maquera vs. borra, 15 scra 7 (1965)

8/19/2019 Maquera vs. Borra, 15 Scra 7 (1965)

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Republic of the PhilippinesSUPREME COURT

Manila

EN BANC

G.R. No. L-24761 September 7, 1965

LEON G. MAUERA, petitioner,vs.!UAN "ORRA, CESAR M#RA$LOR, %&' GREGOR#O SANTA(ANA, )& t*e)rre+pet)e %p%)t)e+ %+ C*%)rm%& %&' Member+ o t*e Comm)++)o& o&E/et)o&+, %&' t*e COMM#SS#ON ON ELECT#ONS,respondents.

---------------------------

G.R. No. L-24020 September 7, 1965

$EL#PE N. AUREA %&' MELEC#O MALA"ANAN, petitioners,vs.COMM#SS#ON ON ELECT#ONS, respondent.

Leon G. Maquera in his own behalf as petitioner.Ramon Barrios for respondents.

R E S O ! " # O N

PER CUR#AM

!pon consideration of case $.R. No. -%&'(), *eon $. Ma+uera vs. uan Borra, etal.,* and case $.R. No. -%&%, *elipe N. Aurea and Melecio Malabanan vs.Co//ission on Elections,* and it appearin01

). "hat Republic Act No. &&%) re+uires *all candidates for national,provincial, cit2 and /unicipal offices* to post a suret2 bond e+uivalent to theone-2ear salar2 or e/olu/ents of the position to 3hich he is a candidate,3hich bond shall be forfeited in favor of the national, provincial, cit2 or/unicipal 0overn/ent concerned if the candidate, e4cept 3hen declared3inner, fails to obtain at least )56 of the votes cast for the office to 3hich hehas filed his certificate of candidac2, there bein0 not /ore than four 7&8candidates for the sa/e office9*

%. "hat, in co/pliance 3ith said Republic Act No. &&%), the Co//ission onElections had, on ul2 %5, ):(;, decided to re+uire all candidates forPresident, <ice-President, Senator and Me/ber of the =ouse ofRepresentatives to file a suret2 bond, b2 a bondin0 co/pan2 of 0oodreputation, acceptable to the Co//ission, in the su/s of P(5,555.55 and

P&5,555.55, for President and <ice-President, respectivel2, and P>%,555.55for Senator and Me/ber of the =ouse of Representatives9

>. "hat, in conse+uence of said Republic Act No. &&%) and theafore/entioned action of the Co//ission on Elections, ever2 candidate hasto pa2 the pre/iu/ char0ed b2 bondin0 co/panies, and, to offer thereto,either his o3n properties, 3orth, at least, the a/ount of the suret2 bond, orproperties of the sa/e 3orth, belon0in0 to other persons 3illin0 toacco//odate hi/, b2 3a2 of counter-bond in favor of said bondin0

co/panies9

&. "hat the effect of said Republic Act No. &&%) is, therefore, to prevent ordis+ualif2 fro/ runnin0 for President, <ice-President, Senator or Me/ber ofthe =ouse of Representatives those persons 3ho, althou0h havin0 the+ualifications prescribed b2 the Constitution therefore, cannot file the suret2bond afore/entioned, o3in0 to failure to pa2 the pre/iu/ char0ed b2 thebondin0 co/pan2 and?or lac@ of the propert2 necessar2 for said counter-bond9

;. "hat said Republic Act No. &&%) has, li@e3ise, the effect of dis+ualif2in0for provincial, cit2 or /unicipal elective offices, persons 3ho, althou0hpossessin0 the +ualifications prescribed b2 la3 therefor, cannot pa2 said

pre/iu/ and?or do not have the propert2 essential for the afore/entionedcounter-bond9

(. "hat said Republic Act No. &&%) has, accordin0l2, the effect of i/posin0propert2 +ualifications in order that a person could run for a public office andthat the people could validl2 vote for hi/9

'. "hat said propert2 +ualifications are inconsistent 3ith the nature andessence of the Republican s2ste/ ordained in our Constitution and theprinciple of social ustice underl2in0 the sa/e, for said political s2ste/ ispre/ised upon the tenet that soverei0nt2 resides in the people and all0overn/ent authorit2 e/anates fro/ the/, and this, in turn, i/pliesnecessaril2 that the ri0ht to vote and to be voted for shall not be dependentupon the 3ealth of the individual concerned, 3hereas social usticepresupposes e+ual opportunit2 for all, rich and poor ali@e, and that,accordin0l2, no person shall, b2 reason of povert2, be denied the chance tobe elected to public office9 and

. "hat the bond re+uired in Republic Act No. &&%) and the confiscation ofsaid bond are not predicated upon the necessit2 of defra2in0 certaine4penses or of co/pensatin0 services 0iven in connection 3ith elections,and is, therefore, arbitrar2 and oppressive.

"he Court RESO<E, 3ithout preudice to renderin0 an e4tended decision, todeclare that said Republic Act No. &&%) is unconstitutional and hence null and void,

and, hence, to enoin respondents herein, as 3ell as their representatives and a0ents,fro/ enforcin0 and?or i/ple/entin0 said constitutional enact/ent.

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Bautista Angelo, Concepcion, Reyes, .B.L., !i"on., Ma#alintal and $aldi%ar, .,concur.Beng"on, C.., too# no part.Barrera, ., is on lea%e.

