460 Phil. 751
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
The above-named candidates took their oath, and assumed their offices on June 30, 2001[4] as members of the Sangguniang Bayan of Palimbang.
- NOREN B. APIL
- MALOD B. MOSADI
- DIMALUB P. NAMIL
- ABDULNASSER A. TIMAN
- TERESITA G. AKOB
- MABANING P. SAMAMA
- EPAS T. GUIAMEL
- MALIGA M. AMILUDIN
Thereafter, private respondent Joenime B. Kapina wrote the COMELEC requesting that she and the others who were proclaimed as winners on May 21, 2001 be recognized as the winning candidates and the new members of the Sangguniang Bayan of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat. Appended to said letter was a certification issued by Regional Election Director Clarita N. Callar, Region XII, Cotabato City, that the private respondents named in the COCVP No. 8031109, issued on May 21, 2001, were duly proclaimed as the winning candidates for the said municipality. When apprised of the said letter, the Commissioner-in-Charge for Region XII, Mehol K. Sadain, conducted an investigation on the matter of having two (2) sets of winning candidates as members of the Sangguniang Bayan for Palimbang. He issued Memorandum No. 2001-09-005 requiring the Law Department, the Regional Election Registrar and the Provincial Election Supervisor to submit their respective reports/comments on the letter. The said officers submitted their respective memorandum, thus:
- JOENIME B. KAPINA
- MONIB B. WALINGWALING
- MAULANA G. KARNAIN
- ABDULGAPHAR M. MUSATAPHA
- MALOD B. MOSADI
- ABDULRAKMAN A. TALIKOP
- WILSON K. SABIWANG
- MABANING P. SAMAMA
Acting on the said Memoranda, Commissioner Sadain submitted his Recommendation[5] to the COMELEC, thus:
- Memo dated September 11, 2001 of Atty. Jose Balbuena, Director Law Department, to the effect that, "our Comelec field officials in Region XII who directly participated in the canvassing who were named in (Memo No. 2001-09-001) could best provide the needed explanation and information" on the double proclamation of Sangguniang Bayan winners in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat.
- Memo dated September 6, 2001 of Atty. Clarita Callar, Regional Election Director, Region XII, to the effect that the Election Assistant Amy Laguda who issued the certification on the proclamation based on Certificate No. 8031109 dated May 21, 2001 verified the genuineness of her signature on the said certification, and further said that at the time she issued the certification the PES had not yet received a copy of Certificate No. 8031108 dated May 20, 2001. Further, Atty. Callar referred to the verification of Ms. Celia Romero that per records of the RSD, "the names appearing as elected members of the Sangguniang Bayan for the Municipality of Sultan Kudarat ... are those proclaimed in Certificate of Canvass of Votes & Proclamation No. 8031109." Incidentally, Ms. Romero also issued a certification that the serial numbers of the Certificates of Canvass of Votes and Proclamation were 8031108 for Lambayong, SK and 8031109 for Palimbang, SK.
- Memo filed on September 6, 2001 by Atty. Lintang H. Bedol, PES, Sultan Kudarat, recommending that the parties should file the appropriate case/s before the Commission, instead of coursing their redress through the PES of Sultan Kudarat or the RED of Region XII.
- A confidential certification of EO Malic Sansarona dated September 12, 2001 to the effect that "the Certificate of Canvass of Votes and Proclamation ... No. 8031109 dated June 21, 2001 is [the] genuine and valid proclamation of elected Municipal Officials of the Municipality of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat," and that the other proclamation [No. 8031108] "is fictitious and falsified.
Acting on the recommendation of Commissioner Sadain, the public respondent issued on November 6, 2001 the assailed Resolution No. 4615. The dispositive portion reads:PREMISES CONSIDERED, the Law Department RECOMMENDS to issue an Order for the immediate installation of the winning members of the Sangguniang Bayan [of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat], namely: JOENIME B. KAPINA, MONIB B. WALINGWALING, MAULANA G. KARNAIN, ABDULGAPHAR M. MUSTAPHA, MALOD B. MOSADI, ABDULRAKMAN A. TALIKOP, WILSON K. SABIWANG, AND MABANING P. SAMAMA... and for said purpose, to direct the Brigade Commander, 60 1st Brigade Pulutana of General Santos City, Saranggani Province, to effect and enforce the said Order and to submit his compliance within five (5) days from notice hereof.
