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EN BANC

ROMEO M. JALOSJOS, JR., G.R. No. 192474

Petitioner,
Present:
CARPIO,
VELASCO, JR.,
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO,
BRION,
- versus - PERALTA,
BERSAMIN,
DEL CASTILLO,
ABAD,
VILLARAMA, JR.,
PEREZ,
MENDOZA,
SERENO,
REYES, and
PERLAS-BERNABE, JJ.
THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
and DAN ERASMO, SR.,
Respondents.

x ------------------------------------------ x

DAN ERASMO, SR., G.R. No. 192704

Petitioner,
- versus -

ROMEO M. JALOSJOS, JR. and

HON. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS,
Respondents.

x ------------------------------------------ x

DAN ERASMO, SR., G.R. No. 193566

Petitioner,
- versus -
Promulgated:
ROMEO M. JALOSJOS, JR.,
Respondent. June 26, 2012
x ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- x

DECISION

ABAD, J.:

These cases reiterate the demarcation line between the jurisdiction of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC)
and the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).

The Facts and the Case

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In May 2007 Romeo M. Jalosjos, Jr., petitioner in G.R. 192474, ran for Mayor of Tampilisan, Zamboanga del
Norte, and won. While serving as Tampilisan Mayor, he bought a residential house and lot
in Barangay Veterans Village, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay and renovated and furnished the same. In September 2008
he began occupying the house.

After eight months or on May 6, 2009 Jalosjos applied with the Election Registration Board (ERB) of Ipil,
Zamboanga Sibugay, for the transfer of his voters registration record to Precinct 0051F
of Barangay Veterans Village. Dan Erasmo, Sr., respondent in G.R. 192474, opposed the application.[1] After due
proceedings, the ERB approved Jalosjos application and denied Erasmos opposition.[2]

Undeterred, Erasmo filed a petition to exclude Jalosjos from the list of registered voters of Precinct 0051F before
the 1st Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Ipil-Tungawan-R.T. Lim (MCTC).[3] After hearing, the MCTC rendered
judgment on August 14, 2009, excluding Jalosjos from the list of registered voters in question. The MCTC found
that Jalosjos did not abandon his domicile in Tampilisan since he continued even then to serve as its
Mayor. Jalosjos appealed[4] his case to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pagadian City[5]which affirmed the
MCTC Decision on September 11, 2009.

Jalosjos elevated the matter to the Court of Appeals (CA) through a petition for certiorari with an application for
the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction.[6] On November 26, 2009 the CA granted his application and
enjoined the courts below from enforcing their decisions, with the result that his name was reinstated in
the BarangayVeterans Villages voters list pending the resolution of the petition.

On November 28, 2009 Jalosjos filed his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the position of Representative of the
Second District of Zamboanga Sibugay for the May 10, 2010 National Elections. This prompted Erasmo to file a
petition to deny due course to or cancel his COC before the COMELEC,[7] claiming that Jalosjos made material
misrepresentations in that COC when he indicated in it that he resided in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay. But the Second
Division of the COMELEC issued a joint resolution, dismissing Erasmos petitions for insufficiency in form and
substance.[8]

While Erasmos motion for reconsideration was pending before the COMELEC En Banc, the May 10, 2010
elections took place, resulting in Jalosjos winning the elections for Representative of the Second District of
Zamboanga Sibugay. He was proclaimed winner on May 13, 2010.[9]

Meantime, on June 2, 2010 the CA rendered judgment in the voters exclusion case before it, [10] holding that the
lower courts erred in excluding Jalosjos from the voters list of Barangay Veterans Village in Ipil since he was
qualified under the Constitution and Republic Act 8189[11] to vote in that place. Erasmo filed a petition for review
of the CA decision before this Court in G.R. 193566.

Back to the COMELEC, on June 3, 2010 the En Banc granted Erasmos motion for reconsideration and declared
Jalosjos ineligible to seek election as Representative of the Second District of Zamboanga Sibugay. It held that
Jalosjos did not satisfy the residency requirement since, by continuing to hold the position of Mayor of Tampilisan,
Zamboanga Del Norte, he should be deemed not to have transferred his residence from that place
to Barangay Veterans Village in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Both Jalosjos and Erasmo came up to this Court on certiorari. In G.R. 192474, Jalosjos challenges the COMELECs
finding that he did not meet the residency requirement and its denial of his right to due process, citing Roces v.
House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal.[12] In G.R. 192704, Erasmo assails the COMELEC En Bancs failure
to annul Jalosjos proclamation as elected Representative of the Second District of Zamboanga Sibugay despite his
declared ineligibility.

