GR 143398; (October, 2000) (Digest)
G.R. No. 143398; October 25, 2000
RUPERTO A. AMBIL, JR., petitioner, vs. THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS (FIRST DIVISION, FORMERLY SECOND DIVISION) and JOSE T. RAMIREZ, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Ruperto A. Ambil, Jr. and respondent Jose T. Ramirez were candidates for Governor of Eastern Samar in the May 1998 elections. Ambil was proclaimed winner. Ramirez filed an election protest. The case was assigned to the COMELEC First Division. Commissioner Japal M. Guiani prepared a ponencia favoring Ramirez. Commissioner Julio F. Desamito dissented, while Commissioner Luzviminda G. Tancangco initially reserved her vote. Commissioner Guiani retired on February 15, 2000. Subsequently, a copy of a resolution dated February 14, 2000, signed by Guiani and Tancangco, was circulated, but the First Division declared it a “useless scrap of paper” as it was not promulgated.
The First Division, with new Commissioner Rufino S. Javier, later scheduled the promulgation of this same “Guiani resolution” on June 20, 2000. Before this could happen, Ambil filed the instant petition for certiorari and prohibition, seeking to annul the order setting the promulgation and to prohibit the First Division from promulgating the resolution penned by the retired commissioner.
ISSUE
Whether the COMELEC First Division acted with grave abuse of discretion in scheduling the promulgation of a resolution penned by a commissioner who had already retired from service.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court granted the petition and nullified the COMELEC First Division’s order. The legal logic is anchored on the principle that a ponencia loses its validity upon the retirement of the ponente. The authority of a judge or commissioner to decide a case is contingent upon their tenure in office. Upon retirement, Commissioner Guiani ceased to be a member of the Division and lost all authority to act on cases assigned to him, including the power to promulgate the decision he had drafted.
The Court, citing Jamil v. COMELEC, ruled that a decision must be promulgated during the incumbency of the ponente. A ponencia is not final until officially promulgated, and the ponente retains control over it until that time, with the privilege to make last-minute changes. This control and authority cannot be exercised by one who is no longer in office. Consequently, the “Guiani resolution” died with his retirement and could not be validly promulgated thereafter. The First Division’s act of setting it for promulgation was a patent violation of this settled doctrine, constituting grave abuse of discretion. The Division was ordered to deliberate anew on the election protest.