Angara v. Electoral Commission

EN BANC
[G.R. No. 45081. July 15, 1936.]
JOSE A. ANGARA , petitioner, vs . THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION,

PEDRO YNSUA, MIGUEL CASTILLO, and DIONISIO C. MAYOR ,
respondents.
Godofredo Reyes for petitioner.

Solicitor-General Hilado for respondent Electoral Commission.
Pedro Ynsua in his own behalf.
No appearance for other respondents.
SYLLABUS
1. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW; SEPARATION OF POWERS. — The separation of

powers is a fundamental principle in our system of government. It obtains not through
express provision but by actual division in our Constitution. Each department of the
government has exclusive cognizance of matters within its jurisdiction, and is supreme
within its own sphere.
2. ID.; ID.; SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES. — But it does not follow
from the fact that the three powers are to be kept separate and distinct that the
Constitution intended them to be absolutely unrestrained and independent of each
other. The Constitution has provided for an elaborate system of checks and balances
to secure coordination in the workings of various departments of government. For
example, the Chief Executive under our Constitution is 80 far made a check on the
legislative power that his assent is required in the enactment of laws. This, however, is
subject to the further check that a bill may become a law notwithstanding the refusal of
the President to approve it, by a vote of two-thirds or three-fourths, as the case may be,
of the National Assembly. The President has also the right to convene the Assembly in
special session whenever he chooses. On the other hand, the National Assembly
operates as a check on the Executive in the sense that its consent through its
Commission on Appointments is necessary in the appointment of certain o cers; and
the concurrence of a majority of all its members is essential to the conclusion of
treaties. Furthermore, in its power to determine what courts other than the Supreme
Court shall be established, to de ne their jurisdiction and to appropriate funds for their
support, the National Assembly exercises to a certain extent control over the judicial
department. The Assembly also exercises the judicial power of trying impeachments.
And the judiciary in turn, with the Supreme Court as the nal arbiter, effectively checks
the other departments in the exercise of its power to determine the law, and hence to
declare executive and legislative acts void if violative of the Constitution.
3. ID.; ID.; ID.; JUDICIARY THE ONLY CONSTITUTIONAL ARBITER TO
ALLOCATE CONSTITUTIONAL BOUNDARIES. — But in the main, the Constitution has
blocked out with deft strokes and in bold lines, allotment of power to the executive, the
legislative and the judicial departments of the government. The overlapping and
interlacing of functions and duties between the several departments, however,
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sometimes makes it hard to say just where the one leaves off and the other begins. In
times of social disquietude or political excitement, the great landmarks of the
Constitution are apt to be forgotten or marred, if not entirely obliterated. In cases of
con ict, the judicial department is the only constitutional organ which can be called
upon to determine the proper allocation of powers between the several departments
and among the integral or constituent units thereof.
4. ID.; ID.; ID.; ID.; MODERATING POWER OF THE JUDICIARY IS GRANTED, IF
NOT EXPRESSLY, BY CLEAR IMPLICATION. — As any human production, our
Constitution is of course lacking perfection and perfectibility, but as much as it was
within the power of our people, acting through their delegates to so provide, that
instrument which is the expression of their sovereignty however limited, has
established a republican government intended to operate and function as a harmonious
whole, under a system of checks and balances, and subject to speci c limitations and
restrictions provided in the said instrument. The Constitution sets forth in no uncertain
language the restrictions and limitations upon governmental powers and agencies. If
these restrictions and limitations are transcended, it would be inconceivable if the
Constitution had not provided for a mechanism by which to direct the course of
government along constitutional channels, for, then, the distribution of powers would
be mere verbiage, the bill of rights mere expressions of sentiment, and the principles of
good government mere political apothegms. Certainly, the limitations and restrictions
embodied in the Constitution are real as they should be in any living constitution. In the
United States where no express constitutional grant is found in their constitution, the
possession of this moderating power of the courts, not to speak of its historical origin
and development there, has been set at rest by popular acquiescence for a period of
more than one and a half centuries. In our case, this moderating power is granted, if not
expressly, by clear implication from section 2 of article VIII of our Constitution.
5. ID.; ID.; ID.; WHAT IS MEANT BY "JUDICIAL SUPREMACY". — The
Constitution is a de nition of the powers of government. Who is to determine the
nature, scope and extent of such powers? The Constitution itself has provided for the
instrumentality of the judiciary as the rational way. And when the judiciary mediates to
allocate constitutional boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other
departments; it does not in reality nullify or invalidate an act of the Legislature, but only
asserts the solemn and sacred obligation assigned to it by the Constitution to
determine con icting claims of authority under the Constitution and to establish for the
parties in an actual controversy the rights which that instrument secures and
guarantees to them. This is in truth all that is involved in what is termed "judicial
supremacy" which properly is the power of judicial review under the Constitution.
6. ID.; ID.; ID.; JUDICIAL REVIEW LIMITED TO ACTUAL LITIGATION; WISDOM,
JUSTICE OR EXPEDIENCY OF LEGISLATION. — Even then, this power of judicial review
is limited to actual cases and controversies to be exercised after full opportunity of
argument by the parties, and limited further to the constitutional question raised or the
very lis mota presented. Any attempt at abstraction could only lead to dialectics and
barren legal questions and to sterile conclusions unrelated to actualities. Narrowed as
its function is in this manner, the judiciary does not pass upon questions of wisdom,
justice or expediency of legislation. More than that, courts accord the presumption of
constitutionality to legislative enactments not only because the Legislature is
presumed to abide by the Constitution but also because the judiciary in the
determination of actual cases and controversies must reflect the wisdom and justice of
the people as expressed through their representatives in the executive and legislative
departments of the government.
7. ID.; ID.; ID.; SYSTEM ITSELF NOT THE CHIEF PALLADIUM OF
CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTY; SUCCESS MUST BE TESTED IN THE CRUCIBLE OF
FILIPINO MINDS AND HEARTS. — But much as we might postulate on the internal
checks of power provided in our Constitution, it ought not the less to be remembered
that, in the language of James Madison, the system itself is not "the chief palladium of
constitutional liberty . . . the people who are authors of this blessing must also be its
guardians . . . their eyes must be ever ready to mark, their voice to pronounce . . .
aggression on the authority of their constitution." In the last and ultimate analysis, then,
must the success of our government in the unfolding years to come be tested in the
crucible of Filipino minds and hearts than in the consultation rooms and court
chambers.
8. ID.; OUR CONSTITUTION HAS ADOPTED THE AMERICAN TYPE OF
CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT. — Discarding the English type and other European
types of constitutional government, the framers of our Constitution adopted the
American type where the written constitution is interpreted and given effect by the
judicial department. In some countries which have declined to follow the American
example, provisions have been inserted in their constitutions prohibiting the courts
from exercising the power to interpret the fundamental law. This is taken as a
recognition of what otherwise would be the rule that in the absence of direct prohibition
courts are bound to assume what is logically their function. For instance, the
Constitution of Poland of 1921, expressly provides that courts shall have no power to
examine the validity of statutes (article 81, chapter IV). The former Austrian
Constitution contained a similar declaration. In countries whose constitutions are silent
in this respect, courts have assumed this power. This is true in Norway, Greece,
Australia and South Africa. Whereas, in Czechoslovakia (arts. 2 and 3, Preliminary Law
to Constitutional Charter of the Czechoslovak Republic, February 29, 1920) and Spain
(arts 121-123, Title IX, Constitution of the Republic of 1931) especial constitutional
courts are established to pass upon the validity of ordinary laws.
9. ID.; JURISDICTION OVER THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION. — The nature of
the present controversy shows the necessity of a nal constitutional arbiter to
determine the con ict of authority between two agencies created by the Constitution. If
the con ict were left undecided and undetermined, a void would be created in our
constitutional system which may in the long run prove destructive of the entire
framework. Natura vacuum abhorret, so must we avoid exhaustion in our constitutional
system. Upon principle, reason and authority, the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over
the Electoral Commission and the subject matter of the present controversy for the
purpose of determining the character, scope and extent of the constitutional grant to
the Electoral Commission as "the sole judge of all contests relating to the election,
returns and qualifications of the members of the National Assembly."
10. ID.; THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION; CONSTITUTIONAL GRANT OF
POWER TO THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO BE THE SOLE JUDGE OF ALL
CONTESTS RELATING TO THE ELECTION, RETURNS AND QUALIFICATIONS OF
MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. — The original provision regarding this
subject in the Act of Congress of July 1, 1902 (sec. 7, par. 5) laying down the rule that
the assembly shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and quali cations of its
members", was taken from clause 1 of section 5, Article I of the Constitution of the
United States providing that "Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns,
and Quali cations of its own Members, . . . ." The Act of Congress of August 29, 1916
(sec. 18, par. 1) modi ed this provision by the insertion of the word "sole" as follows:
"That the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, shall be the sole judges of
the elections, returns, and quali cations of their elective members, . . ." apparently in
order to emphasize the exclusive character of the jurisdiction conferred upon each
House of the Legislature over the particular cases therein speci ed. This court has had
occasion to characterize this grant of power to the Philippine Senate and House of
Representatives, respectively, as "full, clear and complete". (Veloso vs. Boards of
Canvassers of Leyte and Samar [1919], 39 Phil., 886, 888.)
11. ELECTORAL COMMISSION; HISTORICAL INSTANCES. — The transfer of
the power of determining the election, returns and quali cations of the members of the
Legislature long lodged in the legislative body, to an independent, impartial and non-
partisan tribunal, is by no means a mere experiment in the science of government. As
early as 1868, the House of Commons in England solved the problem of insuring the
non-partisan settlement of the controverted elections of its members by abdicating its
prerogative to two judges of the King's Bench of the High Court of Justice selected
from a rota in accordance with rules of court made for the purpose. Having proved
successful, the practice has become imbedded in English jurisprudence (Parliamentary
Elections Act, 1868 [31 & 32 Vict. c. 125] as amended by Parliamentary Elections and
Corrupt Practices Act, 1879 [42 & 43 Vict. c. 75], s. 2; Corrupt and Illegal Practices
Prevention Act 1883 [46 & 47 Vict. c. 51], s. 70; Expiring Laws Continuance Act, 1911 [1
& 2 Geo. 5, c. 22]; Laws of England, vol. XII, p. 408, vol. XXI, p. 787). In the Dominion of
Canada, election contests which were originally heard by the Committee of the House
of Commons, are since 1922 tried in the courts. Likewise, in the Commonwealth of
Australia, election contests which were originally determined by each house, are since
1922 tried in the High Court. In Hungary, the organic law provides that all protests
against the election of members of the Upper House of Diet are to be resolved by the
Supreme Administrative Court (Law 22 of 1916, chap. 2, art. 37, par. 6). The
Constitution of Poland of March 17, 1921 (art. 19) and the Constitution of the Free City
of Danzig of May 13, 1922 (art. 10) vest the authority to decide contested elections to
the Diet or National Assembly in the Supreme Court. For the purpose of deciding
legislative contests, the Constitution of the German Reich of July 1, 1919 (art. 31), the
Constitution of the Czechoslovak Republic of February 29, 1920 (art. 19) and the
Constitution of the Grecian Republic of June 2, 1927 (art. 43) all provide for an Electoral
Commission.
