GR 120265; (September, 1995) (Digest)
G.R. No. 120265 September 18, 1995
AGAPITO A. AQUINO, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, MOVE MAKATI, MATEO BEDON and JUANITO ICARO, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Agapito A. Aquino filed his Certificate of Candidacy for Representative of Makati City’s Second District for the May 1995 elections. In his initial filing, he left blank the entry for the period of his residency in the constituency. Subsequently, private respondents Move Makati and Mateo Bedon filed a petition to disqualify Aquino, alleging he lacked the one-year residency requirement under the Constitution. Aquino then filed an amended certificate, stating he had resided in the district for one year and thirteen days, and presented evidence like a lease contract to support his claim. The COMELEC’s Second Division initially dismissed the disqualification petition and declared him eligible. After the election, where Aquino garnered the highest number of votes, the COMELEC en banc reversed the Second Division, disqualifying him for failure to prove residency, and suspended his proclamation.
ISSUE
Whether the Commission on Elections retained jurisdiction to disqualify Agapito A. Aquino after the May 8, 1995 elections and his receipt of the highest number of votes.
RULING
The Supreme Court ruled that the COMELEC lost jurisdiction. The legal logic is anchored on the constitutional delineation of jurisdiction over electoral contests. Under Section 17, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution , the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) is the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of its Members. This jurisdiction begins upon a candidate’s proclamation as winner. The Court distinguished between the COMELEC’s pre-election power to enforce and administer election laws, including determining qualifications before the polls, and the HRET’s exclusive post-election authority. Once Aquino was elected and set to be proclaimed, any question regarding his qualification became a contest over the office itself, falling squarely within the HRET’s domain. The COMELEC en banc’s order suspending proclamation and its subsequent disqualification resolution were issued without jurisdiction. The will of the electorate, expressed through the ballot, must be respected, and the proper constitutional body to hear any subsequent challenge is the HRET.