GR 133944; (October, 1999) (Digest)
G.R. No. 133944 October 28, 1999
MARCITA MAMBA PEREZ, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and RODOLFO E. AGUINALDO, respondents.
FACTS
On March 26, 1998, private respondent Rodolfo E. Aguinaldo filed his certificate of candidacy for Representative of the Third District of Cagayan. On March 30, 1998, petitioner Marcita Mamba Perez, a voter and citizen, filed a petition for his disqualification with the COMELEC on the ground that he did not meet the one-year residency requirement under Article VI, Section 6 of the Constitution. Petitioner presented Aguinaldo’s past certificates of candidacy for governor, voter’s affidavits, and voter registration records, all indicating his residence as Barangay Calaoagan Dackel, Gattaran (outside the Third District). She noted his application for transfer of voter registration to Tuguegarao (Third District) was only filed on December 17, 1997, and approved on January 7, 1998. Aguinaldo claimed he transferred his residence to Tuguegarao in July 1990 by renting an apartment there, presenting a lease contract, an affidavit from the apartment owner, his marriage license and certificate, his child’s birth certificate, and various letters to support his claim of residency. The COMELEC First Division dismissed the disqualification petition on May 10, 1998. Aguinaldo won the election on May 11, 1998, was proclaimed on May 16, and took his oath on May 17. Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration on May 22, 1998, which the COMELEC en banc denied on June 11, 1998. Petitioner then filed this petition for certiorari.
ISSUE
The threshold issue is whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to entertain the petition for certiorari and pass upon Aguinaldo’s eligibility after his proclamation and assumption of office as a Member of the House of Representatives.
RULING
The Supreme Court DISMISSED the petition. It held that it had no jurisdiction over the case. Upon Aguinaldo’s proclamation and assumption of office as a Member of the House of Representatives, the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) acquired exclusive original jurisdiction over the matter of his qualifications pursuant to Article VI, Section 17 of the Constitution. The COMELEC en banc also lost jurisdiction to entertain the motion for reconsideration after the proclamation. Section 6 of R.A. No. 6646 authorizes the continuation of disqualification proceedings only if the candidate has not been proclaimed. Petitioner’s proper remedy was to file a petition for quo warranto with the HRET within ten days after proclamation. The Court also noted, in passing, that the evidence on the residency issue was weak and that the will of the electorate should be respected, especially since Aguinaldo, having been governor of Cagayan for ten years, was familiar with the needs of the constituency.