12. ID.; ELECTORAL COMMISSION IN THE UNITED STATES. — The creation
of an Electoral Commission whose membership is recruited both from the legislature
and the judiciary is by no means unknown in the United States. In the presidential
elections of 1876 there was a dispute as to the number of electoral votes received by
each of the two opposing candidates. As the Constitution made no adequate provision
for such a contingency, Congress passed a law on January 29, 1877 (United States
Statutes at Large, vol. 19, chap. 37, pp. 227-229), creating a special Electoral
Commission composed of ve members elected by the Senate, ve members elected
by the House of Representatives, and five justices of the Supreme Court, the fifth justice
to be selected by the four designated in the Act. The decision of the commission was
to be binding unless rejected by the two houses voting separately. Although there is not
much moral lesson to be derived from the experience of America in this regard, the
experiment has at least abiding historical interest.
13. ID.; ID.; FAMILIARITY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTION WITH THE HISTORY AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER
COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD; ELECTORAL COMMISSION IS THE EXPRESSION OF THE
WISDOM AND ULTIMATE JUSTICE OF THE PEOPLE. — The members of the
Constitutional Convention who framed our fundamental law were in their majority men
mature in years and experience. To be sure, many of them were familiar with the history
and political development of other countries of the world. When, therefore, they
deemed it wise to create an Electoral Commission as a constitutional organ and
invested it with the exclusive function of passing upon and determining the election,
returns and quali cations of the members of the National Assembly, they must have
done so not only in the light of their own experience but also having in view the
experience of other enlightened peoples of the world. The creation of the Electoral
Commission was designed to remedy certain evils of which the framers of our
Constitution were cognizant. Notwithstanding the vigorous opposition of some
members of the Convention to its creation, the plan was approved by that body by a
vote of 98 against 58. All that can be said now is that, upon the approval of the
Constitution, the creation of the Electoral Commission is the expression of the wisdom
and "ultimate justice of the people". (Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address, March 4,
1861.)
14. ID.; ID.; ID.; PURPOSE WAS TO TRANSFER IN ITS TOTALITY POWER
EXERCISED PREVIOUSLY BY THE LEGISLATURE OVER THE CONTESTED ELECTIONS
OF THE MEMBERS TO AN INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL TRIBUNAL. — From the
deliberations of our Constitutional Convention it is evident that the purpose was to
transfer in its totality all the powers previously exercised by the Legislature in matters
pertaining to contested elections of its members, to an independent and impartial
tribunal. It was not so much the knowledge and appreciation of contemporary
constitutional precedents, however, as the long-felt need of determining legislative
contests devoid of partisan considerations which prompted the people acting through
their delegates to the Convention to provide for this body known as the Electoral
Commission. With this end in view, a composite body in which both the majority and
minority parties are equally represented to off-set partisan in uence in its deliberations
was created, and further endowed with judicial temper by including in its membership
three justices of the Supreme Court.
15. ID.; ID.; ID.; THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION IS AN INDEPENDENT
CONSTITUTIONAL CREATION ALTHOUGH FOR PURPOSES OF CLASSIFICATION IT IS
CLOSER TO THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT THAN TO ANY OTHER. — The Electoral
Commission is a constitutional creation, invested with the necessary authority in the
performance and execution of the limited and speci c function assigned to it by the
Constitution. Although it is not a power in our tripartite scheme of government, it is, to
all intents and purposes, when acting within the limits of its authority, an independent
organ. It is, to be sure, closer to the legislative department than to any other. The
location of the provision (sec. 4) creating the Electoral Commission under Article VI
entitled "Legislative Department" of our Constitution is very indicative. Its composition
is also signi cant in that it is constituted by a majority of members of the Legislature.
But it is a body separate from and independent of the Legislature.
16. ID.; ID; ID.; GRANT OF POWER TO THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
INTENDED TO BE AS COMPLETE AND UNIMPAIRED AS IF IT HAD REMAINED
ORIGINALLY IN THE LEGISLATURE. — The grant of power to the Electoral Commission
to judge all contests relating to the election, returns and quali cations of members of
the National Assembly, is intended to be as complete and unimpaired as if it had
remained originally in the Legislature. The express lodging of that power in the Electoral
Commission is an implied denial of the exercise of that power by the National
Assembly. And this is as effective a restriction upon the legislative power as an express
prohibition in the constitution (Ex parte Lewis, 46 Tex. Crim. Rep., 1; State vs. Whisman,
33 S. D., 260; L. R. A., 1917B, 1). If the power claimed for the National Assembly to
regulate the proceedings of the Electoral Commission and cut off the power of the
Electoral Commission to lay down a period within which protest should be led were
conceded, the grant of power to the commission would be ineffective. The Electoral
Commission in such a case would be invested with the power to determine contested
cases involving the election, returns, and quali cations of the members of the National
Assembly but subject at all times to the regulative power of the National Assembly. Not
only would the purpose of the framers of our Constitution of totally transferring this
authority from the legislative body be frustrated, but a dual authority would be created
with the resultant inevitable clash of powers from time to time. A sad spectacle would
then be presented of the Electoral Commission retaining the bare authority of taking
cognizance of cases referred to, but in reality without the necessary means to render
that authority effective whenever and wherever the National Assembly has chosen to
act, a situation worse than that intended to be remedied by the framers of our
Constitution. The power to regulate on the part of the National Assembly in procedural
matters will inevitably lead to the ultimate control by the Assembly of the entire
proceedings of the Electoral Commission, and, by indirection, to the entire abrogation
of the constitutional grant. It is obvious that this result should not be permitted.
17. ID.; ID.; ID; ID.; THE POWER TO PROMULGATE INCIDENTAL RULES AND
REGULATIONS LODGED ALSO IN THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION BY NECESSARY
IMPLICATION. — The creation of the Electoral Commission carried with it ex necesitate
rei the power regulative in character to limit the time within which protests intrusted to
its cognizance should be led. It is a settled rule of construction that where a general
power is conferred or duty enjoined, every particular power necessary for the exercise
of the one or the performance of the other is also conferred (Cooley, Constitutional
Limitations, eighth ed., vol. I, pp. 138, 139). In the absence of any further constitutional
provision relating to the procedure to be followed in ling protests before the Electoral
Commission, therefore, the incidental power to promulgate such rules necessary for
the proper exercise of its exclusive powers to judge all contests relating to the election,
returns and quali cations of members of the National Assembly, must be deemed by
necessary implication to have been lodged also in the Electoral Commission.
18. ID; ID.; ID.; POSSIBILITY OF ABUSE NO ARGUMENT AGAINST GRANT OF
POWER. — The possibility of abuse is not an argument against the concession of the
power as there is no power that is not susceptible of abuse. If any mistake has been
committed in the creation of an Electoral Commission and in investing it with exclusive
jurisdiction in all cases relating to the election, returns, and quali cations of members
of the National Assembly, the remedy is political, not judicial, and must be sought
through the ordinary processes of democracy. All the possible abuses of the
government are not intended to be corrected by the judiciary. The people in creating the
Electoral Commission reposed as much con dence in this body in the exclusive
determination of the speci ed cases assigned to it, as it has given to the Supreme
Court in the proper cases entrusted to it for decision. All the agencies of the
government were designed by the Constitution to achieve speci c purposes, and each
constitutional organ working within its own particular sphere of discretionary action
must be deemed to be animated with same zeal and honesty in accomplishing the
great ends for which they were created by the sovereign will. That the actuations of
these constitutional agencies might leave much to be desired in given instances, is
inherent in the imperfections of human institutions. From the fact that the Electoral
Commission may not be interfered with in the exercise of its legitimate power, it does
not follow that its acts, however illegal or unconstitutional, may not be challenged in
appropriate cases over which the courts may exercise jurisdiction.
19. ID.; ID.; ID.; FACTS OF THE CASE; EQUITABLE CONSIDERATIONS. — The
Commonwealth Government was inaugurated on November 15, 1935, on which date
the Constitution, except as to the provisions mentioned in section 6 of Article XV
thereof, went into effect. The new National Assembly convened on November 25, of
that year, and the resolution con rming the election of the petitioner was approved by
that body on December 3, 1935. The protest by the herein respondent against the
election of the petitioner was led on December 9 of the same year. The pleadings do
not show when the Electoral Commission was formally organized but it does appear
that on December 9, 1935, the Electoral Commission met for the rst time and
approved a resolution xing said date as the last day for the ling of election protests.
When, therefore, the National Assembly passed its resolution of December 3, 1935,
con rming the election of the petitioner to the National Assembly, the Electoral
Commission had not yet met; neither does it appear that said body had actually been
organized. As a matter of fact, according to certi ed copies of o cial records on le in
the archives division of the National Assembly attached to the record of this case upon
the petition of the petitioner, the three justices of the Supreme Court and the six
members of the National Assembly constituting the Electoral Commission were
respectively designated only on December 4 and 6, 1936. If Resolution No. 8 of the
National Assembly con rming non-protested elections of members of the National
Assembly had the effect of limiting or tolling the time for the presentation of protests,
the result would be that the National Assembly — on the hypothesis that it still retained
the incidental power of regulation in such cases — had already barred the presentation
of protests before the Electoral Commission had had time to organize itself and
deliberate on the mode and method to be followed in a matter entrusted to its
exclusive jurisdiction by the Constitution. This result was not and could not have been
contemplated, and should be avoided.
