G.R. No. 202761 - MRM Asset Holdings 2, Inc. vs. Standard Chartered Bank

Case Summary (G.R. No. 202761)

Petitioners

Petitioners are Vice Mayor Shirlyn L. BaAas‑Nograles and numerous co‑petitioners (local officials and residents) who sought judicial relief from COMELEC’s suspension of the election for Representative of the First Legislative District of South Cotabato, including General Santos City, and sought proclamation of BaAas‑Nograles as the duly elected representative.

Respondent

The respondent is the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), represented by the Office of the Solicitor General in this proceeding, which promulgated Resolution No. 10524 dated April 11, 2019, suspending the scheduled May 13, 2019 election for Representative of the First Legislative District of South Cotabato and declaring votes for that position in the May 13 elections to be stray.

Key Dates

R.A. No. 11243 approved March 11, 2019; took effect April 4, 2019.
COMELEC issued Resolution No. 10524 on April 11, 2019.
May 13, 2019: scheduled national and local elections proceeded; votes were cast for the First District representative.
Multiple manifestations by BaAas‑Nograles were filed between May 24 and August 22, 2019.
Supreme Court resolution and disposition were rendered in the cited decision (decision date within the prompt is 2019).

Applicable Law

The decision applied the 1987 Constitution (particularly Article VI, Sections 7 and 8), Republic Act No. 11243 (reapportioning the First Legislative District of South Cotabato and creating the lone legislative district of General Santos City), R.A. No. 7166 (on date of elections), and Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, Section 5 (postponement of elections) as referenced by the parties and considered in the Court’s analysis.

Factual Antecedents

R.A. No. 11243 reapportioned South Cotabato’s First Legislative District to create a lone legislative district for General Santos City and directed that the reapportionment “commence in the next national and local elections after the effectivity of this Act.” The statute further instructed incumbents to continue representing their districts “until new representatives shall have been elected and qualified,” and directed COMELEC to promulgate implementing rules and regulations. Because R.A. 11243 took effect shortly before the May 13, 2019 elections, COMELEC issued Resolution No. 10524 asserting that electoral preparations were already configured in the automated election system and could not be modified in time, and thus suspended the election for Representative of the First Legislative District.

COMELEC Resolution No. 10524 (April 11, 2019)

COMELEC declared that the automated election system had already been configured to treat voters of the First Legislative District of South Cotabato as voting for a single Representative position; finding that reconfiguration could not be completed without jeopardizing preparations for other positions, COMELEC: (a) suspended the May 13, 2019 election for Representatives of the First Legislative District (including General Santos City) and treated any votes cast for that position as stray; (b) set the first regular election for the new Representatives of the First and Third Legislative Districts of South Cotabato “within six (6) months from May 13, 2019”; and (c) provided that incumbent Representatives would continue representing their districts “until noon of June 30, 2019.”

Contentions of Petitioners

Petitioners contended that COMELEC’s suspension violated R.A. 7166, which sets the regular election date for members of the House of Representatives on the second Monday of May. They argued that no exceptional circumstances warranted a special election under the postponement statute and that scheduling an election “within six months” violated R.A. 11243 because the reapportionment was intended to commence at the next regular national and local elections after the act’s effectivity (arguably the second Monday of May 2022). Petitioners further argued that declaring the May 13 votes stray would leave the First District unrepresented from July 1, 2019 until the special election, while allowing an incumbent to hold over beyond June 30, 2019 would unduly extend a term without election.

COMELEC’s Defense

COMELEC argued authority under Article IX‑C, Section 2(1) of the 1987 Constitution to enforce election laws and under BP 881, Section 5, to postpone elections for serious causes such as force majeure and analogous circumstances. COMELEC relied on logistical and operational impossibility—most pre‑election activities were already completed and electoral data could not be revised in the remaining 38 days—to justify postponement and to set a special election within six months. COMELEC also invoked its duty to ensure free, orderly and honest elections and interpreted R.A. 11243 as requiring implementation in the immediate next elections (2019).

Legal Issue Presented

The primary legal issue was whether COMELEC lawfully suspended the May 13, 2019 election for Representative of the First Legislative District of South Cotabato in light of R.A. 11243, R.A. 7166, BP 881, and the 1987 Constitution’s provisions on the timing of regular elections and terms of office.

Court’s Analysis — “Unless Otherwise Provided by Law”

The Court emphasized Article VI, Sections 7 and 8 of the 1987 Constitution: members of the House serve three‑year terms starting at noon on June 30 following their election, and regular elections are to be held on the second Monday of May “unless otherwise provided by law.” The Court construed “unless otherwise provided by law” to mean either (1) a law that specifically fixes a different election date, or (2) a law that delegates to COMELEC authority to set a different date. The Court found that R.A. 11243 neither fixed a date other than the second Monday of May nor delegated to COMELEC the authority to set a different date.

