SC Reverses COMELEC’s Dismissal of Disqualification Petition Against Governor Mamba
April 22, 2024
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) gravely abused its discretion in dismissing the petition for disqualification filed against then gubernatorial candidate and current Cagayan Governor Manuel N. Mamba (Mamba).
On April 16, 2024, the Supreme Court En Banc, in a Decision penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, granted the petition for certiorari filed by Ma. Zarah Rose De Guzman-Lara (De Guzman-Lara) challenging the COMELEC En Banc’s dismissal of her petition to disqualify Mamba from the May 2022 local elections. It also remanded the case to the COMELEC En Banc for proper disposition of De Guzman-Lara’s petition for disqualification against Mamba.
Both De Guzman-Lara and Mamba were candidates for the position of Governor of the province of Cagayan in the said elections. On May 10, 2022, at 6:21 p.m., De Guzman-Lara filed through email a petition to disqualify Mamba on the grounds of massive vote-buying and unlawful disbursement of public funds.
On May 11, 2022, at 1:39 a.m., the Provincial Board of Canvassers proclaimed Mamba as the duly elected governor of Cagayan after garnering the highest number of votes.
However, the COMELEC’s Second Division subsequently issued a Resolution on December 14, 2022, disqualifying Mamba after finding substantial evidence that Mamba violated Section 261(v) of the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits the unauthorized release, disbursement, or expenditure of public funds during the campaign period.
This was reversed by the COMELEC En Banc, which dismissed De Guzman-Lara’s petition to disqualify Mamba for being filed out of time.
The COMELEC En Banc, relying on Sec. 5 of its Resolution No. 10673, or its guidelines on the electronic filing of pleadings, ruled that the petition, which was emailed on May 10, 2022, at 6:21 p.m., was considered to have been filed the next working day, or on May 11, 2022, at 8:00 a.m. The petition was filed after Mamba’s proclamation, which effectively divested the COMELEC of any authority to hear and decide disqualification cases filed thereafter.
De Guzman-Lara was thus prompted to seek redress before the Court.
The Court ruled that the COMELEC En Banc committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing the petition for disqualification against Mamba. It held that the petition for disqualification was filed on time.
Under Section 3, Rule 25 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure, disqualification petitions shall be filed any day after the last day for filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) but not later than the date of proclamation. A petition for disqualification can be filed even after the exact time of the proclamation of a candidate, so long as it was filed within the same day.
This is in accordance with Article 13 of the Civil Code, a substantive law that states that a day should be understood to mean 24 hours. As rules of procedure cannot take precedence over substantive law, the COMELEC Rules of Procedure should yield to the interpretation directed by the Civil Code. Hence, the date or day of proclamation should be understood to mean the full 24 hours of the day on which such proclamation takes place.
The Court found that since Mamba was proclaimed on May 11, 2022 at 1:39 a.m., petitions for disqualification against Mamba could still be filed anytime within that day.
The Court added that the period to file pleadings through email under Section 5 of COMELEC Resolution No. 10673 should have taken stock of particular circumstances surrounding petitions for disqualification given that the proclamation of candidates can happen at any time, whether day or night.
Practicable realities borne by technological advances must likewise be considered, such as those resulting from filings made through email. As observed by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, unlike in conventional filing, the mode of filing used in the present case is through email. While in conventional filing the pleading will only be received by the agency during office hours, or from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the same cannot be said for filings via email. Actual receipt of pleadings by email is not limited to the physical structures of an agency, which remain open during certain hours of the day.
The Court pointed out that in light of current capabilities brought by modern technology, it can hardly be argued that institutions with vast innovative resources such as the COMELEC will not be able to access a pleading filed beyond office hours when such filing was made via email.
Further noting that the period of proclamation does not provide a definite time, while the period to file a disqualification petition based on the proclamation date, on the other hand, was given a timeline, the Court harmonized COMELEC Resolution No. 10673 and the COMELEC Rules of Procedure and held that petitions for disqualification may be filed even beyond the office hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., so long as it is done within the day of the proclamation.
The Supreme Court Public Information Office will upload a copy of the Decision in G.R. No. 265847 (De Guzman-Lara v. COMELEC and Mamba) once it receives the same from the Office of the Clerk of Court En Banc. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)