20. ID.; ID.; ID.; CONFIRMATION BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CAN NOT
DEPRIVE THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF ITS AUTHORITY TO FIX THE TIME WITHIN
WHICH PROTESTS AGAINST THE ELECTION, RETURNS AND QUALIFICATIONS OF
MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SHOULD BE FILED. — Resolution No. 8 of the
National Assembly con rming the election of members against whom no protests has
been led at the time of its passage on December 3, 1936, can not be construed as a
limitation upon the time for the initiation of election contests. While there might have
been good reason for the legislative practice of con rmation of members of the
Legislature at the time the power to decide election contests was still lodged in the
Legislature, con rmation alone by the Legislature cannot be construed as depriving the
Electoral Commission of the authority incidental to its constitutional power to be "the
sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and quali cations of the
members of the National Assembly", to x the time for the ling of said election
protests. Con rmation by the National Assembly of the returns of its members against
whose election no protests have been led is, to all legal purposes, unnecessary.
Con rmation of the election of any member is not required by the Constitution before
he can discharge his duties as such member. As a matter of fact, certi cation by the
proper provincial board of canvassers is sufficient to entitle a member-elect to a seat in
the National Assembly and to render him eligible to any o ce in said body (No. 1, par.
1, Rules of the National Assembly, adopted December 6, 1935).
21. ID.; EFFECT OF CONFIRMATION UNDER THE JONES LAW. — Under the
practice prevailing when the Jones Law was still in force, each House of the Philippine
Legislature xed the time when protests against the election of any of its members
should be led. This was expressly authorized by section 18 of the Jones Law making
each House the sole judge of the election, returns and quali cations of its members, as
well as by a law (sec. 478, Act No. 3387) empowering each House respectively to
prescribe by resolution the time and manner of ling contest the election of members
of said bodies. As a matter of formality, after the time xed by its rules for the ling of
protests had already expired, each House passed a resolution con rming or approving
the returns of such members against whose election no protest had been led within
the prescribed time. This was interpreted as cutting off the ling of further protests
against the election of those members not theretofore contested (Amistad vs. Claravall
[Isabela], Second Philippine Legislature, Record — First Period, p. 89; Urgello vs. Rama
[Third District, Cebu], Sixth Philippine Legislature; Fetalvero vs. Festin [Romblon], Sixth
Philippine Legislature, Record — First Period, pp. 637-640; Kintanar vs. Aldanese [Fourth
District, Cebu], Sixth Philippine Legislature, Record — First Period, pp. 1121, 1122;
Aguilar vs. Corpus [Masbate], Eighth Philippine Legislature, Record — First Period, vol.
III, No. 56, pp. 892, 893). The Constitution has expressly repealed section 18 of the
Jones Law. Act No. 3387, section 478, must be deemed to have been impliedly
abrogated also, for the reason that with the power to determine all contests relating to
the election, returns and quali cations of members of the National Assembly, is
inseparably linked the authority to prescribe regulations for the exercise of that power.
There was thus no law nor constitutional provision which authorized the National
Assembly to x, as it is alleged to have xed on December 3, 1935, the time for the
ling of contests against the election of its members. And what the National Assembly
could not do directly, it could not do by indirection through the medium of confirmation.
DECISION
LAUREL , J : p
This is an original action instituted in this court by the petitioner, Jose A. Angara,
for the issuance of a writ of prohibition to restrain and prohibit the Electoral
Commission, one of the respondents, from taking further cognizance of the protest
led by Pedro Ynsua, another respondent, against the election of said petitioner as
member of the National Assembly for the rst assembly district of the Province of
Tayabas.
The facts of this case as they appear in the petition and as admitted by the
respondents are as follows:
(1) That in the elections of September 17, 1935, the petitioner, Jose A.
Angara, and the respondents, Pedro Ynsua, Miguel Castillo and Dionisio Mayor, were
candidates voted for the position of member of the National Assembly for the rst
district of the Province of Tayabas;
(2) That on October 7, 1935, the provincial board of canvassers, proclaimed
the petitioner as member-elect of the National Assembly for the said district, for having
received the most number of votes;
(3) That on November 15, 1935, the petitioner took his oath of office;
(4) That on December 3, 1935, the National Assembly in session assembled,
passed the following resolution:
"[No. 8]
"RESOLUTION CONFIRMANDO LAS ACTAS DE AQUELLOS DIPUTADOS
CONTRAQUIENES NO SE HA PRESENTADO PROTESTA.
"Se resuelve: Que las actas de eleccion de los Diputados contra quienes no
se hubiere presentado debidamente una protesta antes de la adopcion de la
presente resolucion sean, como por la presente, son aprobadas y confirmadas.
"Adoptada, 3 de diciembre, 1935."
(5) That on December 8, 1935, the herein respondent Pedro Ynsua, led
before the Electoral Commission a "Motion of Protest" against the election of the
herein petitioner, Jose A. Angara, being the only protest led after the passage of
Resolution No. 8 aforequoted, and praying, among other-things, that said respondent be
declared elected member of the National Assembly for the rst district of Tayabas, or
that the election of said position be nullified;
(6) That on December 9, 1935, the Electoral Commission adopted a
resolution, paragraph 6 of which provides:
"6. La Comision no considerara ninguna protesta que no se haya
presentado en o antes de este dia."
(7) That on December 20, 1935, the herein petitioner, Jose A. Angara, one of
the respondents in the aforesaid protest, led before the Electoral Commission a
"Motion to Dismiss the Protest", alleging (a) that Resolution No. 8 of the National
Assembly was adopted in the legitimate exercise of its constitutional prerogative to
prescribe the period during which protests against the election of its members should
be presented; (b) that the aforesaid resolution has for its object, and is the accepted
formula for, the limitation of said period; and (c) that the protest in question was led
out of the prescribed period;
(8) That on December 27, 1935, the herein respondent, Pedro Ynsua, led an
"Answer to the Motion of Dismissal" alleging that there is no legal or constitutional
provision barring the presentation of a protest against the election of a member of the
National Assembly, after confirmation;
(9) That on December 31, 1935, the herein petitioner, Jose A. Angara, led a
"Reply" to the aforesaid "Answer to the Motion of Dismissal";
(10) That the case being submitted for decision, the Electoral Commission
promulgated a resolution on January 23, 1936, denying herein petitioner's "Motion to
Dismiss the Protest."
The application of the petitioner sets forth the following grounds for the
issuance of the writ prayed for:
(a) That the Constitution confers exclusive jurisdiction upon the Electoral
Commission solely as regards the merits of contested elections to the National
Assembly;
(b) That the Constitution excludes from said jurisdiction the power to
regulate the proceedings of said election contests, which power has been reserved to
the Legislative Department of the Government or the National Assembly;
(c) That like the Supreme Court and other courts created in pursuance of the
Constitution, whose exclusive jurisdiction relates solely to deciding the merits of
controversies submitted to hem for decision and to matters involving their internal
organization, the Electoral Commission can regulate its proceedings only if the National
Assembly has not availed of its primary power to so regulate such proceedings;
(d) That Resolution No. 8 of the National Assembly is, therefore, valid and
should be respected and obeyed;
(e) That under paragraph 13 of section 1 of the Ordinance appended to the
Constitution and paragraph 6 of article 7 of the Tydings-McDu e Law (No. 127 of the
73rd Congress of the United States) as well as under sections 1 and 3 (should be
sections 1 and 2) of article VIII of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has jurisdiction
to pass upon the fundamental question herein raised because it involves an
interpretation of the Constitution of the Philippines.
On February 25, 1936, the Solicitor-General appeared and led an answer in
behalf of the respondent Electoral Commission interposing the following special
defenses:
(a) That the Electoral Commission has been created by the Constitution as
an instrumentality of the Legislative Department invested with the jurisdiction to decide
"all contests relating to the election, returns, and quali cations of the members of the
National Assembly"; that in adopting its resolution of December 9, 1935, xing this date
as the last day for the presentation of protests against the election of any member of
the National Assembly, it acted within its jurisdiction and in the legitimate exercise of
the implied powers granted it by the Constitution to adopt the rules and regulations
essential to carry out the powers and functions conferred upon the same by the
fundamental law; that in adopting its resolution of January 23, 1936, overruling the
motion of the petitioner to dismiss the election protest in question, and declaring itself
with jurisdiction to take cognizance of said protest, it acted in the legitimate exercise of
its quasi-judicial functions as an instrumentality of the Legislative Department of the
Commonwealth Government, and hence said act is beyond the judicial cognizance or
control of the Supreme Court;
(b) That the resolution of the National Assembly of December 3, 1935,
con rming the election of the members of the National Assembly against whom no
protest had thus far been led, could not and did not deprive the Electoral Commission
of its jurisdiction to take cognizance of election protests led within the time that
might be set by its own rules;
(c) That the Electoral Commission is a body invested with quasi- judicial
functions, created by the Constitution as an instrumentality of the Legislative
Department, and is not an "inferior tribunal, or corporation, or board, or person" within
the purview of sections 226 and 516 of the Code of Civil Procedure, against which
prohibition would lie.
The respondent Pedro Ynsua, in his turn, appeared and led an answer in his own
behalf on March 2, 1936, setting forth following as his special defense:
(a) That at the time of the approval of the rules of the Electoral Commission
on December 9, 1935, there was no existing Law xing the period within which protests
against the election of members of the National Assembly, the Electoral Commission
was exercising a power impliedly conferred upon it by the Constitution, by reason of its
quasi-judicial attributes;
(b) That said respondent presented his motion of protest before the
Electoral Commission on December 9, 1935, the last day xed by paragraph 6 of the
rules of the said Electoral Commission;
(c) That therefore the Electoral Commission acquired jurisdiction over the
protest led by said respondent and over the parties thereto, and the resolution of the
Electoral Commission of January 23, 1936, denying petitioner's motion to dismiss said
protest was an act within the jurisdiction of the said commission, and is not reviewable
by means of a writ of prohibition;
(d) That neither the law nor the Constitution requires con rmation by the
National Assembly of the election of its members, and that such con rmation does not
operate to limit the period within which protests should be led as to deprive the
Electoral Commission of jurisdiction over protests filed subsequent thereto;
(e) That the Electoral Commission is an independent entity created by the
Constitution, endowed with quasi-judicial functions, whose decisions are nal and
unappeallable;
(f) That the Electoral Commission, as a constitutional creation, is not an
inferior tribunal, corporation, board or person, within the terms of sections 226 and 516
of the Code of Civil Procedure; and that neither under the provisions of sections 1 and 2
of Article II (should be article VIII) of the Constitution and paragraph 13 of section 1 of
the Ordinance appended thereto could it be subject in the exercise of its quasi-judicial
functions to a writ of prohibition from the Supreme Court;
(g) That paragraph 6 of article 7 of the Tydings-McDu e Law (No. 127 of the
73rd Congress of the United States) has no application to the case at bar.
