EN BANC
G.R. No. 206004, February 24, 2015
JOSEPH B. TIMBOL, Petitioner, v. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, Respondent.
R E S O L U T I O N
LEONEN, J.:
The power of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to restrict a citizen's right of suffrage should not be arbitrarily exercised. The COMELEC cannot motu proprio deny due course to or cancel an alleged nuisance candidate's certificate of candidacy without providing the candidate his opportunity to be heard.
This is a Petition1 for Certiorari with prayer for issuance of preliminary mandatory injunction against the following issuances of the COMELEC: first, Resolution No. 96102 dated January 11, 2013, declaring petitioner Joseph B. Timbol (Timbol) a nuisance candidate and ordering the removal of his name from the certified list of candidates;3 and second, Minute Resolution4 dated February 5, 2013, denying his Petition to have his name listed in the certified list of candidates and printed on the ballots for the May 13, 2013 elections.5cralawred
On October 5, 2012, Timbol filed a Certificate of Candidacy6 for the position of Member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the Second District of Caloocan City. On January 15, 2013, he received a Subpoena7 from COMELEC Election Officer Dinah A. Valencia (Election Officer Valencia), ordering him to appear before her office on January 17, 2013 for a clarificatory hearing in connection with his Certificate of Candidacy.8cralawred
Timbol, together with his counsel, appeared before Election Officer Valencia. During the clarificatory hearing, Timbol argued that he was not a nuisance candidate. He contended that in the 2010 elections, he ranked eighth among all the candidates who ran for Member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the Second District of Caloocan City. He allegedly had sufficient resources to sustain his campaign.9cralawred
He pointed out before the clarificatory hearing panel that his name already appeared in the list of nuisance candidates posted in the COMELEC website pursuant to Resolution No. 9610 dated January 11, 2013. The clarificatory hearing panel allegedly assured him that his name would be deleted from the list and that his Certificate of Candidacy would be given due course.10cralawred
In the Memorandum11 dated January 17, 2013, Election Officer Valencia recommended that Timbol's Certificate of Candidacy be given due course.12cralawred
Despite Election Officer Valencia's favorable recommendation, Timbol's name was not removed from the list of nuisance candidates posted in the COMELEC's website. With the printing of ballots for the automated elections set on February 4, 2013, Timbol filed on February 2, 2013 a Petition13 praying that his name be included in the certified list of candidates for the May 13, 2013 elections.14cralawred
In the Minute Resolution dated February 5, 2013, the COMELEC denied the Petition for being moot, considering that the printing of ballots had already begun.15cralawred
On March 15, 2013,16 Timbol filed his Petition for Certiorari with this court, arguing that the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion in declaring him a nuisance candidate.17 According to Timbol, the COMELEC deprived him of due process of law when he was declared a nuisance candidate even before Election Officer Valencia conducted the clarificatory hearing.18 He prayed for a preliminary mandatory injunction ordering the COMELEC to include his name in the certified list of candidates for the position of Member of Sangguniang Panlungsod of the Second District of Caloocan City.19cralawred
In the Resolution20 dated April 16, 2013, this court ordered the Office of the Solicitor General to comment on behalf of the COMELEC.
In its Comment,21 the COMELEC argued that the Petition was already moot and academic, considering that the May 13, 2013 elections had already been conducted.22cralawred
Even assuming that the Petition was not moot and academic, the COMELEC maintained that it did not gravely abuse its discretion. Contrary to Timbol's argument, he was given an opportunity to be heard when Election Officer Valencia heard him during the clarificatory hearing. He even admitted that he attended the clarificatory hearing with his counsel.23cralawred
Moreover, the COMELEC did not gravely abuse its discretion in denying Timbol's Petition to be included in the certified list of candidates, considering that the printing of ballots had already started.24cralawred
With these arguments, the COMELEC prayed that this court deny the Petition for lack of merit.25cralawred
In the Resolution26 dated August 6, 2013, this court ordered Timbol to file a reply. When Timbol failed to file his reply despite receipt of the order,27 we required Atty. Jose Ventura Aspiras (Atty. Aspiras), counsel for Timbol, to show cause why he should not be disciplinarily dealt with for failing to file a reply on behalf of his client in the Resolution28 dated September 2, 2014. We likewise reiterated our order for Atty. Aspiras to file a reply for Timbol.29 Still, Atty. Aspiras failed to comply with our show cause resolution.
We dispense with the filing of the reply and resolve to decide this case based on the Petition and the Comment.
The issues for this court's resolution are the following:
First, whether this case is moot and academic; and
Second, whether respondent COMELEC gravely abused its discretion in denying petitioner Timbol's Petition for inclusion in the certified list of candidates.
We deny the Petition.chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
(1) there was a grave violation of the Constitution; (2) the case involved a situation of exceptional character and was of paramount public interest; (3) the issues raised required the formulation of controlling principles to guide the Bench, the Bar and the public; and (4) the case was capable of repetition yet evading review.32 (Citation omitted)cralawlawlibrary
. . . The State has a compelling interest to ensure that its electoral exercises are rational, objective, and orderly. Towards this end, the State takes into account the practical considerations in conducting elections. Inevitably, the greater the number of candidates, the greater the opportunities for logistical confusion, not to mention the increased allocation of time and resources in preparation for the election. These practical difficulties should, of course, never exempt the State from the conduct of a mandated electoral exercise. At the same time, remedial actions should be available to alleviate these logistical hardships, whenever necessary and proper. Ultimately, a disorderly election is not merely a textbook example of inefficiency, but a rot that erodes faith in our democratic institutions. . . .
