GR 163756; (January, 2005) (Digest)
G.R. No. 163756; January 26, 2005
GEORGIDI B. AGGABAO, petitioner, vs. THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, the PROVINCIAL BOARD of CANVASSERS of ISABELA, and ANTHONY MIRANDA, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Georgidi B. Aggabao and private respondent Anthony Miranda were rival candidates for Congressman of the 4th District of Isabela in the May 10, 2004 elections. During canvassing, Miranda moved to exclude the certificates of canvass (COCV) from the municipalities of Cordon and San Agustin, alleging tampering, duress, and manifest errors. Aggabao objected, arguing such grounds constituted a pre-proclamation controversy, which is prohibited for congressional elections. The Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBC) excluded the contested COCVs, used other copies, and Miranda emerged with the highest votes.
Aggabao appealed to the COMELEC, challenging the PBC’s jurisdiction and the exclusion of the COCVs. While his appeal was pending before the COMELEC Second Division, Miranda filed a motion for proclamation. The COMELEC En Banc, through Resolution No. 7233, directed the proclamation of winning candidates. Miranda was proclaimed Congressman on June 14, 2004. Two days later, Aggabao filed this Petition for Certiorari to annul the COMELEC resolution and the proclamation, arguing the COMELEC En Banc acted without jurisdiction by ordering the proclamation while his appeal was unresolved.
ISSUE
Whether the Supreme Court can take cognizance of the Petition for Certiorari assailing the COMELEC’s order for proclamation and the subsequent proclamation of Miranda as Congressman.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for lack of merit, holding it could not take cognizance of the case. The legal logic is anchored on the constitutional delineation of jurisdiction over election contests involving members of the House of Representatives. Under Article VI, Section 17 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. Jurisprudence, notably Pangilinan v. COMELEC, establishes that once a winning congressional candidate is proclaimed, has taken his oath, and assumed office, the COMELEC’s jurisdiction over matters relating to that election ends, and the HRET’s exclusive jurisdiction begins.
It is undisputed that Miranda was proclaimed, took his oath, and assumed office on June 14, 2004. Consequently, Aggabao’s proper remedy was to file an electoral protest with the HRET, not a Petition for Certiorari with the Supreme Court. The Court emphasized that a Petition for Certiorari requires the absence of a plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law; here, an electoral protest before the HRET was that available remedy. The allegation that Miranda’s proclamation was null and void ab initio does not alter this jurisdictional framework, as the resolution of such an issue is precisely within the HRET’s sole domain to avoid duplicity of proceedings and a clash between constitutional bodies.