G.R. No. 147767 ; January 14, 2004
MANUEL E. ZAMORA, petitioner, vs. GOVERNOR JOSE R. CABALLERO, et al., respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Manuel Zamora, a member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Compostela Valley, sought to invalidate acts and resolutions from sessions on February 8 and 26, 2001, for lack of quorum. The February 8 special session, held to hear the Governor’s address, had only seven of fourteen members present, and petitioner alleged improper notice. The February 26 regular session saw the passage of Resolution No. 054 (declaring a state of calamity) and Resolution No. 075 (authorizing a construction contract). While the Journal indicated thirteen members attended, petitioner alleged only seven were actually present when key votes were taken, and that procedural maneuvers, like the presiding officer temporarily relinquishing his seat to vote, were employed.
Respondents contended that the basis for quorum should be thirteen, not fourteen, as one member (Gemma Theresa M. Sotto) was in the United States and had submitted an irrevocable resignation. The Regional Trial Court dismissed the petition, ruling that the member abroad should not be counted for quorum, making seven of thirteen a valid quorum. It also cited P.D. 1818, which prohibits injunctions against government infrastructure projects.

ISSUE

Whether the Sangguniang Panlalawigan sessions on February 8 and 26, 2001, were validly constituted with a quorum.

RULING

The Supreme Court granted the petition, declaring the assailed acts and resolutions null and void. The legal logic is anchored on the mandatory nature of quorum requirements under the Local Government Code. For the February 8 special session, the Court found it invalid due to the absence of the required written notice sent at least 24 hours in advance to all members, as mandated by Section 52(d). This procedural defect rendered the session improperly called.
For the February 26 session, the Court rejected the trial court’s application of the Avelino v. Cuenco doctrine—which allows excluding members abroad for quorum in Congress—to a local sanggunian. The Local Government Code provides a specific coercive mechanism (Section 53(b)) to compel attendance of absent members, implying that all elected members must be considered for quorum unless their seats are formally vacant. Member Sotto’s resignation had not yet been accepted, and her physical absence did not legally reduce the sanggunian’s membership. Thus, the quorum remained a majority of fourteen, or eight members. The Court found petitioner’s evidence, showing only seven members present during critical votes, to be credible and sufficient to overcome the presumption of regularity accorded to the Journal. Consequently, the resolutions passed without the required quorum and, for Resolution No. 075 which involved financial liability, without the affirmative vote of a majority of all members, were invalid. The Court clarified that P.D. 1818 does not apply when the contract itself is void from the beginning for lack of authority.