. . . The organization of an election with bona fide candidates standing is onerous enough. To add into the mix candidates with no serious intentions or capabilities to run a viable campaign would actually impair the electoral process. This is not to mention the candidacies which are palpably ridiculous so as to constitute a one-note joke. The poll body would be bogged by irrelevant minutiae covering every step of the electoral process, most probably posed at the instance of these nuisance candidates. It would be a senseless sacrifice on the part of the State.40cralawlawlibrary
[T]he determination whether a candidate is eligible for the position he is seeking involves a determination of fact where both parties must be allowed to adduce evidence in support of their contentions. Because the resolution of such fact may result to a deprivation of one's right to run for public office, or, as in this case, one's right to hold public office, it is only proper and fair that the candidate concerned be notified of the proceedings against him and that he be given the opportunity to refute the allegations against him. It should be stressed that it is not sufficient, as the COMELEC claims, that the candidate be notified of the Commission's inquiry into the veracity of the contents of his certificate of candidacy, but he must also be allowed to present his own evidence to prove that he possesses the qualifications for the office he seeks.46cralawlawlibrary
Endnotes:
1Rollo, pp. 3-9. This Petition was filed under Rule 64 in relation to Rule 65 of the Rules of Court.
2 Id. at 12-17.
3 Id. at 14 and 16.
4 Id. at 18-19.
5 Id. at 19.
6 Id. at 23.
7 Id. at 24.
8 Id. at 4.
9 Id. at 4-5.
10 Id. at 5.
11 Id. at 30-34.
12 Id. at 34.
13 Id. at 35-37.
14 Id. at 35-36.
15 Id. at 19.
16 Id. at 3.
17 Id. at 6-7.
18 Id.
19 Id. at 8.
20 Id. at 38.
21 Id. at 44-55.
22 Id. at 49.
23 Id. at 52.
24 id. at 53.
25 Id. at 54.
26 Id. at 57.
27 Id. at 60-61.
28 Id. at 67.
29 Id.
30COCOFED-Philippine Coconut Producers Federation, Inc. v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 207026, August 6, 2013, 703 SCRA 165, 175 [Per J. Brion, En Banc].
31Baldo, Jr. v. Commission on Elections, 607 Phil. 281, 286-287 (2009) [Per J. Chico-Nazario, En Banc]; Garcia v. Commission on Elections, 328 Phil. 288, 292 (1996) [Per J. Francisco, En Banc]; De la Victoria v. Commission on Elections, 276 Phil. 610 (1991) [Per J. Grino-Aquino, En Bane]. Alliance for Rural and Agrarian Reconstruction, Inc. v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 192803, December 10, 2013, 712 SCRA 54, 75-76 [Per J. Leonen, En Banc].
33De la Camara v. Enage, 148-B Phil. 502, 504 (1971) [Per J. Fernando, En Banc].
34 COMELEC RULES OF PROCEDURE, rule 24, sec. 4, as amended by COMELEC Resolution No. 9523.
35 See De la Camara v. Enage, 148-B Phil. 502, 504 (1971) [Per J. Fernando, En Banc], where the court, despite the case being moot and academic, proceeded to set forth "controlling and authoritative doctrines" for the guidance of lower courts in fixing the amount of bail "in order that full respect be accorded to such a constitutional right."
36Pamatong v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 161872, April 13, 2004, 427 SCRA 96, 100 [Per J. Tinga, En Banc].
37 Id.
38 ELECTION CODE, sec. 69.
39 G.R. No. 161872, April 13, 2004, 427 SCRA 96 [Per J. Tinga, En Banc].
40 Id. at 104-105.
41 ELECTION CODE, sec. 69.
42 COMELEC RULES OF PROCEDURE, rule 24, sec. 4, as amended by COMELEC Resolution No. 9523.
43Trinidad v. Commission on Elections, 373 Phil. 802, 811 (1999) [Per J. Ynares-Sahtiago, En Banc], citing Paat v. Court of Appeals, 334 Phil. 146, 156 (1997) [Per J. Torres, Jr., Second Division], in turn citing Navarro III v. Damasco, 316 Phil. 322, 328 (1995) [Per J. Quiason, First Division].
44 Id.
45 479 Phil. 677 (2004) [Per J. Puno, En Banc].
46 Id. at 691.
47See Cipriano v. Commission on Elections, 479 Phil. 677, 689-690 (2004) [Per J. Puno, En Banc].
48Philippine Guardians Brotherhood, Inc. v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 190529, March 22, 2011, 646 SCRA 63, 71 [Per J. Brion, En Banc].
49 Id. at 80
50Ciprano v. Commission on Elections, 479 Phil. 677, 687-688 (2004) [Per J. Puno, En Banc].