Title
Gonzales vs. Commission on Elections
Case
G.R. No. L-28196
Decision Date
Nov 9, 1967
Petitioners challenged R.A. No. 4913, seeking to halt its implementation, arguing that proposed constitutional amendments were wrongly ratified alongside general elections and that Congress lacked authority; the Supreme Court upheld the law’s constitutionality.

Case Summary (G.R. No. L-28196)

Constitution’s Amendment Mechanism

Article XV, Section 1 of the 1935 Constitution (as amended) prescribes:

  1. Congress in joint session, by three-fourths vote in each house, may propose amendments or call a convention.
  2. Proposed amendments become effective only upon approval by a majority of votes cast at an election at which they are “submitted to the people for their ratification.”

Validity of Congress and Status of Members

  • Petitioners’ claim that failure to reapportion legislative districts within three years after the 1960 census rendered Congress and its members de jure invalid is rejected.
  • The 1935 Constitution itself provides that, pending apportionment, the House retains the same membership fixed for the earlier National Assembly, thus preserving legal continuity.
  • Even if members were held de facto, the de facto officer doctrine validates their official acts and precludes collateral attack.

Power to Propose Amendments and to Call a Convention

  • The disjunctive “or” in Article XV, Section 1 does not forbid Congress from simultaneously proposing specific amendments (Resolutions 1 and 3) and calling a convention (Resolution 2).
  • The subject matter and timing differ: Resolutions 1 and 3 target specific changes to be ratified in 1967; Resolution 2 convenes a body in 1971 to consider broader reforms.
  • Challenges to Congress’s wisdom—but not its authority—are political questions beyond judicial review.

Submission of Amendments in a General Election

  • Nothing in the Constitution mandates a “special” election for ratification; it requires only an “election at which the amendments are submitted to the people.”
  • A general election qualifies, and Congress may choose whether to pair ratification with regular polls.

Sufficiency of Public Notice and Opportunity to Ratify

  • Republic Act No. 4913 requires:
    • Publication of amendments in three consecutive issues of the Official Gazette at least 20 days prior;
    • Posting of printed copies in municipal, city, provincial offices and polling places from October 14 until after the election;
    • Availa

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