G.R. No. L-28613 - Lacuna vs. Abes

Benjamin Abes was elected mayor of Penaranda, Nueva Ecija in the November 14, 1967 elections.
Prior to his election, Abes had been convicted of counterfeiting treasury warrants and sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of prision mayor (ranging from six years and one day to eight years, eight months, and one day) and fined P5,000.00.
As a consequence of his conviction, Abes incurred accessory penalties which included:

Temporary absolute disqualification from voting and holding public office, lasting during the term of the sentence.
Perpetual special disqualification from voting and holding public office, which did not expire with the sentence.

Abes was released on April 7, 1959, by means of a conditional pardon that remitted only the unexpired portion of his prison term and fine.
The disqualifications stemming from his conviction affected his eligibility to register as a voter under the new system, as his application was denied by the Election Registration Board of Penaranda.

Notwithstanding the denial of voter registration, Abes filed his certificate of candidacy for the office of mayor and won over three other aspirants.
On November 16, 1967, the municipal board of canvassers proclaimed him fully elected mayor.
Petitioner-appellant Ambocio Lacuna, who placed second in the election, filed a petition for quo warranto on November 23, 1967, challenging the eligibility of Abes.

On December 7, 1967, during the pendency of the quo warranto petition, the President of the Philippines granted Abes an absolute and unconditional pardon restoring his “full civil and political rights.”
The Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija, after a hearing on December 21, 1967, dismissed the petition for quo warranto and declared Abes eligible for the mayoral office in view of the presidential pardon.
Ambocio Lacuna appealed the decision alleging that:

Abes, being a convicted felon and non-registered elector at the time of the election, was disqualified to hold public office under Section 2174 of the Revised Administrative Code.
The presidential pardon was intended to take effect only prospectively and did not retroactively remove the disqualification present at the time of the election.

The criminal conviction carried, besides the penalty of prision mayor, the accessory penalties as provided under:

Article 42 of the Revised Penal Code – concerning penalties related to suffrage rights.
Article 27, paragraph 3 and Article 30 of the Revised Penal Code – distinguishing between temporary and perpetual special disqualifications.
Article 32 of the Revised Penal Code – clarifying that the phrase “perpetually” applies to the perpetual disqualification, while “during the term of the sentence” applies to temporary disqualification.

The case involved the interpretation of whether the absolute pardon, granted on December 7, 1967, removed all legal disabilities—including the perpetual special disqualification—relevant to Abes’s election.

Whether Benjamin Abes was a qualified voter “at the time of the election” despite his conviction and the resultant disqualifications.
Whether the restoration of civil and political rights through the absolute, unconditional pardon, granted on December 7, 1967, had a retroactive effect that could remove the disqualifications existing at the time of the election.
Whether the non-registration as a voter, caused by his disqualifications, barred Abes from being eligible for the mayoral office under Section 2174 of the Revised Administrative Code.
The proper interpretation of the accessory penalties under the Revised Penal Code and their interaction with the power of the executive to grant pardons.