Technicalities; While it has been held that after an elective official has been proclaimed as win... more Technicalities; While it has been held that after an elective official has been proclaimed as winner of the elections, the COMELEC has no jurisdiction to pass upon his qualifications·certain peculiarities in the present case reveal the fact that its very heart is something which the Supreme Court considers of paramount interest.·It cannot be denied that the Court has previously held in Mamba-Perez v. COMELEC that after an elective official has been proclaimed as winner of the elections, the COMELEC has no jurisdiction to pass upon his qualifications. An opposing partyÊs remedies after proclamation would be to file a petition for quo warranto within ten days after the proclamation. On the other hand, certain peculiarities in the present case reveal the fact that its very heart is something which this Court considers of paramount interest. This Court notes from the very beginning that petitioner himself was already entertaining some doubt as to whether or not he is indeed eligible to run for city mayor in the May 14, 2001 elections. Same; Same; Same; Same; The spirit embodied in a Constitutional provision must not be attenuated by a rigid application of procedural rules.·Time and again, this Court has held that rules of procedure are only tools designed to facilitate the attainment of justice, such that when rigid application of the rules tend to frustrate rather than promote substantial justice, this Court is empowered to suspend their operation. We will not hesitate to set aside technicalities in favor of what is fair and just. The spirit embodied in a Constitutional provision must not be attenuated by a rigid application of procedural rules.
Technicalities; While it has been held that after an elective official has been proclaimed as win... more Technicalities; While it has been held that after an elective official has been proclaimed as winner of the elections, the COMELEC has no jurisdiction to pass upon his qualifications·certain peculiarities in the present case reveal the fact that its very heart is something which the Supreme Court considers of paramount interest.·It cannot be denied that the Court has previously held in Mamba-Perez v. COMELEC that after an elective official has been proclaimed as winner of the elections, the COMELEC has no jurisdiction to pass upon his qualifications. An opposing partyÊs remedies after proclamation would be to file a petition for quo warranto within ten days after the proclamation. On the other hand, certain peculiarities in the present case reveal the fact that its very heart is something which this Court considers of paramount interest. This Court notes from the very beginning that petitioner himself was already entertaining some doubt as to whether or not he is indeed eligible to run for city mayor in the May 14, 2001 elections. Same; Same; Same; Same; The spirit embodied in a Constitutional provision must not be attenuated by a rigid application of procedural rules.·Time and again, this Court has held that rules of procedure are only tools designed to facilitate the attainment of justice, such that when rigid application of the rules tend to frustrate rather than promote substantial justice, this Court is empowered to suspend their operation. We will not hesitate to set aside technicalities in favor of what is fair and just. The spirit embodied in a Constitutional provision must not be attenuated by a rigid application of procedural rules.
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