Subsequently, the Court ordered the consolidation of the three related petitions.[13] In its comment,[14] the Office of
the Solicitor General (OSG) sought the dismissal of Erasmos petitions and the grant of that of Jalosjos since all
such petitions deal with the latters qualifications as proclaimed Representative of the district mentioned. The OSG
claims that under Section 17, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, jurisdiction over this issue lies with the HRET.
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Threshold Issue Presented

The threshold issue presented is whether or not the Supreme Court has jurisdiction at this time to pass upon the
question of Jalosjos residency qualification for running for the position of Representative of the Second District of
Zamboanga Sibugay considering that he has been proclaimed winner in the election and has assumed the discharge
of that office.

The Courts Ruling

While the Constitution vests in the COMELEC the power to decide all questions affecting elections,[15] such power
is not without limitation. It does not extend to contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of
members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Constitution vests the resolution of these contests
solely upon the appropriate Electoral Tribunal of the Senate or the House of Representatives.[16]

The Court has already settled the question of when the jurisdiction of the COMELEC ends and when that
of the HRET begins. The proclamation of a congressional candidate following the election divests COMELEC of
jurisdiction over disputes relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of the proclaimed Representative in
favor of the HRET.[17]

Here, when the COMELEC En Banc issued its order dated June 3, 2010, Jalosjos had already been
proclaimed on May 13, 2010 as winner in the election.[18] Thus, the COMELEC acted without jurisdiction when it
still passed upon the issue of his qualification and declared him ineligible for the office of Representative of the
Second District of Zamboanga Sibugay.

It is of course argued, as the COMELEC law department insisted, that the proclamation of Jalosjos was an
exception to the above-stated rule.[19] Since the COMELEC declared him ineligible to run for that office,
necessarily, his proclamation was void following the ruling in Codilla, Sr. v. De Venecia.[20] For Erasmo, the
COMELEC still has jurisdiction to issue its June 3, 2010 order based on Section 6 of Republic Act 6646. Section 6
provides:

Section 6. Effects of Disqualification Case. Any candidate who has been declared by final
judgment to be disqualified shall not be voted for, and the votes cast for him shall not be counted.
If for any reason a candidate is not declared by final judgment before an election to be disqualified
and he is voted for and receives the winning number of votes in such election, the Court or
Commission shall continue with the trial and hearing of the action, inquiry, or protest and, upon
motion of the complainant or any intervenor, may during the pendency thereof order the suspension
of the proclamation of such candidate whenever the evidence of his guilt is strong.

Here, however, the fact is that on election day of 2010 the COMELEC En Banc had as yet to resolve
Erasmos appeal from the Second Divisions dismissal of the disqualification case against Jalosjos. Thus, there then
existed no final judgment deleting Jalosjos name from the list of candidates for the congressional seat he
sought. The last standing official action in his case before election day was the ruling of the COMELECs Second
Division that allowed his name to stay on that list. Meantime, the COMELEC En Banc did not issue any order
suspending his proclamation pending its final resolution of his case. With the fact of his proclamation and
assumption of office, any issue regarding his qualification for the same, like his alleged lack of the required
residence, was solely for the HRET to consider and decide. [21]

Consequently, the Court holds in G.R. 192474 that the COMELEC En Banc exceeded its jurisdiction in
declaring Jalosjos ineligible for the position of representative for the Second District of Zamboanga Sibugay, which
he won in the elections, since it had ceased to have jurisdiction over his case. Necessarily, Erasmos petitions (G.R.
192704 and G.R. 193566) questioning the validity of the registration of Jalosjos as a voter and the COMELECs
failure to annul his proclamation also fail. The Court cannot usurp the power vested by the Constitution solely on
the HRET.[22]
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WHEREFORE, the Court GRANTS the petition in G.R. 192474, REVERSES and SETS ASIDE the respondent
Commission on Elections En Bancs order dated June 3, 2010, and REINSTATES the Commissions Second
Division resolution dated February 23, 2010 in SPA 09-114(DC), entitled Dan Erasmo, Sr. v. Romeo Jalosjos
Jr. Further, the Court DISMISSES the petitions in G.R. 192704 and G.R. 193566 for lack of jurisdiction over the
issues they raise.

SO ORDERED.