GR L 10520; (February, 1957) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-10520 February 28, 1957
LORENZO M. TAÑADA and DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL, petitioners, vs. MARIANO JESUS CUENCO, FRANCISCO A. DELGADO, ALFREDO CRUZ, CATALINA CAYETANO, MANUEL SERAPIO, PLACIDO REYES, and FERNANDO HIPOLITO in his capacity as cashier and disbursing officer, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Lorenzo M. Tañada is a Senator and President of the Citizens Party. Petitioner Diosdado Macapagal is a Congressman and was an official candidate of the Liberal Party for the Senate in the November 1955 elections. The elections of several proclaimed Senators-elect were contested by Macapagal and others in Senate Electoral Case No. 4, pending before the Senate Electoral Tribunal. In its session of February 22, 1956, the Senate, upon nomination by Senator Cipriano Primicias on behalf of the Nacionalista Party, chose Senators Jose P. Laurel, Fernando Lopez, and Cipriano Primicias as members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal. Upon nomination by Senator Tañada on behalf of the Citizens Party, Tañada himself was chosen. Then, upon nomination by Senator Primicias on behalf of the Senate Committee on Rules, and over the objections of Senators Tañada and Sumulong, the Senate chose respondents Senators Mariano J. Cuenco and Francisco A. Delgado as members of the same Tribunal. Subsequently, the Chairman of the Tribunal appointed Alfredo Cruz and Catalina Cayetano as technical assistant and private secretary to Senator Cuenco, and Manuel Serapio and Placido Reyes as technical assistant and private secretary to Senator Delgado, upon their respective recommendations. At the time, the Senate consisted of 23 Nacionalista Party Senators and one Citizens Party Senator (Tañada). Petitioners allege that the nomination and election of Senators Cuenco and Delgado violated Article VI, Section 11 of the Constitution , as they were not nominated by the party with the second largest number of votes in the Senate. They argue that this results in an Electoral Tribunal packed with five Nacionalista members, prejudicing the rights of Tañada as a minority party representative and Macapagal as a protestant belonging to the rival Liberal Party. Petitioners seek to oust respondents from their positions in the Tribunal and to restrain the disbursement of salaries to the appointed staff.
ISSUE
Whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review the Senate’s choice of members for the Senate Electoral Tribunal and whether the Senate, in electing Senators Cuenco and Delgado, violated the constitutional mandate that the six senatorial members of the Electoral Tribunal be chosen “upon nomination of the party having the largest number of votes and that of the party having the second largest number of votes” in the Senate.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court has jurisdiction. The Senate Electoral Tribunal is neither a part of Congress nor of the Senate; it is a constitutional body. While the Senate has the exclusive power to choose the six Senatorial members, the Constitution prescribes the manner of its exercise. The courts have the duty to determine whether the powers possessed have been validly exercised, which is not an encroachment upon a coordinate branch but a determination of constitutional compliance. The case involves a judicial inquiry into the validity of an act of the Senate, which is within the scope of judicial power.
Yes, the Senate violated the Constitution. Article VI, Section 11 requires that the six senatorial members be chosen “upon nomination of the party having the largest number of votes and that of the party having the second largest number of votes” in the Senate. The phrase “upon nomination” means the Senate must choose from nominees presented by the respective parties; it cannot choose members who are not nominated by those parties. Here, the Citizens Party, having the second largest number of votes (one seat), was entitled to nominate three members. Senator Tañada, its only member, nominated himself. The Senate, through its Committee on Rules (controlled by the majority Nacionalista Party), then nominated and elected Senators Cuenco and Delgado, who belonged to the majority party, to fill the remaining two seats supposedly allocated to the second largest party. This was unconstitutional. The Constitution intends for the Electoral Tribunal to be non-partisan, with the three Justices of the Supreme Court and the six Senators divided equally between the two major political parties. The majority party cannot nominate or elect members for the minority party’s slots. Consequently, the election of respondents Cuenco and Delgado as members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal is declared null and void. The appointments of their technical assistants and private secretaries, being dependent on their invalid membership, are also void. The writ of preliminary injunction is made permanent.