Title
Guro vs. Commission on Elections
Case
G.R. No. 234345
Decision Date
Jun 22, 2021
A mayoral candidate's disqualification petition was dismissed as filed beyond the 25-day reglementary period, upheld by the Supreme Court for strict rule application without exceptional circumstances.
eligibility
mayoral candidate
petition
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 234345)

Factual Background

On October 16, 2015, private respondent filed his COC for Municipal Mayor of Lumbaca-Unayan, Lanao del Sur for the then forthcoming May 2016 NLE. In the COC, he indicated under oath that he was a registered voter of Barangay Poblacion Dilausan, Lumbaca-Unayan, Lanao del Sur and that he was eligible to run for the office sought.

Petitioner, who was the erstwhile municipal mayor of Lumbaca-Unayan and who himself ran for re-election, challenged private respondent’s candidacy. On April 29, 2016, petitioner filed a Petition for Disqualification, alleging that based on the posted certified voters’ list, private respondent was not a registered voter of the municipality and was therefore not qualified to be a candidate for the office contested.

Private respondent filed a Verified Answer dated June 13, 2016. He denied the petition’s material allegations. He also asserted that the petition had become moot and academic because the COMELEC approved, upon recommendation of Director Teopisto R. Elnas, Jr. of the Election and Barangay Affairs Department (EBAD), the inclusion of his name in the supplemental list of voters. Private respondent further averred that he was able to cast his vote on Election Day and that he won and was proclaimed as mayor in the May 2016 NLE.

Ruling of the COMELEC First Division

The COMELEC First Division dismissed the petition on a procedural ground. It held that petitioner filed the petition beyond the reglementary period applicable to petitions under Section 78 of the OEC, specifically noting the twenty-five (25) day deadline from the time of filing of the questioned COC.

Petitioner sought reconsideration, but the COMELEC En Banc affirmed the First Division’s dismissal. The En Banc adopted the finding that the petition was filed “way beyond the reglementary period.” Because the petition was dismissed for untimeliness, the COMELEC found it unnecessary to tackle the other substantive issues raised by petitioner.

Issues Raised Before the Supreme Court

Aggrieved, petitioner brought the case to the Supreme Court, asserting that the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. He argued that the COMELEC dismissed the petition on technical grounds instead of deciding the case on the merits, in view of the alleged grave violation of election laws by private respondent.

The Parties’ Contentions

Petitioner’s position was anchored on the premise that the COMELEC should have resolved the case substantively due to the alleged falsity of private respondent’s representation regarding voter registration, and the supposed public character of the alleged election infraction. In effect, petitioner sought relaxation of strict procedural requirements.

Private respondent, for his part, maintained that the petition was either without basis substantively and, in any event, had become moot due to subsequent COMELEC action approving inclusion in the supplemental list of voters. He also emphasized that he was able to vote, won the election, and had been proclaimed.

Legal Basis and Reasoning: Nature of the Remedy and Timeliness

The Supreme Court agreed with the COMELEC’s characterization of the case. It held that because the petition was anchored on private respondent’s alleged ineligibility—specifically, the claimed false representation regarding voter registration—the petition was in the nature of a petition to deny due course or to cancel the COC. Such petitions fall within Section 78 of the OEC and are governed by Rule 23 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure, as amended by COMELEC Resolution No. 9523.

Under Rule 23, Section 1, a verified petition may be filed on the exclusive ground that any material representation required by law is false, while petitions invoking other grounds for disqualification or combining distinct remedies are summarily dismissed.

Under Rule 23, Section 2, the petition must be filed within five (5) days from the last day for filing of the COC, but in no case later than twenty-five (25) days from the time of filing of the certificate subject of the petition. In this case, the Court noted the factual timeline: private respondent filed the COC on October 16, 2015, while petitioner filed the petition on April 29, 2016, or after one hundred ninety-six (196) days had elapsed.

The Supreme Court then addressed jurisprudence recognizing public interest exceptions. It explained that in Aznar v. Commission on Elections (Aznar), although the petition there was filed beyond the twenty-five (25) day reglementary period, the Court ruled on the merits because the issue involved private respondent’s citizenship and qualification to hold an elective public office after proclamation. Similarly, in Loong v. Commission on Elections (Loong), the Court treated misrepresentation as to required age as not placed at the same level as the citizenship issue in Frivaldo v. Commission on Elections (Frivaldo) and Aznar, which involved lack of Philippine citizenship described as an “overriding and fundamental desideratum” and matched perhaps only by disloyalty to the Republic.

The Court further recalled the approach in these cases that procedural infirmities may be disregarded only in a limited class of circumstances where the public good is strongly implicated. It emphasized that where disqualification rests on age, residence, or other grounds for ineligibility, the reglementary period should be applied strictly.

Applying these principles, the Supreme Court declined to treat the alleged misrepresentation of voter registration as a qualifying circumstance warranting deviation from strict application of the filing deadline. The Court therefore held that no reason existed to depart from settled jurisprudence requiring strict enforcement where the ground is ineligibility.

Comparison with Cases Allowing Liberal Treatment

The Court considered but found inapplicable precedents where the COMELEC was treated as justified in suspending or relaxing procedural rules. In Hayudini v. Commission on Elections (Hayudini), the Court had favored liberal construction despite the petition being filed one hundred seventy-two (172) days after the COC was filed. The Court found it decisive that there had been a supervening event: another petition had already been filed, the COMELEC dismissed it on the same day that the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MCTC) granted inclusion of the petitioner in the list of voters, and the RTC reversal of the MCTC decision became final and executory, effectively equipping the challenger with the necessary grounds to challenge the COC.

In Caballero v. Commission on Elections (Caballero), the Court found a ground for leniency because the issue involved representation of residency for at least one year before elections, a matter treated as touching qualification and eligibility, and also because the peculiar circumstances included petitioner’s failure to serve a copy of the petition before filing, which the Court treated as excused due to impossibility arising from the petitioner being in Canada.

In Ocate v. Commission on Elections (Ocate), the Court adopted a liberal stance regarding a one-day delay based on due diligence and on the occurrence of a typhoon that made it impossible for court employees to receive and docket the pleading.

The Supreme Court assessed the record before it and found no analogous supervening event, peculiar circumstance, or substantial justification that would permit relaxation in petitioner’s case. It highlighted that petitioner’s delay was not merely slight; it was beyond the twenty-five (25) day period by an extended duration.

Disposition and Result

The Supreme Court held that the COMELEC did not commit grave abuse of discretion in dismissing petitioner’s petition on procedural grounds. It affirmed that dismissal because petitioner filed the petition far beyond the prescribed reglementary period applicable to petitions to deny

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