The Supreme Court (SC) has reversed the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) decision that dismissed the disqualification case filed against then gubernatorial candidate and now Gov. Manuel N. Mamba of Cagayan.
In a press statement issued by its public information office (PIO), the SC granted the petition filed by Ma. Zarah Rose De Guzman Lara, who together with Mamba, was also a candidate for the gubernatorial post.
With the ruling contained in a decision written by Associate Justice Jhoseph Y. Lopez, the PIO said the SC remanded the case to the Comelec for proper disposition of Lara’s disqualification petition against Mamba.
A copy of the decision has not been made public by the SC. The PIO said it will post a copy of the decision once released by the Office of the Clerk of Court of the SC’s full court (en banc).
The PIO said that Lara challenged the results of the Cagayan elections on May 10, 2022 on alleged massive vote-buying and unlawful disbursement of funds.
On May 11, 2022, however, the Cagayan Provincial Board of Canvasser proclaimed Mamba as the duty elected governor.
On Dec. 14, 2022, the Comelec’s second division issued a resolution that disqualified Mamba after finding substantial evidence that he violated Section 261(v) of the Omnibus Election Code which prohibits the unauthorized release, disbursement, or expenditure of public funds during the campaign period.
However, the Comelec en banc (as full commission) reversed the ruling of its second division with a ruling that Lara’s petition was filed out of time.
The Comelec en banc ruled that Lara’s petition which was filed via email on at 6:21 pm. on May 10, 2022 was considered to have been filed at 8 a.m. the following day, May 11, 2022.
It said the petition was filed after Mamba’s proclamation, which effectively divested the Comelec of any authority to hear and decide disqualification cases filed thereafter.
Lara challenged the Comelec en banc’s ruling before the SC.
In granting Lara’s petition, the PIO said the SC ruled that the case was filed on time. It said the SC ruled that 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.
Quoting from the decision, the PIO said stressed that 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 of the proclamation.
The PIO also said the SC noted that in accordance with Article 13 of the Civil Code, a substantive law that states that a day should be understood to mean 24 hours.
It also said:
“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.
“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.”