G.R. No. 192474 ; June 26, 2012
ROMEO M. JALOSJOS, JR., Petitioner, vs. THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and DAN ERASMO, SR., Respondents. (Consolidated with G.R. Nos. 192704 & 193566)

FACTS

Romeo M. Jalosjos, Jr., then Mayor of Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte, transferred his voter registration to Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay in 2009. Dan Erasmo, Sr. opposed this, leading to exclusion proceedings where the MCTC and RTC ruled against Jalosjos, but the Court of Appeals later reinstated his registration. In November 2009, Jalosjos filed a Certificate of Candidacy for Representative of Zamboanga Sibugay’s Second District. Erasmo filed a petition with the COMELEC to deny due course or cancel the COC, alleging material misrepresentation regarding Jalosjos’s residency.
The COMELEC Second Division initially dismissed Erasmo’s petition. However, the May 2010 elections proceeded, and Jalosjos was proclaimed the winning candidate and assumed office. Subsequently, on June 3, 2010, the COMELEC En Banc, acting on Erasmo’s motion for reconsideration, reversed the Second Division and declared Jalosjos ineligible for failing to meet the one-year residency requirement.

ISSUE

Whether the Commission on Elections retained jurisdiction to rule on the qualification of Romeo M. Jalosjos, Jr. after his proclamation as the elected Representative.

RULING

The Supreme Court ruled that the COMELEC was divested of jurisdiction. The legal logic is anchored on the constitutional demarcation of jurisdictional spheres. While the COMELEC has broad powers over election-related questions, Article VI, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution exclusively vests the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) with jurisdiction over all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of its members. Jurisprudence firmly establishes that the HRET’s jurisdiction begins upon a candidate’s valid proclamation and assumption of office.
Here, Jalosjos was validly proclaimed winner on May 13, 2010, and he assumed the office of Representative. Therefore, the COMELEC En Banc’s June 3, 2010 order declaring him ineligible was issued without jurisdiction. Any challenge to his qualifications, including the issue of residency, became the sole prerogative of the HRET. The Court emphasized that a proclamation is not rendered void merely by a pre-proclamation COMELEC ruling on eligibility; such a ruling becomes moot upon proclamation, as the constitutional grant of jurisdiction to the HRET immediately attaches. Consequently, the Supreme Court reinstated the COMELEC Second Division’s resolution dismissing Erasmo’s petition and dismissed the related petitions for raising issues now within the HRET’s domain.