Case Digest (G.R. No. 54362)
Facts:
Quintin C. Sim v. Honorable Pedro D. Ofiana and Pedro N. Sales, G.R. No. 54362, February 28, 1985, the Supreme Court En Banc, Fernando, C.J., writing for the Court.In the January 30, 1980 municipal election in Manaoag, Pangasinan, Quintin C. Sim (here petitioner before the Court) received the greater number of votes and was proclaimed by the Municipal Board of Canvassers as duly elected mayor on February 3, 1980. On February 25, 1980 private respondent Pedro N. Sales, the unsuccessful candidate, filed a petition for quo warranto (Civil Case No. D-5071) in the Court of First Instance of Pangasinan, Branch IV, then presided by respondent Judge Pedro D. Ofiana.
In the trial court Sim (then the respondent in the quo warranto) moved to dismiss on several grounds: that Sales lacked personality to institute the action because Sales’s certificate of candidacy allegedly was not given due course by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in a January 28, 1980 resolution; and that the quo warranto was barred by the Election Code’s ten-day filing rule because Sales filed on February 25, more than ten days after proclamation. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss; a motion for reconsideration was likewise denied, prompting Sim to file the present petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus before the Supreme Court.
The Solicitor General, acting for respondent Judge Ofiana, filed a Comment arguing lack of personality on Sales’s part and untimeliness of the petition. Sales’s Comment replied that he had filed an administrative petition to disqualify Sim with the COMELEC (PDC 237) on January 24, 1980; COMELEC resolved the matter on February 12, 1980 denying the disqualification for lack of evidence and, by telegram received by Sales on February 14, 1980, informed him that the denial was “WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO THE FILING BY HEREIN PETITIONER … QUO WARRANTO.” Sales therefore instituted quo warranto on February 25, 1980. The Supreme Court treated the Comments as answers and proceeded on the record.
The Court considered prior authorities, notably Reyes v. Com...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did private respondent Pedro N. Sales have the legal personality to institute quo warranto against Quintin C. Sim despite COMELEC’s alleged refusal to give his certificate of candidacy due course?
- Was the court of first instance deprived of jurisdiction to entertain Sales’s quo warranto because it was filed beyond the ten-day period after proclamation pre...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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