EN BANC

[G.R. No. 123169. November 4, 1996.]

DANILO E. PARAS , petitioner, vs . COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS ,

respondent.

Matias Pangilinan Bansale Tan Feliz Alberto Hernal Buazon & Associates Law Of ce for
petitioner.
The Solicitor General and Jose P. Balbuena for respondent.

SYLLABUS

1. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW; RECALL; LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE; SK ELECTION; FOR

PURPOSES OF RECALL, SK ELECTION IS NOT A REGULAR ELECTION UNDER SECTION 74
OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. The subject provision of the Local Government
Code provides "SEC. 74. Limitations on Recall. (a) Any elective local of cial may be the
subject of a recall election only once during his term of of ce for loss of con dence, (b)
No recall shall take place within one (1) year from the date of the of cial's assumption to
of ce or one (1) year immediately preceding a regular local election." It is a rule in
statutory construction that every part of the statute must be interpreted with reference to
the context, i.e., that every part of the statute must be considered together with the other
parts, and kept subservient to the general intent of the whole enactment. The evident intent
of Section 74 is to subject an elective local of cial to recall election once during his term
of of ce. Paragraph (b) construed together with paragraph (a) merely designates the
period when such elective local of cial may be subject of a recall election, that is, during
the second year of his term of of ce. Thus, subscribing to petitioner's interpretation of the
phrase regular local election to include the SK election will unduly circumscribe the novel
provision of the Local Government Code on recall, a mode of removal of public of cers by
initiation of the people before the end of his term. And if the SK election which is set by
R.A. No 7808 to be held every three years from May 1996 were to be deemed within the
purview of the phrase "regular local election," as erroneously insisted by petitioner, then no
recall election can be conducted rendering inutile the recall provision of the Local
Government Code. In the interpretation of a statute, the Court should start with the
assumption that the legislature intended to enact an effective law, and the legislature is
not presumed to have done a vain thing in the enactment of a statute. An interpretation
should, if possible, be avoided under which a statute or provision being construed is
defeated, or as otherwise expressed, nulli ed, destroyed, emasculated, repealed, explained
away, or rendered insigni cant, meaningless, inoperative or nugatory. It is likewise a basic
precept in statutory construction that a statute should be interpreted in harmony with the
Constitution. Thus, the interpretation of Section 74 of the Local Government Code,
speci cally paragraph (b) thereof, should not be in con ict with the Constitutional
mandate of Section 3 of Article X of the Constitution to "enact a local government code
which shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government structure
instituted through a system of decentralization with effective mechanisms of recall,
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 initiative and referendum . . . ." TSEAaD

2. ID.; REGULAR LOCAL ELECTION; CONSTRUED. Finally, recall election is potentially

disruptive of the normal working of the local government unit necessitating additional
expenses, hence the prohibition against the conduct of recall election one year
immediately preceding the regular local election. The proscription is due to the proximity
of the next regular election for the of ce of the local elective of cial concerned. The
electorate could choose the of cial's replacement in the said election who certainly has a
longer tenure in of ce than a successor elected through a recall election. It would,
therefore, be more in keeping with the intent of the recall provision of the Code to construe
regular local election as one referring to an election where the of ce held by the local
elective official sought to be recalled will be contested and be filled by the electorate.
3. ID.; STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION; A TOO LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW
LEADS TO ABSURDITY WHICH CANNOT BE COUNTENANCED. Moreover, petitioner's too
literal interpretation of the law leads to absurdity which we cannot countenance. Thus, in a
case, the Court made the following admonition: "We admonish against a too-literal reading
of the law as this is apt to constrict rather than ful ll its purpose and defeat the intention
of its authors. That intention is usually found not in 'the letter that killeth but in the spirit
that vivi eth' . . ." The spirit, rather than the letter of a law determines its construction;
hence, a statute, as in this case, must be read according to its spirit and intent. EDIHSC

DAVIDE, JR., J., Separate Concurring Opinion:

