FERDINAND TRINIDAD, PETITIONER, VS. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS AND MANUEL C. SUNGA, RESPONDENTS.

Trinidad versus Commission on Elections and Sunga

The Case

This is a special civil action of certiorari brought by Ferdinand Trinidad against the Commission on Elections and Manuel Sunga. Trinidad asks the Supreme Court to set aside two resolutions of the Commission on Elections: the first disqualified him as a candidate for mayor of Iguig, Cagayan in the May 1995 elections, and the second not only denied his motion for reconsideration but also annulled his proclamation as the winning mayor in the May 1998 elections. The case matters because it gathers in one decision three rules every election lawyer must carry: the meaning of due process in administrative election proceedings, the effect of the expiration of the contested term of office, and the settled rule that the second placer is never proclaimed in place of a disqualified winner.

Procedural History

Manuel Sunga filed with the Commission on Elections a letter-complaint for disqualification against Trinidad, then the incumbent mayor, for using local government vehicles in his campaign, and later an amended petition adding threats, intimidation and vote buying. The case was docketed as SPA Number 95-213. The Second Division of the Commission dismissed the petition for disqualification. Sunga elevated the matter to the Supreme Court, which in Sunga versus Commission on Elections ordered the Commission to reinstate the case and act on it. On reinstatement, the First Division, formerly the Second Division, issued a resolution on June 22, 1998 disqualifying Trinidad as a candidate in the May 1995 elections. Trinidad moved for reconsideration, claiming denial of due process. On October 13, 1998, the Commission en banc denied reconsideration and, on Sunga's motion, annulled Trinidad's proclamation as the elected mayor in the May 1998 elections, although it refused to proclaim Sunga in his place. Commissioner Teresita Dy-Liacco Flores dissented on the annulment of the 1998 proclamation. Trinidad then filed this petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court.

Facts

In the May 1995 elections, Trinidad ran for re-election as mayor of Iguig, Cagayan, and Sunga ran against him. On April 22, 1995, Sunga filed a letter-complaint accusing Trinidad of using three local government vehicles in his campaign. On May 7, 1995, he filed another complaint for threats, intimidation and coercion, followed by an amended petition adding vote buying. Trinidad chose not to submit any evidence at all before the investigating body. The election results showed Trinidad with the highest number of votes and Sunga second. Despite a motion to suspend proclamation, Trinidad was proclaimed elected mayor.

The Law Department recommended that Trinidad be charged with vote buying, coercion and use of government vehicles, and recommended recalling his proclamation. Informations were filed before the Regional Trial Court of Tuguegarao. The disqualification case, however, was dismissed by the Commission's division, prompting Sunga to go to the Supreme Court, which ordered the case reinstated.

On June 22, 1998, the Commission disqualified Trinidad in the May 1995 elections. Trinidad's term for that election expired on June 30, 1998. He ran again and won the May 1998 elections with 5,920 votes against Sunga's 1,727 and 15 votes for a third candidate, or 77.26 percent of the votes cast. On October 13, 1998, the Commission denied his motion for reconsideration and annulled his 1998 proclamation. Meanwhile, the criminal cases against him were dismissed.

Issues

• Whether or not Trinidad was deprived of due process in the proceedings before the Commission on Elections concerning his disqualification in the May 1995 elections.
• Whether or not Trinidad was deprived of due process in the proceedings concerning the annulment of his proclamation in the May 1998 elections.
• Whether or not his proclamation as mayor in the May 1998 elections may be cancelled on account of the disqualification case filed against him in the May 1995 elections.
• Whether or not Sunga, the candidate with the second highest number of votes, may be proclaimed mayor in the event of Trinidad's disqualification.

Applicable Provisions

Section 43 of Republic Act Number 7160, the Local Government Code, fixes the term of office of elective local officials, and the Court used it to mark the expiration of Trinidad's contested term:

Section 43. Term of Office. (a) The term of office of elective local officials, except barangay officials, which shall be determined by law, shall be three (3) years and shall begin at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following the day of the election and shall end at noon of the same date three (3) years thereafter.

This provision bears on the case because the expiration of the three-year term on June 30, 1998 rendered the disqualification controversy moot and academic.

Section 44 of the same Code governs succession, and the Court cited it to reject Sunga's claim to the office:

Section 44. Vacancy in the Office of the Mayor. (a) When the mayor is permanently unable to perform his physical and mental duties of the office, the vice-mayor shall become the mayor.

This provision bears on the case because succession to the mayoralty belongs to the vice mayor, not to the second placer.

Ruling

On the first issue, the Court held that there was no denial of due process. Due process does not necessarily require a formal trial-type hearing; it requires only a fair and reasonable opportunity to be heard, and in administrative proceedings that opportunity may be exercised through pleadings. Trinidad filed an answer with counter-petition and motion to dismiss, submitted a counter-affidavit and the sworn statements of forty-eight witnesses, and was heard on his motion for reconsideration. The Court quoted its ruling in Paat versus Court of Appeals:

The essence of due process is simply an opportunity to be heard, or as applied to administrative proceedings, an opportunity to explain one's side or an opportunity to seek a reconsideration of the action or ruling complained of.

On the second and third issues, treated together as interrelated, the Court held that the expiration of Trinidad's term on June 30, 1998 rendered the disqualification case moot and academic. The June 22, 1998 resolution had not attained finality before the term expired, and removal cannot extend beyond the term during which the alleged misconduct was committed. The Commission therefore acted with grave abuse of discretion in extending the disqualification to the 1998 term. Independently, the annulment of the 1998 proclamation was void for want of prior notice and hearing, since that matter was never part of the first resolution and was raised only in Sunga's opposition to the motion for reconsideration.

On the fourth issue, the Court held that Sunga could not be proclaimed. Succession belongs to the vice mayor under the Local Government Code, and the second placer is never proclaimed winner. The Court quoted its ruling in Nolasco versus Commission on Elections:

The second placer is just that, a second placer. He lost the elections. He was repudiated by either a majority or plurality of voters.

The Court added that Trinidad's overwhelming margin in 1998 showed the people's clear mandate, and that the sovereign will must prevail over legal niceties and technicalities.

Doctrine

First, in administrative election proceedings, due process means an opportunity to be heard, which may be satisfied through pleadings and a motion for reconsideration; a formal hearing is not always essential. Second, the expiration of the contested term of office renders the disqualification case moot and academic, and a disqualification cannot extend beyond the term during which the alleged misconduct was committed. Third, the candidate with the second highest number of votes cannot be proclaimed in place of a disqualified winner; succession follows the Local Government Code, under which the vice mayor becomes mayor. Fourth, the people's will, expressed through the ballot, must be upheld.

Disposition

The petition was partly granted: the October 13, 1998 resolution was set aside insofar as it annulled Trinidad's proclamation as winner in the May 1998 elections, while the petition concerning the May 1995 elections was dismissed as moot and academic.

Remember This

Memorize this line: the second placer is just that, a second placer, and disqualification cannot outlive the term in which the misconduct was committed. Examiners use this case on due process in administrative election proceedings, on mootness through expiration of term, and on the rule against proclaiming the second placer.