Case Digest (G.R. No. 222702)
Facts:
Jose F. Singson, Etc., Contra Vicente Q. Quintillan y Otros, Etc., G.R. No. L-1273, February 19, 1948, the Supreme Court En Banc, Briones, M., writing for the Court.The petitioner Jose F. Singson sought from the Supreme Court a declaration that he was entitled to be recognized as Justice of the Peace of the combined municipalities of Santo Domingo and San Ildefonso, the exclusion of Vicente Q. Quintillan from that office for usurpation or unlawful exercise of the office, annulment of Administrative Order No. 37 issued by the Judge of First Instance of Ilocos Sur (Hon. Ceferino de los Santos) that attempted to oust the petitioner and install Quintillan, a preliminary prohibitory writ against the respondents, and other reliefs including costs.
On November 21, 1937 Singson was appointed Justice of the Peace ad interim for Santo Domingo and San Ildefonso by the President of the Philippines and was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on May 10, 1938. He served continuously until the Japanese occupation on December 10, 1941. During the occupation he accepted appointments as Justice of the Peace for other municipalities (Bantay, Caoayan, Santa Catalina and San Vicente) and served until liberation; he asserts he did not request those wartime appointments and that they likely resulted from prewar records in the Department of Justice.
After liberation the military governor of Ilocos Sur designated Singson to act as Justice of the Peace for Santo Domingo and San Ildefonso from April 1 to July 31, 1945, and on August 1, 1945 Mauro Verzosa, Special Delegate of the President, again designated him for the same office; thus Singson’s post-liberation service was continuous. On February 9, 1946 President Sergio Osmeña issued Singson an ad interim appointment for that office; after the change of administration President Manuel Roxas transmitted such appointments to the Commission on Appointments on May 25, 1946, and the Commission disapproved Singson’s appointment on July 9, 1946.
On December 5, 1946 President Roxas appointed Vicente Q. Quintillan ad interim as Justice of the Peace of Santo Domingo and San Ildefonso. Quintillan attempted to obtain possession from the incumbent Singson and, being refused, petitioned Judge Ceferino de los Santos of the Court of First Inst...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Who is entitled to be recognized as Justice of the Peace of the combined municipalities of Santo Domingo and San Ildefonso — petitioner Jose F. Singson or respondent Vicente Q. Quintillan?
- Did the Japanese occupation, the petitioner’s wartime service, or his acceptance of post‑liberation designations and an ad interim appointment (later disapproved by the Commission on Appointments) terminate or amount to abandonment of his pre‑war office so as to deprive him of the right to the position?
- Did the ad interim appointment of Quintillan and the Administra...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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