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW; RECALL; LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE; SK ELECTION; THE SK
ELECTION CANNOT BE CONSIDERED A "REGULAR LOCAL ELECTION" FOR PURPOSES OF
RECALL UNDER SECTION 74 OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF 1991; ELECTIVE
OFFICIALS OF THE SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ARE NOT CONSIDERED LOCAL ELECTIVE
OFFICIALS UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE; REASON. The term "regular local
election" must be con ned to the regular election of elective local of cials, as
distinguished from the regular election of national of cials. The elective national of cials
are the President, Vice-President, Senators and Congressmen. The elective local of cials
are Provincial Governors, Vice-Governors of provinces, Mayors and Vice-Mayors of cities
and municipalities, Members of the Sanggunians of provinces, cities and municipalities,
punong barangays and members of the sangguniang barangays, and the elective regional
of cials of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. These are the only local elective
of cials deemed recognized by Section 2(2) of Article IX-C of the Constitution, which
provides: SEC 2. The Commission on Elections shall exercise the following powers and
functions: . . . (2) Exercise exclusive original jurisdiction over all contests relating to the
elections, returns, and quali cations of all elective regional, provincial, and city of cials,
and appellate jurisdiction over all contests involving elective municipal of cials decided by
trial courts of general jurisdiction, or involving elective barangay of cials decided by trial
courts of limited jurisdiction. A regular election, whether national or local, can only refer to
an election participated in by those who possess the right of suffrage, are not otherwise
disquali ed by law, and who are registered voters. One of the requirements for the
exercise of suffrage under Section 1, Article V of the Constitution is that the person must
be at least 18 years of age, and one requisite before he can vote is that he be a registered
voter pursuant to the rules on registration prescribed in the Omnibus Election Code
(Sections 113-118). Under the law, the SK includes the youth with ages ranging from 15 to
21 (Sec. 424 Local Government Code of 1991). Accordingly, they include many who are
not quali ed to vote in a regular election, viz., those from ages 15 to less than 18. In no
manner then may SK elections be considered a regular election (whether national or local).
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 Indeed the Sangguniang Kabataan is nothing more than a youth organization, and although
fully recognized in the Local Government Code and vested with certain powers and
functions, its elective of cials have not attained the status of local elective of cials . So, in
Mercado vs. Board of Election Supervisors (243 SCRA 422 [1995]), this Court ruled that
although the SK Chairman is an ex-officio member of the sangguniang barangay an
elective body that fact does not make him "an elective barangay of cial," since the law
speci cally provides who comprise the elective officials of the sangguniang barangay, viz.,
the punong barangay and the seven (7) regular sangguniang barangay members elected at
large by those quali ed to exercise the right of suffrage under Article V of the Constitution,
who are likewise registered voters of the barangay. This shows further that the SK election
is not a regular local election for purposes of recall under Section 74 of the Local
Government Code. cIaHDA

RESOLUTION

FRANCISCO , J : p

Petitioner Danilo E. Paras is the incumbent Punong Barangay of Pula, Cabanatuan City who
won during the last regular barangay election in 1994. A petition for his recall as Punong
Barangay was led by the registered voters of the barangay. Acting on the petition for
recall, public respondent Commission on Elections (COMELEC) resolved to approve the
petition, scheduled the petition signing on October 14, 1995, and set the recall election on
November 13, 1995. 1 At least 29.30% of the registered voters signed the petition, well
above the 25% requirement provided by law. The COMELEC, however, deferred the recall
election in view of petitioner's opposition. On December 6, 1995, the COMELEC set anew
the recall election, this time on December 16, 1995. To prevent the holding of the recall
election, petitioner led before the Regional Trial Court of Cabanatuan City a petition for
injunction, docketed as SP Civil Action No. 2254-AF, with the trial court issuing a temporary
restraining order. After conducting a summary hearing, the trial court lifted the restraining
order, dismissed the petition and required petitioner and his counsel to explain why they
should not be cited for contempt for misrepresenting that the barangay recall election was
without COMELEC approval. 2
In a resolution dated January 5, 1996, the COMELEC, for the third time, re-scheduled the
recall election on January 13, 1996; hence, the instant petition for certiorari with urgent
prayer for injunction. On January 12, 1996, the Court issued a temporary restraining order
and required the Of ce of the Solicitor General, in behalf of public respondent, to comment
on the petition. In view of the Of ce of the Solicitor General's manifestation maintaining an
opinion adverse to that of the COMELEC, the latter through its law department led the
required comment. Petitioner thereafter filed a reply. 3