- Finds that there was a VALID PROCLAMATION of the winning candidates for positions of Members of the Sangguniang Bayan of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat as contained in Certificate of Canvass of Votes and Proclamation No. 8031109;
- That there being a VALID PROCLAMATION, there is NO NEED for adjudication on this matter; and therefore
- Respectfully RECOMMENDS to the Commission En Banc, the adoption of the following recommendation [Annex "D"] of Atty. Jose P. Balbuena, Dir., Law Department and Atty. Gregorio T. Saraos, Attorney II, IPD, Law Department.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Commission RESOLVED, as it hereby RESOLVES, (1) that the proclamation of the winning candidates contained in Certificate of Canvass of Votes and Proclamation No. 8031109 is a valid proclamation; (2) to adopt the recommendation of the Law Department which is in accordance with the result of the investigation conducted by the Commissioner-in-Charge; and herein orders the immediate installation of JOENIME B. KAPINA, MONIB B. WALINGWALING, MAULANA G. KARNAIN, ABDULGAPHAR M. MUSTAPHA, MALOD B. MOSADI, ABDULRAKMAN A. TALIKOP, WILSON K. SABIWANG, AND MABANING P. SAMAMA as the duly elected members of the Sangguniang Bayan of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat.[6]The petitioners contend that the public respondent's Resolution No. 4615 is null and void since it was issued without according them due notice and hearing, contrary to the enshrined principle of due process. The public respondent thus committed a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.
... Although the COMELEC is clothed with jurisdiction over the subject matter and issue of SPC No. 98-143 and SPC No. 98-206, we find the exercise of its jurisdiction tainted with illegality. We hold that its order to set aside the proclamation of petitioner is invalid for having been rendered without due process of law. Procedural due process demands prior notice and hearing. Then after the hearing, it is also necessary that the tribunal show substantial evidence to support its ruling. In other words, due process requires that a party be given an opportunity to adduce his evidence to support his side of the case and that the evidence should be considered in the adjudication of the case. The facts show that COMELEC set aside the proclamation of petitioner without the benefit of prior notice and hearing and it rendered the questioned order based solely on private respondent's allegations. We held in Bince, Jr. vs. COMELEC:The public respondent's reliance on the ruling of this Court in Utto vs. Commission on Elections[14] is misplaced. The Court, in that case, held that the twin-requirement of notice and hearing in an annulment of proclamation is not applicable because of the illegality of petitioner's proclamation.[15] The factual circumstances in the instant petition are far different from those obtaining in Utto. In the Utto case, a notice of appeal was filed questioning the ruling of the board of canvassers but, the latter proceeded in proclaiming Utto as the winning candidate. This made the proclamation illegal. In the present case, nobody questioned the petitioners' proclamation.Petitioner cannot be deprived of his office without due process of law. Although public office is not property under Section 1 of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution, and one cannot acquire a vested right to public office, it is, nevertheless, a protected right. Due process in proceedings before the COMELEC, exercising its quasi-judicial functions, requires due notice and hearing, among others. Thus, although the COMELEC possesses, in appropriate cases, the power to annul or suspend the proclamation of any candidate, We had ruled in Farinas vs. Commission on Elections, Reyes vs. Commission on Elections and Gallardo vs. Commission on Elections that the COMELEC is without power to partially or totally annul a proclamation or suspend the effects of a proclamation without notice and hearing.
Sec. 242. Commission's exclusive jurisdiction of all pre-proclamation controversies. - The Commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction of all pre-proclamation controversies. It may motu proprio or upon written petition, and after due notice and hearing, order the partial or total suspension of the proclamation of any candidate-elect or annul partially or totally any proclamation, if one has been made, as the evidence shall warrant in accordance with the succeeding section.[17]Even the fact that the public respondent initiated the proceedings for the partial or total annulment of an illegal proclamation would not dispense with the requirements of notice and hearing. This was made clear in Sandoval vs. Commission on Elections:[18]
Citing Section 242 of the Omnibus Election Code, private respondent argues that the COMELEC is authorized to annul an illegal proclamation even without notice and hearing because the law states that it may motu proprio order a partial or total suspension of the proclamation of any candidate-elect or annul partially or totally any proclamation, if one has been made. ...IN THE LIGHT OF THE FOREGOING, the petition is GRANTED. The assailed Resolution No. 4615 of the public respondent COMELEC en banc dated November 6, 2001, is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE....
The phrase "motu proprio" does not refer to the annulment of proclamation but to the manner of initiating the proceedings to annul a proclamation made by the board of canvassers. The law provides two ways by which annulment proceedings may be initiated. It may be at the own initiative of the COMELEC (motu proprio) or by written petition. In either case, notice and hearing is required. This is clear from the language of the law.[19]