The case was argued before us on March 13, 1936. Before it was submitted for
decision, the petitioner prayed for the issuance of a preliminary writ of injunction
against the respondent Electoral Commission which petition was denied "without
passing upon the merits of the case" by resolution of this court of March 21, 1936.
There was no appearance for the other respondents. The issues to be decided in
the case at bar may be reduced to the following two principal propositions:
1. Has the Supreme Court jurisdiction over the Electoral Commission and the
subject matter of the controversy upon the foregoing related facts, and in the
affirmative,
2. Has the said Electoral Commission acted without or in excess of its
jurisdiction in assuming to take cognizance of the protest led against the election of
the herein petitioner notwithstanding the previous con rmation of such election by
resolution of the National Assembly?
We could perhaps dispose of this case by passing directly upon the merits of the
controversy. However, the question of jurisdiction having been presented, we do not
feel justi ed in evading the issue. Being a case primæ impressionis, it would hardly be
consistent with our sense of duty to overlook the broader aspect of the question and
leave it undecided. Neither would we be doing justice to the industry and vehemence of
counsel were we not to pass upon the question of jurisdiction squarely presented to
our consideration.
The separation of powers is a fundamental principle in our system of
government. It obtains not through express provision but by actual division in our
Constitution. Each department of the government has exclusive cognizance of matters
within its jurisdiction, and is supreme within its own sphere. But it does not follow from
the fact that the three powers are to be kept separate and distinct that the Constitution
intended them to be absolutely unrestrained and independent of each other. The
Constitution has provided for an elaborate system of checks and balances to secure
coordination in the workings of the various departments of the government. For
example, the Chief Executive under our Constitution is so far made a check on the
legislative power that this assent is required in the enactment of laws. This, however, is
subject to the further check that a bill may become a law notwithstanding the refusal of
the President to approve it, by a vote of two-thirds or three-fourths, as the case may be,
of the National Assembly. The President has also the right to convene the Assembly in
special session whenever he chooses. On the other hand, the National Assembly
operates as a check on the Executive in the sense that its consent through its
Commission on Appointments is necessary in the appointment of certain o cers; and
the concurrence of a majority of all its members is essential to the conclusion of
treaties. Furthermore, in its power to determine what courts other than the Supreme
Court shall be established, to de ne their jurisdiction and to appropriate funds for their
support, the National Assembly controls the judicial department to a certain extent. The
Assembly also exercises the judicial power of trying impeachments. And the judiciary in
turn, with the Supreme Court as the nal arbiter, effectively checks the other
departments in the exercise of its power to determine the law, and hence to declare
executive and legislative acts void if violative of the Constitution.
But in the main, the Constitution has blocked out with deft strokes and in bold
lines, allotment of power to the executive, the legislative and the judicial departments of
the government. The overlapping and interlacing of functions and duties between the
several departments, however, sometimes makes it hard to say just where the one
leaves off and the other begins. In times of social disquietude or political excitement,
the great landmarks of the Constitution are apt to be forgotten or marred, if not entirely
obliterated. In cases of con ict, the judicial department is the only constitutional organ
which can be called upon to determine the proper allocation of powers between the
several departments and among the integral or constituent units thereof.
As any human production, our Constitution is of course lacking perfection and
perfectibility, but as much as it was within the power of our people, acting through their
delegates to so provide, that instrument which is the expression of their sovereignty
however limited, has established a republican government intended to operate and
function as a harmonious whole, under a system of checks and balances, and subject to
speci c limitations and restrictions provided in the said instrument. The Constitution
sets forth in no uncertain language the restrictions and limitations upon governmental
powers and agencies. If these restrictions and limitations are transcended it would be
inconceivable if the Constitution had not provided for a mechanism by which to direct
the course of government along constitutional channels, for then the distribution of
powers would be mere verbiage, the bill of rights mere expressions of sentiment, and
the principles of good government mere political apothegms. Certainly, the limitations
and restrictions embodied in our Constitution are real as they should be in any living
constitution. In the United States where no express constitutional grant is found in their
constitution, the possession of this moderating power of the courts, not to speak of its
historical origin and development there, has been set at rest by popular acquiescence
for a period of more than one and a half centuries. In our case, this moderating power is
granted, if not expressly, by clear implication from section 2 of article VIII of our
Constitution.
The Constitution is a de nition of the powers of government. Who is to
determine the nature, scope and extent of such powers? The Constitution itself has
provided for the instrumentality of the judiciary as the rational way. And when the
judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional boundaries, it does not assert any
superiority over the other departments; it does not in reality nullify or invalidate an act
of the legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred obligation assigned to it by
the Constitution to determine con icting claims of authority under the Constitution and
to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that instrument
secures and guarantees to them. This is in truth all that is involved in what is termed
"judicial supremacy" which properly is the power of judicial review under the
Constitution. Even then, this power of judicial review is limited to actual cases and
controversies to be exercised after full opportunity of argument by the parties, and
limited further to the constitutional question raised or the very lis mota presented. Any
attempt at abstraction could only lead to dialectics and barren legal questions and to
sterile conclusions of wisdom, justice or expediency of legislation. More than that,
courts accord the presumption of constitutionality to legislative enactments, not only
because the legislature is presumed to abide by the Constitution but also because the
judiciary in the determination of actual cases and controversies must re ect the
wisdom and justice of the people as expressed through their representatives in the
executive and legislative departments of the government.
But much as we might postulate on the internal checks of power provided in our
Constitution, it ought not the less to be remembered that, in the language of James
Madison, the system itself is not "the chief palladium of constitutional liberty . . . the
people who are authors of this blessing must also be its guardians . . . their eyes must
be ever ready to mark, their voice to pronounce . . . aggression on the authority of their
constitution." In the last and ultimate analysis, then, must the success of our
government in the unfolding years to come be tested in the crucible of Filipino minds
and hearts than in consultation rooms and court chambers.
In the case at bar, the National Assembly has by resolution (No. 8) of December
3, 1935, con rmed the election of the herein petitioner to the said body. On the other
hand, the Electoral Commission has by resolution adopted on December 9, 1935, xed
said date as the last day for the ling of protests against the election, returns and
quali cations of members of the National Assembly, notwithstanding the previous
con rmation made by the National Assembly as aforesaid. If, as contended by the
petitioner, the resolution of the National Assembly has the effect of cutting off the
power of the Electoral Commission to entertain protests against the election, returns
and quali cations of members of the National Assembly, submitted after December 3,
1935, then the resolution of the Electoral Commission of December 9, 1935, is mere
surplusage and had no effect. But, if as contended by the respondents, the Electoral
Commission has the sole power of regulating its proceedings to the exclusion of the
National Assembly, then the resolution of December 9, 1935, by which the Electoral
Commission xed said date as the last day for ling protests against the election,
returns and qualifications of members of the National Assembly, should be upheld.
Here is then presented an actual controversy involving as it does a con ict of a
grave constitutional nature between the National Assembly on the one hand, and the
Electoral Commission on the other. From the very nature of the republican government
established in our country in the light of American experience and of our own, upon the
judicial department is thrown the solemn and inescapable obligation of interpreting the
Constitution and de ning constitutional boundaries. The Electoral Commission, as we
shall have occasion to refer hereafter, is a constitutional organ, created for a speci c
purpose, namely to determine all contests relating to the election, returns and
quali cations of the members of the National Assembly. Although the Electoral
Commission may not be interfered with, when the while acting within the limits of its
authority, it does not follow that it is beyond the reach of the constitutional mechanism
adopted by the people and that it is not subject to constitutional restrictions. The
Electoral Commission is not a separate department of the government, and even if it
were, con icting claims of authority under the fundamental law between departmental
powers and agencies of the government are necessarily determined by the judiciary in
justiciable and appropriate cases. Discarding the English type and other European
types of constitutional government, the framers of our Constitution adopted the
American type where the written constitution is interpreted and given effect by the
judicial department. In some countries which have declined to follow the American
example, provisions have been inserted in their constitutions prohibiting the courts
from exercising the power to interpret the fundamental law. This is taken as a
recognition of what otherwise would be the rule that in the absence of direct prohibition
courts are bound to assume what is logically their function. For instance, the
Constitution of Poland of 1921, expressly provides that courts shall have no power to
examine the validity of statutes (art. 81, chap. IV). The former Austrian Constitution
contained a similar declaration. In countries whose constitutions are silent in this
respect, courts have assumed this power. This is true in Norway, Greece, Australia and
South Africa. Whereas, in Czechoslovakia (arts. 2 and 3, Preliminary Law to
Constitutional Charter of the Czechoslovak Republic, February 29, 1920) and Spain
(arts. 121-123, Title IX, Constitution of the Republic of 1931) especial constitutional
courts are established to pass upon the validity of ordinary laws. In our case, the nature
of the present controversy shows the necessity of a nal constitutional arbiter to
determine the con ict of authority between two agencies created by the Constitution.
Were we to decline to take cognizance of the controversy, who will determine the
con ict? And if the con ict were left undecided and undetermined, would not a void be
thus created in our constitutional system which may in the long run prove destructive of
the entire framework? To ask these questions is to answer them. Natura vacuum
abhorret, so must we avoid exhaustion in our constitutional system. Upon principle,
reason and authority, we are clearly of the opinion that upon the admitted facts of the
present case, this court has jurisdiction over the Electoral Commission and the subject
matter of the present controversy for the purpose of determining the character, scope
and extent of the constitutional grant to the Electoral Commission as "the sole judge of
all contests relating to the election, returns and quali cations of the members of the
National Assembly."