Petitioner's argument is simple and to the point. Citing Section 74 (b) of Republic Act No.
7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code, which states that "no recall shall
take place within one (1) year from the date of the official's assumption to office or one (1)
year immediately preceding a regular local election", petitioner insists that the scheduled
January 13, 1996 recall election is now barred as the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election
was set by Republic Act No. 7808 on the rst Monday of May 1996, and every three years
thereafter. In support thereof, petitioner cites Associated Labor Union v. Letrondo-
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 Montejo, 237 SCRA 621, where the Court considered the SK election as a regular local
election. Petitioner maintains that as the SK election is a regular local election, hence no
recall election can be had for barely four months separate the SK election from the recall
election. We do not agree.
The subject provision of the Local Government Code provides:
"SEC. 74. Limitations on Recall. (a) Any elective local of cial may be the
subject of a recall election only once during his term of of ce for loss of
confidence

(b) No recall shall take place within one (1) year from the date of the of cial's
assumption to of ce or one (1) year immediately preceding a regular local
election."
[Emphasis added.]

It is a rule in statutory construction that every part of the statute must be interpreted with
reference to the context, i.e., that every part of the statute must be considered together
with the other parts, and kept subservient to the general intent of the whole enactment. 4
The evident intent of Section 74 is to subject an elective local of cial to recall election
once during his term of office. Paragraph (b) construed together with paragraph (a) merely
designates the period when such elective local of cial may be subject of a recall election,
that is, during the second year of his term of of ce. Thus, subscribing to petitioner's
interpretation of the phrase regular local election to include the SK election will unduly
circumscribe the novel provision of the Local Government Code on recall, a mode of
removal of public of cers by initiation of the people before the end of his term. And if the
SK election which is set by R.A. No. 7808 to be held every three years from May 1996 were
to be deemed within the purview of the phrase "regular local election", as erroneously
insisted by petitioner, then no recall election can be conducted rendering inutile the recall
provision of the Local Government Code. cdasia

In the interpretation of a statute, the Court should start with the assumption that the
legislature intended to enact an effective law, and the legislature is not presumed to have
done a vain thing in the enactment of a statute. 5 An interpretation should, if possible, be
avoided under which a statute or provision being construed is defeated, or as otherwise
expressed, nulli ed, destroyed, emasculated, repealed, explained away, or rendered
insignificant, meaningless, inoperative or nugatory. 6
It is likewise a basic precept in statutory construction that a statute should be interpreted
in harmony with the Constitution. 7 Thus, the interpretation of Section 74 of the Local
Government Code, speci cally paragraph (b) thereof, should not be in con ict with the
Constitutional mandate of Section 3 of Article X of the Constitution to enact a local
government code which shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local
government structure instituted through a system of decentralization with effective
mechanisms of recall, initiative, and referendum . . ."
Moreover, petitioner's too literal interpretation of the law leads to absurdity which we
cannot countenance. Thus, in a case, the Court made the following admonition:
"We admonish against a too-literal reading of the law as this is apt to constrict
rather than ful ll its purpose and defeat the intention of its authors. That
intention is usually found not in 'the letter that killeth but in the spirit that vivi eth'
. . ." 8
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 The spirit, rather than the letter of a law determines its construction; hence, a statute, as in
this case, must be read according to its spirit and intent.
Finally, recall election is potentially disruptive of the normal working of the local
government unit necessitating additional expenses, hence the prohibition against the
conduct of recall election one year immediately preceding the regular local election.
The proscription is due to the proximity of the next regular election for the of ce of the
local elective of cial concerned. The electorate could choose the of cial's replacement
in the said election who certainly has a longer tenure in of ce than a successor elected
through a recall election. It would, therefore, be more in keeping with the intent of the
recall provision of the Code to construe regular local election as one referring to an
election where the of ce held by the local elective of cial sought to be recalled will be
contested and be filled by the electorate. dctai

