G.R. No. 35146; March 12, 1931
DOMINGO T. GUANIO, ET AL., petitioners, vs. LEANDRO FERNANDEZ, ET AL., respondents.

FACTS

Petitioners sought a writ of mandamus to compel the faculty committee on regent election to prepare official ballots for the election of an alumni regent of the University of the Philippines, specifying March 20, 1931 as the closing date and eliminating the name of candidate Carlos P. Romulo. The dispute arose when the committee, appointed by the university president, changed the closing date from March 27 to March 20, 1931, as originally fixed by the president in his proclamation. The president asserted his authority to set the date, and the committee later reverted to the March 27 date. The petitioners also challenged Romulo’s eligibility, arguing he was a university employee and thus ineligible under the charter.

ISSUE

1. Who has the authority to fix the date for the closing of the polls in the election of the alumni regent—the university president or the faculty committee?
2. Is Carlos P. Romulo eligible to be a candidate for alumni regent?

RULING

1. The authority to fix the closing date resides with the university president. The court found that this power had been consistently exercised by the president since the first alumni regent election and falls within his executive powers, given his knowledge of university and alumni conditions. The committee’s duty is to carry out the election as directed.
2. The court held that Carlos P. Romulo is eligible to be a candidate. The record demonstrated his eligibility, and any challenge to his eligibility was not proper in this mandamus proceeding. The dissenting opinion argued that Romulo’s prior faculty membership should disqualify him to preserve the independence of the alumni representation, but the majority did not address this substantively.
The petition for mandamus was denied.

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