G.R. No. 265847 , August 6, 2024
MA. ZARAH ROSE DE GUZMAN-LARA, PETITIONER, VS. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS AND MANUEL N. MAMBA, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

Petitioner Ma. Zarah Rose De Guzman-Lara filed a Petition for Disqualification against private respondent Manuel N. Mamba, a candidate for Governor of Cagayan in the May 2022 elections, pursuant to Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code, alleging vote-buying and unlawful disbursement of public funds. The Petition was sent to the COMELEC via email at 6:21 p.m. on May 10, 2022. Mamba was proclaimed the winner a few hours later, at 1:39 a.m. on May 11, 2022. The COMELEC En Banc dismissed the Petition for lack of jurisdiction. It applied COMELEC Resolution No. 10673, which provides that pleadings filed by email and received beyond 5:00 p.m. are deemed filed at 8:00 a.m. the next working day. Consequently, the COMELEC considered the Petition filed at 8:00 a.m. on May 11, 2022, which was after Mamba’s proclamation. The COMELEC held that this late filing and the subsequent proclamation divested it of authority to hear the disqualification case.

ISSUE

1. Whether the COMELEC En Banc erred in ruling that it lacked jurisdiction over the Petition for Disqualification after the candidate’s proclamation.
2. Whether the COMELEC En Banc erred in ruling that the Petition for Disqualification was filed out of time.

RULING

1. Yes, the COMELEC En Banc erred in ruling it lacked jurisdiction. Under Article IX-C, Section 2(2) of the 1987 Constitution , the COMELEC exercises exclusive original jurisdiction over all contests relating to the elections, returns, and qualifications of all elective provincial officials. No constitutional provision or law divests the COMELEC of this jurisdiction over elective provincial officials after a candidate’s proclamation. This is distinct from cases involving national officials (President, Vice-President, Senators, House Members), where proclamation transfers jurisdiction to the respective Electoral Tribunal. The COMELEC cannot use its own rules of procedure (COMELEC Resolution No. 10673) to oust itself of jurisdiction conferred by the Constitution. Jurisdiction is conferred by substantive law, and procedural rules yield to it.
2. Yes, the COMELEC En Banc erred in ruling the Petition was filed out of time. The applicable rule is Rule 25, Section 3 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure, which states that a petition for disqualification must be filed “not later than the date of proclamation.” The phrase “date of proclamation” means the full 24-hour calendar day on which the proclamation occurs, as supported by Article 13 of the Civil Code, which provides that “days” shall be understood as 24 hours. This interpretation is reasonable and practical, as proclamations can occur at any hour, and a full-day deadline provides order and predictability. Therefore, the Petition, deemed filed at 8:00 a.m. on May 11, 2022—the same calendar date (or “date”) as Mamba’s proclamation at 1:39 a.m.—was filed within the prescribed period. The COMELEC’s application of its email filing rule (Resolution No. 10673) to deem the filing after the proclamation was incorrect, as the substantive rule only requires filing by the “date” of proclamation.
ACCORDINGLY, the Concurring Opinion agrees with the ponencia that the Petition for Certiorari should be GRANTED and the case remanded to the COMELEC En Banc for proper disposition.