The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to hear and resolve the disqualification case filed against Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba by his political rival for alleged massive vote-buying and unlawful disbursement of public funds during the May 2022 gubernatorial election.
In a decision penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, the SC granted the petition filed by Ma. Zarah Rose De Guzman-Lara assailing the Comelec’s en banc decision which dismissed her petition to disqualify Mamba from the May 2022 local elections.
The decision was adopted by the SC en banc last April 16, 2024. The SC has yet to release a copy of its decision as of yesterday.
Both De Guzman-Lara and Mamba were candidates for the gubernatorial post for the province of Cagayan in the said elections.
In its decision, the SC remanded the case to the Comelec en banc for proper disposition of De Guzman-Lara’s petition for disqualification against Mamba which she filed on May 10, 2022.
It can be recalled that Mamba was declared by the Provincial Board of Canvassers last May 11, 2022 as the duly elected governor of Cagayan after garnering the highest number of votes.
Shortly after seven months, the poll body’s Second Division issued a resolution on December 14, 2022, disqualifying Mamba from his post after finding substantial evidence that he violated Section 261(v) of the Omnibus Election Code, prohibiting the unauthorized release, disbursement, or expenditure of public funds during the campaign period.
But the Comelec en banc reversed the ruling of the Second Division and dismissed De Guzman-Lara’s petition to disqualify Mamba for being filed out of time.
The Comelec en banc anchored its ruling on Section 5 of its Resolution No. 10673, which provides for the guidelines on the electronic filing of pleadings.
It held 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 Comelec held that it has already lost jurisdiction over the issue as the petition was filed after Mamba was already proclaimed.
This prompted De Guzman-Lara to file a petition before the Court, seeking to set aside the Comelec en banc’s dismissal of her petition.
By ruling in favor of the petitioner, the SC held that the Comelec en banc committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing her petition.
Contrary to the ruling of the poll body, the SC said the petitioner’s petition for disqualification was actually filed on time.
The high tribunal pointed out that under Section 3, Rule 25 of the Comelec Rules of Procedure, petitions for disqualification “shall be filed any day after the last day for filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs), but not later than the date of proclamation.”
The SC also 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.”
According to the tribunal, this rule 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.”
The High Court explained that 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.”
It noted 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.
Furthermore, the Court said the Comelec should have considered particular circumstances surrounding petitions for disqualification since the proclamation of candidates can happen at any time, whether day or night.
The SC also told the Comelec that 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.
“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,” the SC stressed.