Title
Nacionalista Party vs. Bautista
Case
G.R. No. L-3452
Decision Date
Dec 7, 1949
President Quirino's designation of Solicitor General Bautista as acting COMELEC member was ruled unconstitutional, as it undermined COMELEC's independence and violated separation of powers.
invalid
unconstitutional
vacancy

Case Summary (G.R. No. L-3452)

Factual Background

On November 9, 1949, President Quirino designated the respondent, who then held and continued to hold the office of Solicitor General, as acting member of the Commission on Elections and the respondent took the oath and assumed the duties of that office while retaining his Solicitor Generalship. The designation was made to fill the vacancy said to have been caused by the President’s acceptance on that date of Commissioner Francisco Enage’s application for retirement. The petitioner challenged the designation as invalid, illegal, and unconstitutional, alleging both that there was no lawful vacancy in the Commission and that, even if there were, the President could not lawfully designate a person to act temporarily in a permanent constitutional office or allow a Commissioner to hold another public office concurrently.

Trial Court and Original Proceedings

The petition sought a writ of prohibition commanding the respondent to desist from acting as a member of the Commission on Elections unless legally appointed as a regular member. The respondent admitted the designation and that he continued as Solicitor General, denied the other averments, and defended the legality of the designation under the President’s appointment powers and Commonwealth Act No. 588. The parties litigated whether the retirement of Commissioner Enage created a vacancy and whether a temporary designation to a constitutionally created office with fixed tenure was lawful. The petitioner’s capacity to sue was also questioned because it alleged only registration as a political party and not incorporation under Act 1459.

Issues Presented

The Court framed and addressed these principal questions: whether Commissioner Enage’s retirement and its acceptance by the President created a vacancy in the Commission on Elections; whether the President, under the Constitution and existing law, may designate an acting member to temporarily fill a permanent constitutional office in the Commission on Elections while the designee retains another public office; whether such temporary designation impairs the constitutional independence and tenure guaranteed to Commissioners; whether Commonwealth Act No. 588 authorized the designation; and whether prohibition was an appropriate remedy in the circumstances and whether the petitioner had legal personality to maintain the action.

Parties’ Contentions

The petitioner contended that no vacancy lawfully existed because the acceptance of Enage’s retirement was an abuse of discretion and done in bad faith, and that Enage was entitled to leave rather than retirement; alternatively, the petitioner argued that membership in the Commission is a permanent constitutional office with a fixed nine-year tenure, that a Commissioner cannot concurrently hold another office, and that designation of the Solicitor General to act temporarily in the Commission impaired the Commission’s independence and impartiality. The respondent asserted that the President’s power to appoint includes the power to designate, that Commonwealth Act No. 588 expressly authorizes temporary designations, that the offices were not incompatible, and that Enage’s retirement, having been applied for and granted, created a vacancy which the President properly sought to fill pending permanent appointment.

Ruling of the Court

The Court held that a vacancy existed by reason of Commissioner Enage’s accepted application for retirement and declined to inquire into the President’s motives in granting that retirement because of separation of powers and because the President was not a party. The Court further ruled that the designation of the respondent Solicitor General as acting member of the Commission on Elections to fill a permanent vacancy was unlawful and unconstitutional. The Court found that the Constitution created an independent Commission on Elections with members enjoying fixed nine-year terms and guarantees designed to secure independence and impartiality, and that temporary designation to fill a permanent office in the Commission undermined those constitutional protections. The Court declared that Commonwealth Act No. 588 did not justify such designation because it contemplates officers in the Executive Department, whereas Commissioners of the Commission on Elections are independent under the Constitution.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Court reasoned that the power to appoint does not carry an unfettered power to designate where such designation would subvert constitutional safeguards. The opinion analyzed the constitutional design of staggered nine-year terms to preserve independence and noted the special prohibitions securing economic and functional independence of Commissioners (for example, restrictions under Article X against practice of professions and private financial interests). The Court contrasted permissible temporary designations in other contexts with the present case and observed that statutory authorizations for temporary designation in the judiciary (provisions of Republic Act No. 296) illustrate that legislation may expressly limit or permit designation; absent such express applicability, a general temporary appointment statute for the Executive cannot be read to override the Constitution’s creation of an independent Commission. On remedy, the Court considered the proper extraordinary writ and explained that quo warranto ordinarily is the remedy to test title to office but that, because no private party was entitled to the office and the Solicitor General could not proceed against himself, prohibition was an appropriate and necessary remedy to prevent the exercise of authority conferred by an act repugnant to the Constitution. The Court cited authorities on extraordinary remedies, including High’s Extraordinary Legal Remedies, and cases such as Chambers v. Jennings, Ex parte Roundtree, Curtis v. Cornish, and State ex rel. Hovey v. Noble to support the proposition that prohibition may lie when the very legal existence or constitutionality of an office or tribunal is in question.

Petitioners’ Standing and Procedural Disposition

The Court observed a technical defect in petitioner’s pleadings because THE NACIONALISTA PARTY averred only organization and registration and did not allege incorporation under Act 1459; accordingly, the petitioner was granted five days to amend to substitute the real parties in interest or to show that it was a juridical person entitled to sue. The Court declared that upon such amendment or showing the writ prayed for would issue without costs; if the petitioner failed to amend or show juridical status, the petition would be dismissed. The majority directed issuance of the writ after compliance.

Concurring and Dissenting Opinions

Justice Ozaeta concurred in granting the petition and agreed that Commonwealth Act No. 588 did not apply

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