Court’s Analysis — Timing of Implementation of R.A. 11243

The Court interpreted Section 1 of R.A. 11243, which provided that reapportionment shall “commence in the next national and local elections after the effectivity of this Act,” to mean the next regular elections on the second Monday of May 2022 rather than the May 13, 2019 elections. The Court reasoned that Congress, having enacted the law when the election period had already begun, could

Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 202761)

Procedural Posture

Petition for Review under Rule 64 of the Rules of Court (G.R. No. 246328) filed by Vice Mayor Shirlyn L. BaAas-Nograles and co-petitioners seeking relief from Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Resolution No. 10524 dated April 11, 2019.
The petition assails COMELEC’s suspension of the May 13, 2019 national and local elections for the Representative of the First Legislative District of South Cotabato, including General Santos City (1st District).
This Court, without issuing a Status Quo Ante Order, required COMELEC to file its comment by Resolution dated May 3, 2019; COMELEC filed its Comment on May 24, 2019.
Elections were held on May 13, 2019; votes were cast for the 1st District representative and later treated as stray pursuant to COMELEC Resolution No. 10524.
The petition was resolved en banc, and the Court issued a decision dated September 10, 2019.

Factual Background and Legislative Acts

Republic Act No. 11243 was signed into law by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on March 11, 2019; it took effect on April 4, 2019.
R.A. 11243 reapportioned the First Legislative District of the Province of South Cotabato, thereby creating the Lone Legislative District of General Santos City.
Section 1 of R.A. 11243 states that the creation of the lone legislative district of General Santos City is “to commence in the next national and local elections after the effectivity of this Act.”
Section 2 of R.A. 11243 directed incumbent Representatives of the First and Second Legislative Districts of South Cotabato to continue representing their respective districts “until new representatives shall have been elected and qualified.”
Section 3 of R.A. 11243 mandated COMELEC to issue the necessary rules and regulations to implement the law.

COMELEC Resolution No. 10524 (April 11, 2019) — Key Provisions

COMELEC issued Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 11243 by Resolution No. 10524 on April 11, 2019.
Section 3 of the Resolution found that electoral data and candidate names for Member, House of Representatives for the First Legislative District (which included General Santos City) were already configured into the automated election system to show voters of the First Legislative District voting for one Member, House of Representatives.
The Resolution stated that this configuration is inconsistent with Section 1 of R.A. 11243 and that the present configuration could not be revised or modified in time for the May 13, 2019 elections without jeopardizing preparations for other positions because of operational and logistical constraints, including but not limited to:
- Filing of Certificates of Candidacy for the newly created legislative districts;
- Finalization of the list of candidates;
- Finalization of the ballot face;
- Printing of ballots.
The Resolution ordered:
- Suspension of the election of Representatives for the First Legislative District, including General Santos City, scheduled on May 13, 2019; and that in case the position is voted upon in the May 13, 2019 elections, all votes for that position shall be considered stray.
- Setting the first regular election for the new Representatives of the First and Third Legislative Districts of South Cotabato within six (6) months from May 13, 2019.
Section 4 of the Resolution provided that incumbent Representatives of the First and Second Legislative Districts would continue to represent their districts until noon of June 30, 2019.

Petitioners’ Claims and Reliefs Sought

Petitioners contended COMELEC’s Resolution violated R.A. 7166, which provides that elections for elective Members of the House of Representatives shall be on the second Monday of May every three years.
Petitioners acknowledged special elections may be held but maintained none of the exceptional circumstances warranting such (as contemplated by law) were present.
Petitioners argued R.A. 11243 intended the reapportionment to “commence in the next national and local elections after the effectivity of this Act,” meaning the second Monday of May 2022, not May 13, 2019.
They pointed out that the law was passed during the election period and that Congress must have been aware of the ongoing election period when R.A. 11243 was enacted.
Petitioners questioned the feasibility of conducting a special election within six months from May 13, 2019.
They attacked COMELEC’s directive treating votes for the 1st District as stray, asserting that such treatment would leave the 1st District without a representative from July 1, 2019 until elections were held.
The petitioners also argued that allowing the incumbent representative to continue in a holdover capacity could impermissibly extend an official’s term without election by the people.
Petitioners prayed for: (1) grant of the petition; (2) proclamation of Shirlyn L. BaAas-Nograles as the winning candidate for the 1st District; and (3) issuance of a Status Quo Ante Order in the interim.

Electoral Outcome and Subsequent Filings

Despite the COMELEC Resolution’s suspension order, the May 13, 2019 elections proceeded and votes were cast for the 1st District representative.
Total votes cast for the 1st District position amounted to 284,351, computed as follows: 194,929 votes for Shirlyn L. BaAas-Nograles; 42,005 for Art Cloma; 44,802 for Menchie Dinopol-Cataluna; and 2,615 for Abelardo Plaza.
Shirlyn L. BaAas-Nograles received 194,929 votes (68.55% of votes cast).
Under Section 3 of COMELEC’s Resolution, all votes for the 1st District position were considered stray; consequently, BaAas-Nograles was not proclaimed as the representative-elect.
BaAas-Nograles filed multiple manifestations on May 24, May 27, June 6, July 17, and August 22, 2019, repeating her requests for relie