G.R. No. 211140 , January 12, 2016
Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco Vs. Hon. Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr., et al.

FACTS

Petitioner Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco and respondent Regina Ongsiako Reyes were candidates for Representative of Marinduque’s Lone District in the May 13, 2013 elections. Prior to the elections, a petition was filed to cancel Reyes’s Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for material misrepresentation. The COMELEC First Division granted the petition on March 27, 2013, and the COMELEC En Banc denied Reyes’s motion for reconsideration on May 14, 2013. Despite the COMELEC En Banc’s final resolution cancelling her COC, the Provincial Board of Canvassers proclaimed Reyes the winner on May 18, 2013. The COMELEC issued a Certificate of Finality on June 5, 2013. Reyes then took her oath of office on June 7, 2013, and was enrolled as a House member.
Velasco filed this Petition for Mandamus to compel Speaker Belmonte to administer the oath to him instead, and to direct the Secretary-General to remove Reyes from the roll of members. He argued that the final COMELEC resolution cancelling Reyes’s COC meant she was never a valid candidate, and thus all votes for her were stray. Consequently, Velasco, as the sole remaining qualified candidate, should be proclaimed winner. Reyes countered that the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) had already acquired jurisdiction over her qualification, as she had been proclaimed, taken her oath, and assumed office.

ISSUE

Whether a writ of mandamus may be issued to compel the Speaker of the House to administer the oath of office to the petitioner and to enroll him as a member of the House of Representatives.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. The legal logic hinges on the doctrine of constitutional separation of powers and the HRET’s exclusive jurisdiction. Under the Constitution, the HRET is the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of members of the House of Representatives. This jurisdiction attaches once a candidate is proclaimed winner, has taken his or her oath of office, and has assumed the position as a member of the House.
The Court found these conditions were met in the case of respondent Reyes. She was proclaimed by the Board of Canvassers, took her oath before the Speaker, and was registered in the House roll. Therefore, any challenge to her title to the office, including one based on the prior cancellation of her COC by the COMELEC, fell under the exclusive domain of the HRET. The Court emphasized that the COMELEC’s jurisdiction over petitions to cancel a COC ends once the candidate is proclaimed and assumes office. At that point, the issue transforms from one of eligibility to one of qualification, which is for the HRET to decide. A writ of mandamus, being an extraordinary remedy to compel the performance of a ministerial duty, cannot be granted where the duty is contingent upon a disputed right that is properly within the jurisdiction of another tribunal. The proper recourse for Velasco was to pursue his pending election protest before the HRET.