G.R. No. 246328, September 10, 2019
Vice Mayor Shirlyn L. Bañas-Nograles, et al., Petitioners, v. Commission on Elections, Respondent.

FACTS

Republic Act No. 11243, signed into law on March 11, 2019, and effective on April 4, 2019, reapportioned the First Legislative District of South Cotabato, creating the lone legislative district of General Santos City. Section 1 of the law stated that the reapportionment shall “commence in the next national and local elections after the effectivity of this Act.” The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) issued Resolution No. 10524 on April 11, 2019, suspending the election for the Representative of the First Legislative District (including General Santos City) scheduled for May 13, 2019, citing operational and logistical constraints, such as the finalization of candidate lists and ballot printing. The resolution directed that votes cast for the position be considered stray and set the first regular election for the new districts within six months from May 13, 2019. Petitioners, including Vice Mayor Shirlyn L. Bañas-Nograles, assailed the resolution, arguing that it violated RA 7166 (which mandates elections on the second Monday of May every three years) and RA 11243, as the law intended the reapportionment to take effect in the next elections after its effectivity, which they contended would be in 2022, not 2019. Despite the suspension, elections proceeded on May 13, 2019, and Bañas-Nograles received 194,929 votes, but COMELEC considered them stray and did not proclaim her.

ISSUE

Whether COMELEC Resolution No. 10524, which suspended the May 13, 2019 election for the Representative of the First Legislative District of South Cotabato and set a special election within six months, is valid.

RULING

The Supreme Court GRANTED the petition and declared COMELEC Resolution No. 10524 NULL and VOID. The Court held that under Sections 7 and 8, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, regular elections for Members of the House of Representatives must be held on the second Monday of May unless otherwise provided by law. RA 11243 did not provide for a different date or delegate authority to COMELEC to set one. The law explicitly stated that reapportionment would commence in the “next national and local elections after the effectivity of this Act,” which, given that the election period for the 2019 elections had already begun when RA 11243 was enacted, was intended to be the 2022 elections, not 2019. COMELEC’s suspension of the election and scheduling of a special election within six months were unjustified, as they would result in the elected representative serving a term of less than three years, contrary to the Constitution. The Court upheld the May 13, 2019 election for the First Legislative District and directed that the candidate with the highest votes be proclaimed, rendering the holdover provision in RA 11243 inapplicable.