Case Digest (G.R. No. 6250)
Facts:
Lope Severino v. The Governor-General of the Philippine Islands and the Provincial Board of Occidental Negros, G.R. No. 6250, August 03, 1910, Supreme Court, Trent, J., writing for the Court.The petitioner, Lope Severino, a resident, qualified elector, and local chief of the Nacionalista party in Silay, Occidental Negros, sought an original writ of mandamus to compel the Governor‑General to call a special election for municipal president and prayed for a preliminary injunction restraining the Governor‑General and the Provincial Board of Occidental Negros from appointing a municipal president during the proceeding. On November 2, 1909 a municipal election was held in Silay; returns showed Domingo Hernaez elected municipal president while Emilio Gaston (the Nacionalista candidate) protested the result under section 27 of Act No. 1582 (Election Law). The Court of First Instance tried the protest and, on December 14, 1909, adjudged that no one was legally elected municipal president and certified that determination to the Governor‑General under section 27.
Instead of calling the special election that Severino said the law required, the Governor‑General directed the provincial board to fill the vacancy by appointment and to submit a name for approval. Severino filed in this Court an original application for mandamus and for preliminary injunction; the respondents demurred to the petition. The Attorney‑General appeared for the respondents and argued (1) Severino lacked a special beneficial interest (standing), (2) the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to control the Governor‑General’s acts ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is Lope Severino a proper party (has standing) to invoke mandamus and injunction to enforce the purported statutory right to a special municipal election?
- May the Supreme Court, by mandamus or injunction, control or compel official acts of the Governor‑General — specifically, must he call the special election rather than allow the provincial board to appoint?
- If the duty to call a special election is ministerial under statute, does that render the Governor‑General ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)