) of statutory rape and acts of lasciviousness, and sentenced to principal penalties carrying the accessory penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification under Art. 41, Revised Penal Code (RPC). His sentence was later commuted by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Order of Commutation, Apr. 30, 2007) and he received a Certificate of Discharge from Prison on March 18, 2009.
In April 2012 petitioner applied for voter registration in Zamboanga City but the Acting City Election Officer denied his application due to his prior conviction. He filed a Petition for Inclusion with the Municipal Trial Court in Cities of Zamboanga City (MTCC). While that petition was pending, petitioner filed his CoC on October 5, 2012, declaring himself eligible and a registered voter. On October 18, 2012 the MTCC denied his Petition for Inclusion on account of his perpetual absolute disqualification; the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 14, affirmed that denial in an October 31, 2012 order which, under Section 138 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (Omnibus Election Code, OEC), became immediately final and executory.
Separately, five petitions seeking denial of due course/cancellation of petitioner’s CoC were filed with the COMELEC Divisions. While those petitions were pending, the COMELEC En Banc issued motu proprio Resolution No. 9613 (Jan. 15, 2013) cancelling and denying due course to petitioner’s CoC on the grounds of his perpetual absolute disqualification and failure to comply with voter registration requirements, relying on prior decisions including Jalosjos, Jr. v. COMELEC and Aratea v. COMELEC. Petitioner then filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 64 in relation to Rule 65 of the Rules of Court in t...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the COMELEC En Banc act beyond its jurisdiction and violate petitioner’s procedural due process rights when it motu proprio issued Resolution No. 9613 cancelling petitioner’s CoC?
- Did Section 40(a) of the Local Government Code remove petitioner’s accessory penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification so as to permit him to r...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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