Having disposed of the question of jurisdiction, we shall now proceed to pass
upon the second proposition and determine whether the Electoral Commission has
acted without or in excess of its jurisdiction in adopting its resolution of December 9,
1935, and in assuming to take cognizance of the protest led against the election of
the herein petitioner notwithstanding the previous con rmation thereof by the National
Assembly on December 3, 1935. As able counsel for the petitioner has pointed out, the
issue hinges on the interpretation of section 4 of Article VI of the Constitution which
provides:
"SEC. 4. There shall be an Electoral Commission composed of three Justices
of the Supreme Court designated by the Chief Justice, and of six Members chosen by
the National Assembly, three of whom shall be nominated by the party having the
largest number of votes, and three by the party having the second largest number of
votes herein. The senior Justice in the Commission shall be its Chairman. The Electoral
Commission shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns and
qualifications of the members of the National Assembly." It is imperative, therefore, that
we delve into the origin and history of this constitutional provision and inquire into the
intention of its framers and the people who adopted it so that we may properly
appreciate its full meaning, import and significance.
The original provision regarding this subject in the Act of Congress of July 1,
1902 (sec. 7, par. 5) laying down the rule that "the assembly shall be the judge of the
elections, returns, and quali cations of its members", was taken from clause 1 of
section 5, Article I of the Constitution of the United States providing that "Each House
shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns, and Quali cations of its own Members, . . .."
The Act of Congress of August 29, 1916 (sec. 18, par. 1) modi ed this provision by the
insertion of the word "sole" as follows: "That the Senate and House of Representatives,
respectively, shall be the sole judges of the elections, returns, and quali cations of their
elective members, . . ." apparently in order to emphasize the exclusive character of the
jurisdiction conferred upon each House of the Legislature over the particular cases
therein speci ed. This court has had occasion to characterize this grant of power to the
Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, as "full, clear and
complete" (Veloso vs. Boards of Canvassers of Leyte and Samar [1919], 39 Phil., 886,
888.).
The rst step towards the creation of an independent tribunal for the purpose of
deciding contested elections to the legislature was taken by the sub-committee of ve
appointed by the Committee on Constitutional Guarantees of the Constitutional
Convention, which sub- committee submitted a report on August 30, 1934,
recommending the creation of a Tribunal of Constitutional Security empowered to hear
protests not only against the election of members of the legislature but also against
the election of executive o cers for whose election the vote of the whole nation is
required, as well as to initiate impeachment proceedings against speci ed executive
and judicial o cers. For the purpose of hearing legislative protests, the tribunal was to
be composed of three justices designated by the Supreme Court and six members of
the house of the legislature to which the contest corresponds, three members to be
designated by the majority party and three by the minority, to be presided over by the
Senior Justice unless the Chief Justice is also a member in which case the latter shall
preside. The foregoing proposal was submitted by the Committee on Constitutional
Guarantees to the Convention on September 15, 1934, with slight modi cations
consisting in the reduction of the legislative representation to four members, that is,
two senators to be designated one each from the two major parties in the Senate and
two representatives to be designated one each from the two major parties in the House
of Representatives, and in awarding representation to the executive department in the
persons of two representatives to be designated by the President.
Meanwhile, the Committee on Legislative Power was also preparing its report. As
submitted to the Convention on September 24, 1934, subsection 5, section 5, of the
proposed Article on the Legislative Department, reads as follows:
"The elections, returns and quali cations of the members of either House
and all cases contesting the election of any of their members shall be judged by
an Electoral Commission, constituted, as to each House, by three members
elected by the members of the party having the largest number of votes therein,
three elected by the members of the party having the second largest number of
votes, and as to its Chairman, one Justice of the Supreme Court designated by the
Chief Justice."
The idea of creating a Tribunal of Constitutional Security with comprehensive
jurisdiction as proposed by the Committee on Constitutional Guarantees which was
probably inspired by the Spanish plan (art. 121, Constitution of the Spanish Republic of
1931), was soon abandoned in favor of the proposition of the Committee on Legislative
Power to create a similar body with reduced powers and with speci c and limited
jurisdiction, to be designated as an Electoral Commission. The Sponsorship Committee
modi ed the proposal of the Committee on Legislative Power with respect to the
composition of the Electoral Commission and made further changes in phraseology to
suit the project of adopting a unicameral instead of a bicameral legislature. The draft as
finally submitted to the Convention on October 26, 1934, reads as follows:
"(6) The elections, returns and quali cations of the Members of the
National Assembly and all cases contesting the election of any of its Members
shall be judged by an Electoral Commission, composed of three members elected
by the party having the largest number of votes in the National Assembly, three
elected by the members of the party having the second largest number of votes,
and three justices of the Supreme Court designated by the Chief Justice, the
Commission to be presided over by one of said justices."
During the discussion of the amendment introduced by Delegates Labrador,
Abordo, and others, proposing to strike out the whole subsection of the foregoing draft
and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "The National Assembly shall be the sole and
exclusive judge of the elections, returns, and quali cations of the Members", the
following illuminating remarks were made on the oor of the Convention in its session
of December 4, 1934, as to the scope of the said draft:
xxx xxx xxx
"Mr. VENTURA. Mr. President, we have a doubt here as to the scope of the
meaning of the rst four lines, paragraph 6, page 11 of the draft, reading:
'The elections, returns and quali cations of the Members of the National
Assembly and all cases contesting the election of any of its Members shall
be judged by an Electoral Commission, . . ..' I should like to ask from the
gentleman from Capiz whether the election and quali cation of the
member whose election is not contested shall also be judged by the
Electoral Commission.
"Mr. ROXAS. If there is no question about the election of the members, there is
nothing to be judged; that is why the word 'judge' is used to indicate a
controversy. If there is no question about the election of a member, there is
nothing to be submitted to the Electoral Commission and there is nothing
to be determined.
"Mr. VENTURA. But does that carry the idea also that the Electoral
Commission shall con rm also the election of those who election is not
contested?.
"Mr. ROXAS. There is no need of con rmation. As the gentleman knows, the
action of the House of Representatives con rming the election of its
members is just a matter of the rules of the assembly. It is not
constitutional. It is not necessary. After a man les his credentials that be
has been elected, that is sufficient, unless his election is contested.
"Mr. VENTURA. But I do not believe that that is su cient, as we have
observed that for purposes of the auditor, in the matter of election of a
member to a legislative body, because he will not authorize his pay.
"Mr. ROXAS. Well, what is the case with regards to the municipal president
who is elected? What happens with regards to the councilors of a
municipality? Does anybody con rm their election? The municipal council
does this: it makes a canvass and proclaims-in this case the municipal
council proclaims who has been elected, and it ends there, unless there is a
contest. It is the same case; there is no need on the part of the Electoral
Commission unless there is a contest. The rst clause refers to the case
referred to by the gentleman from Cavite where one person tries to be
elected in place of another who was declared elected. For example, in a
case when the residence of the man who has been elected is in question, or
in case the citizenship of the man who has been elected is in question.
"However, if the assembly desires to annul the power of the commission, it
may do so by certain maneuvers upon its rst meeting when the returns are
submitted to the assembly. The purpose is to give to the Electoral Commission all
the powers exercised by the assembly referring to the elections, returns and
quali cations of the members . When there is no contest, there is nothing to be
judged.
"Mr. VENTURA. Then it should be eliminated.
"Mr. ROXAS. But that is a different matter, I think Mr. Delegate.
"Mr. CINCO. Mr. President, I have a similar question as that propounded by
the gentleman from Ilocos Norte when I arose a while ago. However I want
to ask more questions from the delegate from Capiz. This paragraph 6 on
page 11 of the draft cites cases contesting the election as separate from
the rst part of the section which refers to elections, returns and
qualifications.
"Mr. ROXAS. That is merely for the sake of clarity. In fact the cases of
contested elections are already included in the phrase 'the elections,
returns and quali cations.' This phrase 'and contested elections' was
inserted merely for the sake of clarity.
"Mr. CINCO. Under this paragraph, may not the Electoral Commission, at its
own instance, refuse to confirm the election of the members?.
"Mr. ROXAS. I do not think so, unless there is a protest.
"Mr. LABRADOR. Mr. President, will the gentleman yield? .
"THE PRESIDENT. The gentleman may yield, if he so desires.
"Mr. ROXAS. Willingly.

"Mr. LABRADOR. Does not the gentleman from Capiz believe that unless this
power is granted to the assembly, the assembly on its own motion does
not have the right to contest the election and qualification of its members?
"Mr. ROXAS. I have no doubt but that the gentleman is right. If this draft is
retained as it is, even if two-thirds of the assembly believe that a member
has not the qualifications provided by law, they cannot remove him for that
reason.
Mr. LABRADOR. So that the right to remove shall only be retained by the
"Mr. ROXAS. By the assembly for misconduct.
"Mr. LABRADOR. I mean with respect to the qualification of the members.
"Mr. ROXAS. Yes, by the Electoral Commission.
"Mr. LABRADOR. So that under this draft, no member of the assembly has the
right to question the eligibility of its members?.
"Mr. ROXAS. Before a member can question the eligibility, he must go to the
Electoral Commission and make the question before the Electoral
Commission.
"Mr. LABRADOR. So that the Electoral Commission shall decide whether the
election is contested or not contested.
"Mr. ROXAS. Yes, sir: that is the purpose.
"Mr. PELAYO. Mr. President, I would like to be informed if the Electoral
Commission has power and authority to pass upon the quali cations of
the members of the National Assembly even though that question has not
been raised.
"Mr. ROXAS. I have just said that they have no power, because they can only
judge."
In the same session, the rst clause of the aforesaid draft reading "The election,
returns and quali cations of the members of the National Assembly and" was
eliminated by the Sponsorship Committee in response to an amendment introduced by
Delegates Francisco, Ventura, Vinzons, Rafols, Lim, Mumar and others. In explaining the
difference between the original draft and the draft as amended, Delegate Roxas
speaking for the Sponsorship Committee said:
xxx xxx xxx
"Sr. ROXAS. La diferencia, señor Presidente, consiste solamente en obviar la
objecion apuntada por varios Delegados al efecto to que la primera
clausula del draft que dice: 'The election, returns and quali cations of the
members of the National Assembly' parece que da a la Comision Electoral
la facultad de determinar también la eleccion de los miembros que no han
sido protestados y para obviar esa di cultad, creemos que la enmienda
tiene razon en ese sentido, si enmendamos el draft, de tal modo que se lea
como sigue: 'All cases contesting the election', de modo que los jueces de
la Comision Electoral se limitaran solamente a los casos en que haya
habido protesta contra las actas." Before the amendment of Delegate
Labrador was voted upon the following interpellation also took place:
"El Sr. CONEJERO. Antes de votarse la enmienda, quisiera pedir informacion
del Subcomité de Siete.