Nevertheless, recall at this time is no longer possible because of the limitation stated
under Section 74 (b) of the Code considering that the next regular election involving the
barangay of ce concerned is barely seven (7) months away, the same having been
scheduled on May 1997. 9
ACCORDINGLY, the petition is hereby dismissed for having become moot and academic.
The temporary restraining order issued by the Court on January 12, 1996, enjoining the
recall election should be as it is hereby made permanent.
SO ORDERED.
Romero, Melo, Puno, Kapunan, Hermosisima, Jr., Panganiban, and Torres, Jr., JJ ., concur.
Narvasa, C .J ., Padilla, Regalado, Bellosillo, Vitug, and Mendoza, JJ ., concur in the majority
and separate concurring opinions.

Separate Opinions
DAVIDE, JR. , J ., concurring :

I concur with Mr. Justice Ricardo J. Francisco in his ponencia.

However, I wish to add another reason as to why the SK election cannot be considered a
"regular local election" for purposes of recall under Section 74 of the Local Government
Code of 1991.
The term "regular local election" must be con ned to the regular election of elective local
of cials, as distinguished from the regular election of national of cials. The elective
national of cials are the President, Vice-President, Senators and Congressmen. The
elective local of cials are Provincial Governors, Vice-Governors of provinces, Mayors and
Vice-Mayors of cities and municipalities, Members of the Sanggunians of provinces, cities
and municipalities, punong barangays and members of the sangguniang barangays, and
the elective regional of cials of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. These are
the only local elective of cials deemed recognized by Section 2(2) of Article IX-C of the
Constitution, which provides:
SEC 2. The Commission on Elections shall exercise the following powers and
functions:

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 xxx xxx xxx

(2) Exercise exclusive original jurisdiction over all contests relating to the
elections, returns, and quali cations of all elective regional, provincial, and city
of cials, and appellate jurisdiction over all contests involving elective municipal
of cials decided by trial courts of general jurisdiction, or involving elective
barangay officials decided by trial courts of limited jurisdiction

A regular election, whether national or local, can only refer to an election participated in by
those who possess the right of suffrage, are not otherwise disquali ed by law, and who
are registered voters. One of the requirements for the exercise of suffrage under Section 1,
Article V of the Constitution is that the person must be at least 18 years of age, and one
requisite before he can vote is that he be a registered voter pursuant to the rules on
registration prescribed in the Omnibus Election Code (Section 113-118)
Under the law, the SK includes the youth with ages ranging from 15 to 21 (Sec. 424, Local
Government Code of 1991). Accordingly, they include many who are not quali ed to vote in
a regular election, viz., those from ages 15 to less than 18. In no manner then may SK
elections be considered a regular election (whether national or local).
Indeed the Sangguniang Kabataan is nothing more than a youth organization, and although
fully recognized in the Local Government Code and vested with certain powers and
functions, its elective of cials have not attained the status of local elective of cials . So, in
Mercado vs. Board of Election Supervisors (243 SCRA 422 [1995]), this Court ruled that
although the SK Chairman is an ex-officio member of the sangguniang barangay an
elective body that fact does not make him "an elective barangay of cial," since the law
speci cally provides who comprise the elective officials of the sangguniang barangay, viz .,
the punong barangay and the seven (7) regular sangguniang barangay members elected at
large by those quali ed to exercise the right of suffrage under Article V of the Constitution,
who are likewise registered voters of the barangay. This shows further that the SK election
is not a regular local election for purposes of recall under Section 74 of the Local
Government Code.

Footnotes

1. COMELEC Resolution No. 95-3345, September 5, 1995.

2. RTC, Cabanatuan City, Order dated December 20, 1995; Rollo, p. 28.

3. Rollo, pp. 64-66.

4. Aisporna v. Court of Appeals, 113 SCRA 464, 467.
5. Asturias Sugar Central, Inc. v. Commissioner of Customs, 29 SCRA 617, 627.
6. Id. at p. 628.

7. PLDT v. Collector of Internal Revenue, 90 Phil. 674

8. People v. Salas, 143 SCRA 163, 167.
9. Petition, p. 3; Rollo, p. 5; See: Evardorne v. COMELEC, 204 SCRA 464.

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