Case Digest (G.R. No. 90878)
Facts:
This is Pablito V. Sanidad v. The Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 90878, January 29, 1990, the Supreme Court En Banc, Medialdea, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Pablito V. Sanidad was a newspaper columnist for the weekly Overview of the Baguio Midland Courier, circulated in the City of Baguio and the Cordilleras. Respondent was the Commission on Elections (Comelec). On October 23, 1989, Republic Act No. 6766 (the Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region) was enacted, and a plebiscite for its ratification was scheduled and later reset to January 30, 1990 by Comelec Resolution No. 2226 dated December 27, 1989.To govern the plebiscite, Comelec promulgated Resolution No. 2167, which contained Section 19 providing that "During the plebiscite campaign period, on the day before and on plebiscite day, no mass media columnist, commentator, announcer, or personality shall use his column or radio or television times to campaign for or against the plebiscite issues." Petitioner filed a petition dated November 20, 1989 seeking certiorari to annul Section 19 as violative of the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and of the press, characterizing the provision as a prior restraint and as imposing prospective penalties by incorporation of election offenses into the plebiscite rules.
On November 28, 1989, the Court issued a temporary restraining order enjoining Comelec from enforcing Section 19 and required a comment. Comelec, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed its Comment on January 9, 1990, defending Section 19 as a valid exercise of its power under Article IX‑C (Section 4) of the 1987 Constitution and citing Section 11 of R.A. 6646 and Sections 90 and 92 of B.P. Blg. 881 (the Omnibus Election Code) as statutory bases; Comelec also argued that media may still use Comelec‑procured space and time (Comelec Space/Comelec Time) to express views.
The Court considered whether Section 19 was a permissible ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Does Section 19 of Comelec Resolution No. 2167, which prohibits certain media practitioners from using their columns or broadcast time to campaign on the day before and on plebiscite day, violate the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and of the press?
- Did the Comelec have constitutional or statutory authority under Article IX‑C, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution, Section 11 of R.A. No. 6646, or related el...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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