"El Sr. PRESIDENTE. ¿Qué dice el Comité?.
"El Sr. ROXAS. Con mucho gusto.
"El Sr. CONEJERO. Tal como esta el draft, dando tres miembros a la mayoria,
y otros tres a la minoria y tres a la Corte Suprema, ¿no cre Su Señoria que
esto equivale practicamente a dejar el asunto a los miembros del Tribunal
Supremo?.
"El Sr. ROXAS. Si y no. Cremos que si el tribunal o la Comision esta
constituido en esa forma, tanto los miembros de la mayoria como los de la
minoria asi como los miembros de la Corte Suprema consideraran la
cuestion sobre la base de sus méritos, sabiendo que el partidismo no es
suficiente para dar el triunfo.
"El Sr. CONEJERO. ¿Cree Su Señoria que en un caso como ese, podriamos
hacer que tanto los de la mayoria como los de la minoria prescindieran del
partidismo?.
"El Sr. ROXAS. Creo que si, porque el partidismo no les daria el triunfo."
xxx xxx xxx
The amendment introduced by Delegates Labrador, Abordo and others seeking
to restore the power to decide contests relating to the election, returns and
quali cations of members of the National Assembly to the National Assembly itself,
was defeated by a vote of ninety-eight (98) against fifty-six (56).
In the same session of December 4, 1934, Delegate Cruz (C.) sought to amend
the draft by reducing the representation of the minority party and the Supreme Court in
the Electoral Commission to two members each, so as to accord more representation
to the majority party. The Convention rejected this amendment by a vote of seventy-six
(76) against forty-six (46), thus maintaining the non-partisan character of the
commission.
As approved on January 31, 1935, the draft was made to read as follows:
"(6) All cases contesting the elections, returns and quali cations of the
Members of the National Assembly shall be judged by an Electoral Commission,
composed of three members elected by the party having the largest number of
votes in the National Assembly, three elected by the members of the party having
the second largest number of votes, and three justices of the Supreme Court
designated by the Chief Justice, the Commission to be presided over by one of
said justices."
The Style Committee to which the draft was submitted revised it as follows:
"SEC. 4. There shall be an Electoral Commission composed of three
Justices of the Supreme Court designated by the Chief Justice, and of six
Members chosen by the National Assembly, three of whom shall be nominated by
the party having the largest number of votes, and three by the party having the
second largest number of votes therein. The senior Justice in the Commission
shall be its chairman. The Electoral Commission shall be the sole judge of the
election, returns, and qualifications of the Members of the National Assembly."
When the foregoing draft was submitted for approval on February 8, 1935, the
Style Committee, through President Recto, to effectuate the original intention of the
Convention, agreed to insert the phrase "All contests relating to" between the phrase
"judge of" and the words "the election", which was accordingly accepted by the
Convention.
The transfer of the power of determining the election, returns and quali cations
of the members of the legislature long lodged in the legislative body, to an independent,
impartial and non-partisan tribunal, is by no means a mere experiment in the science of
government.
Cushing, in his Law and Practice of Legislative Assemblies (ninth edition, chapter
VI, pages 57, 58), gives a vivid account of the "scandalously notorious" canvassing of
votes by political parties in the disposition of contests by the House of Commons in
the following passages which are partly quoted by the petitioner in his printed
memorandum of March 14, 1936:
"153. From the time when the commons established their right to be
the exclusive judges of the elections, returns, and quali cations of their members,
until the year 1770, two modes of proceeding prevailed, in the determination of
controverted elections, and rights of membership. One of the standing committee
appointed at the commencement of each session, was denominated the
committee of privileges and elections, whose function was to hear and
investigate all questions of this description which might be referred to them, and
to report their proceedings, with their opinion thereupon, to the house, from time to
time. When an election petition was referred to this committee, they heard the
parties and their witnesses and other evidence, and made a report of all the
evidence, together with their opinion thereupon, in the form of resolutions, which
were considered and agreed or disagreed to by the house. The other mode of
proceeding was by a hearing at the bar of the house itself. When this court was
adopted, the case was heard and decided by the house, in substantially the same
manner as by a committee. The committee of privileges and elections although a
select committee was usually what is called an open one; that is to say, in order to
constitute the committee, a quorum of the members named was required to be
present, but all the members of the house were at liberty to attend the committee
and vote if they pleased.
"154. With the growth of political parties in parliament questions
relating to the right of membership gradually assumed a political character; so
that for many years previous to the year 1770, controverted elections had been
tried and determined by the house of commons, as mere party questions, upon
which the strength of contending factions might be tested. Thus, for example, in
1741, Sir Robert Walpole, after repeated attacks upon his government, resigned
his o ce in consequence of an adverse vote upon the Chippenham election. Mr.
Hatsell remarks, of the trial of election, cases, as conducted under this system,
that 'Every principle of decency and justice were notoriously and openly
prostituted, from whence the younger part of the house were insensibly, but too
successfully, induced to adopt the same licentious conduct in more serious
matters, and in questions of higher importance to the public welfare.' Mr. George
Grenville, a distinguished member of the house of commons, undertook to
propose a remedy for the evil, and, on the 7th of March 1770, obtained the
unanimous leave of the house to bring in a bill, 'to regulate the trial of
controverted elections, or returns of members to serve in parliament.' In his
speech to explain his plan, on the motion for leave, Mr. Grenville alluded to the
existing practice in the following terms: 'Instead of trusting to the merits of their
respective causes, the principal dependence of both parties is their private interest
among us; and it is scandalously notorious that we are an earnestly canvassed to
attend in favor of the opposite sides, as if we were wholly self-elective, and not
bound to act by the principles of justice, but by the discretionary impulse of our
own inclinations; nay, it is well known, that in every contested election, many
members of this house, who are ultimately to judge in a kind of judicial capacity
between the competitors, enlist themselves as parties in the contention, and take
upon themselves the partial management of the very business, upon which they
should determine with the strictest impartiality.'
"155. It was to put an end to the practices thus described, that Mr.
Grenville brought in a bill which met with the approbation of both houses, and
received the royal assent on the 12th of April, 1770. This was the celebrated law
since known by the name of the Grenville Act; of which Mr. Hatsell declares, that it
'was one of the noblest works, for the honor of the house of commons, and the
security of the constitution, that was ever devised by any minister or statesman.' It
is probable, that the magnitude of the evil, or the apparent success of the remedy,
may have led many of the contemporaries of the measure to the information of a
judgment, which was not acquiesced in by some of the leading statesmen of the
day, and has not been entirely con rmed by subsequent experience. The bill was
objected to by Lord North, Mr. De Grey, afterwards chief justice of the common
pleas, Mr. Ellis, Mr. Dyson, who had been clerk of the house, and Mr. Charles
James Fox, chie y on the ground, that the introduction of the new system was an
essential alteration of the constitution of parliament, and a total abrogation of
one of the most important rights and jurisdictions of the house of commons."
As early as 1868, the House of Commons in England solved the problem of
insuring the non-partisan settlement of the controverted elections of its members by
abdicating its prerogative to two judges of the King's Bench of the High Court of
Justice selected from a rota in accordance with rules of court made for the purpose.
Having proved successful, the practice has become imbedded in English jurisprudence
(Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868 [31 & 32 Vict. c. 125] as amended by Parliamentary
Elections and Corrupt Practices Act, 1879 [42 & 43 Vict. c. 75], s. 2; Corrupt and Illegal
Practices Prevention Act, 1883 [46 & 47 Vict. c. 51], s. 70; Expiring Laws Continuance
Act, 1911 [1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 22]; Laws of England, vol. XII, p. 408, vol. XXI, p. 787). In the
Dominion of Canada, election contests which were originally heard by the Committee of
the House of Commons, are since 1922 tried in the courts. Likewise, in the
Commonwealth of Australia, election contests which were originally determined by
each house, are since 1922 tried in the High Court. In Hungary, the organic law provides
that all protests against the election of members of the Upper House of the Diet are to
be resolved by the Supreme Administrative Court (Law 22 of 1916, chap. 2, art. 37, par.
6). The Constitution of Poland of March 17, 1921 (art. 19) and the Constitution of the
Free City of Danzig of May 13, 1922 (art. 10) vest the authority to decide contested
elections to the Diet or National Assembly in the Supreme Court. For the purpose of
deciding legislative contests, the Constitution of the German Reich of July 1, 1919 (art.
31), the Constitution of the Czechoslovak Republic of February 29, 1920 (art. 19) and
the Constitution of the Grecian Republic of June 2, 1927 (art. 43), all provide for an
The creation of an Electoral Commission whose membership is recruited both
from the legislature and the judiciary is by no means unknown in the United States. In
the presidential elections of 1876 there was a dispute as to the number of electoral
votes received by each of the two opposing candidates. As the Constitution made no
adequate provision for such a contingency, Congress passed a law on January 29, 1877
(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 19, chap. 37, pp. 227-229), creating a special
Electoral Commission composed of ve members elected by the Senate, ve members
elected by the House of Representatives, and ve justices of the Supreme Court, the
fth justice to be selected by the four designated in the Act. The decision of the
commission was to be binding unless rejected by the two houses voting separately.
Although there is not much of a moral lesson to be derived from the experience of
America in this regard, judging from the observations of Justice Field, who was a
member of that body on the part of the Supreme Court (Countryman, the Supreme
Court of the United States and its Appellate Power under the Constitution [Albany,
1913]-Relentless Partisanship of Electoral Commission, p. 25 et seq.), the experiment
has at least abiding historical interest.
The members of the Constitutional Convention who framed our fundamental law
were in their majority men mature in years and experience. To be sure, many of them
were familiar with the history and political development of other countries of the world.
