G.R. No. L-32436, September 9, 1970.
ABELARDO SUBIDO, Commissioner of Civil Service, petitioner. In re: Validity of Section 4 and Section 8(a), paragraph 2, Republic Act 6132. (Consolidated with G.R. No. L-32439)

FACTS

The consolidated cases involve petitions concerning the validity and constitutionality of Republic Act 6132. The specific provisions in question are Section 4 and Section 8(a), paragraph 2. The context involves the election of delegates to the Constitutional Convention scheduled for November 1970. A key point of contention is whether individuals holding public office must resign or be considered resigned upon filing a certificate of candidacy for delegate. The dissenting opinion of Justice Zaldivar references Congressional Resolution No. 2, approved on March 16, 1967, by Congress acting as a constituent body, which states in Section 3 that the office of Delegate “shall be honorary and shall be compatible with any other public office.”

ISSUE

The primary issue addressed in the dissenting opinion is whether Section 4 of Republic Act 6132 (and by corollary, Section 8(a), paragraph 2), which requires certain public officers to resign or be considered resigned upon candidacy for the Constitutional Convention, is null and void for being inconsistent with Section 3 of Congressional Resolution No. 2.

RULING

Justice Zaldivar, in his dissenting opinion, rules that Section 4 and Section 8(a), paragraph 2 of Republic Act 6132 are null and void. He concurs with the view of Justice Barredo that Congressional Resolution No. 2 intended to permit any person holding a public office, elective or appointive, to be a candidate for delegate without resigning or forfeiting their current office. Zaldivar bases this on a comparison with the earlier Act 4125 (the Convention Law of 1934), which contained the phrase “compatible with any other public office not subject to the civil service rules.” He argues that the deliberate elimination of the qualifying phrase “not subject to the civil service rules” in Resolution No. 2 clearly indicates the constituent body’s intent to allow even civil service employees to be candidates without forfeiting their positions. He rejects the majority’s concern about disruption to government service as more apparent than real, noting that not all 320 delegates would come from government ranks. Therefore, he dissents from the majority opinion upholding the validity of the challenged provisions.