When, therefore, they deemed it wise to create an Electoral Commission as a
constitutional organ and invested it with the exclusive function of passing upon and
determining the election, returns and quali cations of the members of the National
Assembly, they must have done so not only in the light of their own experience but also
having in view the experience of other enlightened peoples of the world. The creation of
the Electoral Commission was designed to remedy certain evils of which the framers of
our Constitution were cognizant. Notwithstanding the vigorous opposition of some
members of the Convention to its creation, the plan, as hereinabove stated, was
approved by that body by a vote of 98 against 58. All that can be said now is that, upon
the approval of the Constitution, the creation of the Electoral Commission is the
expression of the wisdom and "ultimate justice of the people". (Abraham Lincoln, First
Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861.).
From the deliberations of our Constitutional Convention it is evident that the
purpose was to transfer in its totality all the powers previously exercised by the
legislature in matters pertaining to contested elections of its members, to an
independent and impartial tribunal. It was not so much the knowledge and appreciation
of contemporary constitutional precedents, however, as the long-felt need of
determining legislative contests devoid of partisan considerations which prompted the
people, acting through their delegates to the Convention, to provide for this body
known as the Electoral Commission. With this end in view, a composite body in which
both the majority and minority parties are equally represented to off-set partisan
in uence in its deliberations was created, and further endowed with judicial temper by
including in its membership three justices of the Supreme Court.
The Electoral Commission is a constitutional creation, invested with the
necessary authority in the performance and execution of the limited and speci c
function assigned to it by the Constitution. Although it is not a power in our tripartite
scheme of government, it is, to all intents and purposes, when acting within the limits of
its authority, an independent organ. It is, to be sure, closer to the legislative department
than to any other. The location of the provision (section 4) creating the Electoral
Commission under Article VI entitled "Legislative Department" of our Constitution is
very indicative. Its composition is also signi cant in that it is constituted by a majority
of members of the legislature. But it is a body separate from and independent of the
legislature.
The grant of power to the Electoral Commission to judge all contests relating to
the election, returns and quali cations of members of the National Assembly, is
intended to be as complete and unimpaired as if it had remained originally in the
legislature. The express lodging of that power in the Electoral Commission is an
implied denial of the exercise of that power by the National Assembly. And this is as
effective a restriction upon the legislative power as an express prohibition in the
Constitution (Ex parte Lewis, 45 Tex. Crim. Rep., 1; State vs. Whisman, 36 S. D., 260; L. R.
A., 1917B, 1). If we concede the power claimed in behalf of the National Assembly that
said body may regulate the proceedings of the Electoral Commission and cut off the
power of the commission to lay down the period within which protests should be led,
the grant of power to the commission would be ineffective. The Electoral Commission
in such case would be invested with the power to determine contested cases involving
the election, returns and quali cations of the members of the National Assembly but
subject at all times to the regulative power of the National Assembly. Not only would
the purpose of the framers of our Constitution of totally transferring this authority from
the legislative body be frustrated, but a dual authority would be created with the
resultant inevitable clash of powers from time to time. A sad spectacle would then be
presented of the Electoral Commission retaining the bare authority of taking
cognizance of cases referred to, but in reality without the necessary means to render
that authority effective whenever and wherever the National Assembly has chosen to
act, a situation worse than that intended to be remedied by the framers of our
Constitution. The power to regulate on the part of the National Assembly in procedural
matters will inevitably lead to the ultimate control by the Assembly of the entire
proceedings of the Electoral Commission, and, by indirection, to the entire abrogation
of the constitutional grant. It is obvious that this result should not be permitted.
We are not insensible to the impassioned argument of the learned counsel for
the petitioner regarding the importance and necessity of respecting the dignity and
independence of the National Assembly as a coordinate department of the government
and of according validity to its acts, to avoid what he characterized would be practically
an unlimited power of the commission in the admission of protests against members
of the National Assembly. But as we have pointed out hereinabove, the creation of the
Electoral Commission carried with it ex necesitate rei the power regulative in character
to limit the time within which protests intrusted to its cognizance should be led. It is a
settled rule of construction that where a general power is conferred or duty enjoined,
every particular power necessary for the exercise of the one or the performance of the
other is also conferred (Cooley, Constitutional Limitations, eighth ed., vol. I, pp. 138,
139). In the absence of any further constitutional provision relating to the procedure to
be followed in ling protests before the Electoral Commission, therefore, the incidental
power to promulgate such rules necessary for the proper exercise of its exclusive
power to judge all contests relating to the election, returns and quali cations of
members of the National Assembly, must be deemed by necessary implication to have
been lodged also in the Electoral Commission.
It is, indeed, possible that, as suggested by counsel for the petitioner, the
Electoral Commission may abuse its regulative authority by admitting protests beyond
any reasonable time, to the disturbance of the tranquillity and peace of mind of the
members of the National Assembly. But the possibility of abuse is not an argument
against the concession of the power as there is no power that is not susceptible of
abuse. In the second place, if any mistake has been committed in the creation of an
Electoral Commission and in investing it with exclusive jurisdiction in all cases relating
to the election, returns, and quali cations of members of the National Assembly, the
remedy is political, not judicial, and must be sought through the ordinary processes of
democracy. All the possible abuses of the government are not intended to be corrected
by the judiciary. We believe, however, that the people in creating the Electoral
Commission reposed as much con dence in this body in the exclusive determination of
the speci ed cases assigned to it, as they have given to the Supreme Court in the
proper cases entrusted to it for decision. All the agencies of the government were
designed by the Constitution to achieve speci c purposes, and each constitutional
organ working within its own particular sphere of discretionary action must be deemed
to be animated with the same zealand honesty in accomplishing the great ends for
which they were created by the sovereign will. That the actuations of these
constitutional agencies might leave much to be desired in given instances, is inherent in
the imperfections of human institutions. In the third place, from the fact that the
Electoral Commission may not be interfered with in the exercise of its legitimate power,
it does not follow that its acts, however illegal or unconstitutional, may not be
challenged in appropriate cases over which the courts may exercise jurisdiction.
But independently of the legal and constitutional aspects of the present case,
there are considerations of equitable character that should not be overlooked in the
appreciation of the intrinsic merits of the controversy. The Commonwealth Government
was inaugurated on November 15, 1935, on which date the Constitution, except as to
the provisions mentioned in section 6 of Article XV thereof, went into effect. The new
National Assembly convened on November 25th of that year, and the resolution
con rming the election of the petitioner, Jose A. Angara, was approved by that body on
December 3, 11935. The protest by the herein respondent Pedro Ynsua against the
election of the petitioner was led on December 9 of the same year. The pleadings do
not show when the Electoral Commission was formally organized but it does appear
that on December 9, 1935, the Electoral Commission met for the rst time and
approved a resolution xing said date as the last day for the ling of election protests.
When, therefore, the National Assembly passed its resolution of December 3, 1935,
con rming the election of the petitioner to the National Assembly, the Electoral
Commission had not yet met; neither does it appear that said body has actually been
organized. As a matter of fact, according to certi ed copies of o cial records on le in
the archives division of the National Assembly attached to the record of this case upon
the petition of the petitioner, the three justices of the Supreme Court and the six
members of the National Assembly constituting the Electoral Commission were
respectively designated only on December 4 and 6, 1935. If Resolution No. 8 of the
National Assembly con rming non-protested elections of members of the National
Assembly had the effect of limiting or tolling the time for the presentation of protests,
the result would be that the National Assembly — on the hypothesis that it still retained
the incidental power of regulation in such cases — had already barred the presentation
of protests before the Electoral Commission had had time to organize itself and
deliberate on the mode and method to be followed in a matter entrusted to is exclusive
jurisdiction by the Constitution. This result was not and could not have been
contemplated,and should be avoided.
From another angle, Resolution No. 8 of the National Assembly con rming the
election of members against whom no protests had been led at the time of its
passage on December 3, 1935, can not be construed as a limitation upon the time for
the initiation of election contests. While there might have been good reason for the
legislative practice of con rmation of the election of members of the legislature at the
time when the power to decide election contests was still lodged in the legislature,
con rmation alone by the legislature cannot be construed as depriving the Electoral
Commission of the authority incidental to its constitutional power to be "the sole judge
of all contests relating to the election, returns, and quali cations of the members of the
National Assembly", to x the time for the ling of said election protests. Con rmation
by the National Assembly of the returns of its members against whose election no
protests have been led is, to all legal purposes, unnecessary. As contended by the
Electoral Commission in its resolution of January 23, 1936, overruling the motion of the
herein petitioner to dismiss the protest led by the respondent Pedro Ynsua,
con rmation of the election of any member is not required by the Constitution before
he can discharge his duties as such member. As a matter of fact, certi cation by the
proper provincial board of canvassers is sufficient to entitle a member-elect to a seat in
the National Assembly and to render him eligible to any o ce in said body (No. 1, par.
1, Rules of the National Assembly, adopted December 6, 1935).
Under the practice prevailing both in the English House of Commons and in the
Congress of the United States, con rmation is neither necessary in order to entitle a
member-elect to take his seat. The return of the proper election o cers in su cient,
and the member-elect presenting such return begins to enjoy the privileges of a
member from the time that he takes his oath of o ce (Laws of England, vol. 12, pp.
331, 332; vol. 21, pp. 694, 695; U. S. C. A., Title 2, secs. 21, 25, 26). Con rmation is in
order only in cases of contested elections where the decision is adverse to the claims
of the protestant. In England, the judges' decision or report in controverted elections is
certi ed to the Speaker of the House of Commons, and the House, upon being
informed of such certi cate or report by the Speaker, is required to enter the same
upon the Journals, and to give such directions for con rming or altering the return, or
for the issue of a writ for a new election, or for carrying into execution the determination
as circumstances may require (31 & 32 Vict., c. 125, sec. 13). In the United States, it is
believed, the order or decision of the particular house itself is generally regarded as
su cient, without any actual alteration or amendment of the return (Cushing, Law and
Practice of Legislative Assemblies, 9th ed., sec. 166).
Under the practice prevailing when the Jones Law was still force, each house of
the Philippine Legislature xed the time when protests against the election of any of its
members should be led. This was expressly authorized by section 18 of the Jones
Law making each house the sole judge of the election, returns and quali cations of its
members, as well as by a law (sec. 478, Act No. 3387) empowering each house to
respectively prescribe by resolution the time and manner of filing contest in the election
of members of said bodies. As a matter of formality, after the time xed by its rules for
the ling of protests had already expired, each house passed a resolution con rming or
approving the returns of such members against whose election no protests had been
led within the prescribed time. This was interpreted as cutting off the ling of further
protests against the election of those members not theretofore contested (Amistad vs.
Claravall [Isabela], Second Philippine Legislature, Record-First Period, p. 89; Urgello vs.
Rama [Third District, Cebu], Sixth Philippine Legislature; Fetalvero vs. Festin [Romblon],
Sixth Philippine Legislature, Record — First Period, pp. 637-640; Kintanar vs. Aldanese
[Fourth District, Cebu], Sixth Philippine Legislature, Record-First Period, pp. 1121, 1122;
Aguilar vs. Corpus [Masbate], Eighth Philippine Legislature, Record-First Period, vol. III,
No. 56, pp. 892, 893). The Constitution has repealed section 18 of the Jones Law. Act
No. 3387, section 478, must be deemed to have been impliedly abrogated also, for the
reason that with the power to determine all contests relating to the election, returns
and quali cations of members of the National Assembly, is inseparably linked the
authority to prescribe regulations for the exercise of that power. There was thus no law
nor constitutional provision which authorized the National Assembly to x, as it is
alleged to have xed on December 3, 1935, the time for the ling of contests against
the election of its members. And what the National Assembly could not do directly, it
could not do by indirection through the medium of confirmation.
Summarizing, we conclude:
(a) That the government established by the Constitution follows
fundamentally the theory of separation of powers into the legislative, the executive and
the judicial.
(b) That the system of checks and balances and the overlapping of functions
and duties often makes difficult the delimitation of the powers granted.
(c) That in cases of con ict between the several departments and among the
agencies thereof, the judiciary, with the Supreme Court as the nal arbiter, is the only
constitutional mechanism devised nally to resolve the con ict and allocate
constitutional boundaries.
(d) That judicial supremacy is but the power of judicial review in actual and
appropriate cases and controversies, and is the power and duty to see that no one
branch or agency of the government transcends the Constitution, which is the source of
all authority.
(e) That the Electoral Commission is an independent constitutional creation
with speci c powers and functions to execute and perform, closer for purposes of
classi cation to the legislative than to any of the other two departments of the
government.
(f) That the Electoral Commission is the sole judge of all contests relating to
the election, returns and qualifications of members of the National Assembly.
(g) That under the organic law prevailing before the present Constitution
went into effect, each house of the legislature was respectively the sole judge of the
elections, returns, and qualifications of their elective members.
(h) That the present Constitution has transferred all the powers previously
exercised by the legislature with respect to contests relating to the election, returns
and qualifications of its members, to the Electoral Commission.
(i) That such transfer of power from the legislature to the Electoral
Commission was full, clear and complete, and carried with it ex necesitate rei the
implied power inter alia to prescribe the rules and regulations as to the time and
manner of filing protests.
(j) That the avowed purpose in creating the Electoral Commission was to
have an independent constitutional organ pass upon all contests relating to the
election, returns and quali cations of members of the National Assembly, devoid of
partisan in uence or consideration, which object would be frustrated if the National
Assembly were to retain the power to prescribe rules and regulations regarding the
manner of conducting said contests.
(k) That section 4 of article VI of the Constitution repealed not only section
18 of the Jones Law making each house of the Philippine Legislature respectively the
sole judge of the elections, returns and quali cations of its elective members, but also
section 478 of Act No. 3387 empowering each house to prescribe by resolution the
time and manner of ling contests against the election of its members, the time and
manner of notifying the adverse party,and bond or bonds, to be required, if any, and to
fix the costs and expenses of contest.
(l) That con rmation by the National Assembly of the election of any
member, irrespective of whether his election is contested or not, is not essential before
such member-elect may discharge the duties and enjoy the privileges of a member of
the National Assembly.
(m) That con rmation by the National Assembly of the election of any
member against whom no protest had been led prior to said con rmation, does not
and cannot deprive the Electoral Commission of its incidental power to prescribe the
time within which protest against the election of any member of the National Assembly
should be filed.
We hold, therefore, that the Electoral Commission was acting within the
legitimate exercise of its constitutional prerogative in assuming to take cognizance of
the protest led by the respondent Pedro Ynsua against the election of the herein
petitioner Jose A. Angara, and that the resolution of the National Assembly of
December 3, 1935 can not in any manner toll the time for ling protests against the
election, returns and quali cations of members of the National Assembly, nor prevent
the ling of a protest within such time as the rules of the Electoral Commission might
prescribe.
In view of the conclusion reached by us relative to the character of the Electoral
Commission as a constitutional creation and as to the scope and extent of its authority
under the facts of the present controversy, we deem it unnecessary to determine
whether the Electoral Commission is an inferior tribunal, corporation, board or person
within the purview of sections 226 and 516 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The petition for a writ of prohibition against the Electoral Commission is hereby
denied, with costs against the petitioner. So ordered.
Avanceña, C.J., Diaz, Concepcion and Horrilleno, JJ., concur.
Separate Opinions
ABAD SANTOS , J., concurring :
I concur in the result and in most of the views so ably expressed in the preceding
opinion. I am, however, constrained to withhold my assent to certain conclusions
therein advanced.
The power vested in the Electoral Commission by the Constitution of judging of
all contests relating to the election, returns, and quali cations of the members of the
National Assembly, is judicial in nature. (Thomas vs. Loney, 134 U.S., 372; 33 Law. ed.,
949, 951.) On the other hand, the power to regulate the time in which notice of a
contested election may be given, is legislative in character. (M'Elmoyle vs. Cohen, 13
Pet., 312; 10 Law. ed., 177; Missouri vs. Illinois, 200 U. S., 496; 50 Law. ed., 572.).
It has been correctly stated that the government established by the Constitution
follows fundamentally the theory of the separation of powers into legislative, executive,
and judicial. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly. (Article VI, sec. 1.) In
the absence of any clear constitutional provision to the contrary, the power to regulate
the time in which notice of a contested election may be given, must be deemed to be
included in the grant of legislative power to the National Assembly.
The Constitution of the United States contains a provision similar to that found in
Article VI, section 4, of the Constitution of the Philippines. Article I, section 5, of the
Constitution of the United States provides that each house of the Congress shall be the
judge of the elections, returns, and quali cations of its own members. Notwithstanding
this provision, the Congress has assumed the power to regulate the time in which
notice of a contested election may be given. Thus section 201, Title 2, of the United
States Code Annotated prescribes:
"Whenever any person intends to contest an election of any Member of the
House of Representatives of the united States, he shall, within thirty days after the
result of such election shall have been determined by the o ce or board of
canvassers authorized by law to determine the same, give notice, in writing, to the
Member whose seat he designs to contest, of his intention to contest the same,
and, in such notice, shall specify particularly the grounds upon which he relies in
the contest." (R.S., par. 105.)
The Philippine Autonomy Act, otherwise known as the Jones Law, also contained
a provision to the effect that the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively,
shall be the sole judges of the elections, returns, and quali cations of their elective
members. Notwithstanding this provision, the Philippine Legislature passed the
Election Law, section 478 of which reads as follows:
"The Senate and the House of Representatives shall by resolution
respectively prescribe the time and manner of ling contest in the election of
members of said bodies, the time and manner of notifying the adverse party, and
bond or bonds, to be required, if any, and shall x the costs and expenses of
contest which may be paid from their respective funds."
The purpose sought to be attained by the creation of the Electoral Commission
was not to erect a body that would be above the law, but to raise legislative election
contests from the category of political to that of justiciable questions. The purpose
was not to place the commission beyond the reach of the law, but to insure the
determination of such contests with due process of law.
Section 478 of the Election Law was in force at the time of the adoption of the
Constitution, Article XV, section 2, of which provides that —
"All laws of the Philippine Islands shall continue in force until the
inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines; thereafter, such laws shall
remain operative, unless inconsistent with this Constitution, until amended,
altered, modi ed, or repealed by the National Assembly, and all references in such
laws to the Government or o cials of the Philippine Islands shall be construed, in
so far as applicable, to refer to the Government and corresponding o cials under
this Constitution."
The manifest purpose of this constitutional provision was to insure the orderly
processes of government, and to prevent any hiatus in its operation after the
inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. It was thus provided that all laws
of the Philippine Islands shall remain operative even after the inauguration of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines, unless inconsistent with the Constitution, and that all
references in such laws to the government or o cials of the Philippine Islands shall be
construed, in so far as applicable, to refer to the government and corresponding
o cials under the Constitution. It would seem to be consistent not only with the spirit
but with the letter of the Constitution to hold that section 478 of the Election Law
remains operative and should now be construed to refer to the Electoral Commission,
which, in so far as the power to judge election contests is concerned, corresponds to
either the Senate or the House of Representatives under the former regime. It is
important to observe in this connection that said section 478 of the Election Law
vested the power to regulate the time and manner in which notice of a contested
election may be given, not in the Philippine Legislature but in the Senate and House of
Representatives singly. In other words, the authority to prescribe the time and manner
of ling contests in the election of members of the Philippine Legislature was by
statute lodged separately in the bodies clothed with power to decide such contests.
Construing section 478 of the Election Law to refer to the National Assembly, as
required by Article XV, section 2, of the Constitution, it seems reasonable to conclude
that the authority to prescribe the time and manner of ling contests in the election of
members of the National Assembly is vested in the Electoral Commission, which is now
the body clothed with power to decide such contests.
In the light of what has been said, the resolution of the National Assembly of
December 3, 1935, could not have the effect of barring the right of the respondent
Pedro Ynsua to contest the election of the petitioner. By the same token, the Electoral
Commission was authorized by law to adopt its resolution of December 9, 1935, which
fixed the time within which written written contests must be filed with the commission.
Having been led within the time xed by its resolution, the Electoral
Commission has jurisdiction to hear and determine the contest led by the respondent
Pedro Ynsua against the petitioner Jose A. Angara. Writ denied.

Angara v. Electoral Commission

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EN BANC

[G.R. No. 45081. July 15, 1936.]

JOSE A. ANGARA , petitioner, vs . THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION,

Godofredo Reyes for petitioner.

1. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW; SEPARATION OF POWERS. — The separation of

"Mr. ROXAS. Willingly.

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