Sep%r%te Op)&)o&+

"ENGON, !.P., J., concurrin01.

A de/ocratic for/ of 0overn/ent re+uires that political ri0hts be eno2ed b2 thecitiens re0ardless of social or econo/ic distinctions. Such is our 0overn/ent. As farbac@ as )::, the Representatives of the ilipino people adopted a PoliticalConstitution at Malolos, Bulacan, providin0 that1 *"he political association of all the&ilipinosconstitutes a nation, 3hose state is called the Philippine Republic*9 *"hePhilippine Republic is free and independent*9 and *Soverei0nt2resides e'clusi%ely in the people.* 7Arts. ), % and >.8 A 0eneration later, in ):>;, theilipino people, i/plorin0 the aid of ivine Providence, ordained and pro/ul0ated thepresent Constitution of the Philippines, statin0 the sa/e principle1 *"he Philippines isa republican state. Soverei0nt2 resides in the people and all 0overn/ent authorit2e/anates fro/ the/.* 7See. ), Art. ##8. Clearl2 and sole/nl2, therefore, our citienr2have thus been 0iven the supre/e 0uarant2 of a de/ocratic 3a2 of life, 3ith all itsfreedo/ and li/itations, all its ri0hts and duties.

A/on0 the political ri0hts of a ilipino citien is the ri0ht to vote and be voted for apublic office. "he Constitution has 0iven the ri0ht of suffra0e to *citiens of thePhilippines not other3ise dis+ualified b2 la3 3ho are t3ent2-one 2ears of a0e or overand are able to read and 3rite, and 3ho shall have resided in the Philippines for one2ear and in the /unicipalit2 3herein the2 propose to vote for at least si4 /onthsprecedin0 the election.* 7Sec. ), Art. <.8

#t is 3ithin the po3er of Con0ress, ho3ever, to prescribe the /anner of e4ercisin0political ri0hts so lon0 as it does not run counter to the Constitution. "he RevisedElection Code 7RA )58 is the chief instance of the e4ercise of such le0islative po3er.

Republic Act &&%), effective une ):, ):(;, incorporated to the Revised ElectionCode1

SEC. >(-A. (osting of bond by candidates) e'ception) forfeiture. * Allcandidates for national, provincial, cit2 and /unicipal offices shall post asuret2 bond e+uivalent to the one-2ear salar2 or e/olu/ents of the positionto 3hich he is a candidate, 3hich bond shall be forfeited in favor of thenational, provincial, cit2 or /unicipal 0overn/ent concerned if the candidate,e4cept 3hen declared 3inner, fails to obtain at least ten per cent of the votescast for the office to 3hich he has filed his certificate of candidac2 therebein0 not /ore than four candidates for the sa/e office.

"he Co//ission on Elections, i/ple/entin0 Sec. >(-A afore/entioned, adopted onul2 %5, ):(; the follo3in0 0uidelines for the purpose of the Nove/ber :, ):(;elections1

). D=O S=A POS" S!RE" BON F All candidates for national officesshall post a suret2 bond. A candidate 3ho 3ithdra3s his candidac2 orceases to be one, /a2 as@ for the return or cancellation of his bond. A part2/a2 post suret2 bond for each of its official candidates.

%. D=EN "O #E F On or before Septe/ber )5, ):(;, to coincide 3ith thelast da2 for filin0 certificates of candidac2, to facilitate processin0 of bothbond and certificates of candidac2 b2 the a3 epart/ent.

>. D=ERE "O #E F "he suret2 bond shall be filed 3ith the Cash ivision,Co//ission on Elections. Cash bonds /a2 be allo3ed and the sa/e to befiled in the Co//ission.

&. AMO!N" O BON F "he suret2 bond shall be e+uivalent to the one-2ear salar2 or e/olu/ents of the position to 3hich he is a candidate, to 3it1

President P(5,555 7R.A. &)>&8

<ice-President P&5,555 F do FSenators P>%,555 F do F

Con0ress/en P>%,555 F do F

;. CON#"#ON O "=E BON F "hat the bond shall be forfeited in favor of the national 0overn/ent if the candidate, e4cept 3hen declared the 3inner,fails to obtain at least ten percent of the votes cast for the office to 3hich hehas filed his certificate of candidac2, there bein0 not /ore than fourcandidates for the sa/e office.

(. A#!RE "O POS" S!RE" BON F #f a candidate fails to post there+uired suret2 bond, the Co//ission on Elections shall refuse to 0ive due

course to the certificate of candidac2 of said candidate.

'. S!RE" F A bondin0 co/pan2 of 0ood reputation and acceptable to theCo//ission.

. ORE#"!RE F "he )56 re+uired nu/ber of votes shall be based onand deter/ined b2 the certificate of canvass and procla/ation.

At bar are petitions that +uestion the constitutionalit2 of Republic Act &&%) in the0round that the sa/e is unde/ocratic and contrar2 to the letter and spirit of theConstitution.

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"he avo3ed purpose of Republic Act &&%) in re+uirin0 a candidate to post a bonde+ual to a 2earGs salar2 of the office for 3hich he 3ill run is to curb the practice of so-called nuisance candidates. Said the e4planator2 note to said la31

De have had sad e4periences alon0 that line. Dhen a person, havin0 thesa/e na/e as that of a stron0 candidate, files his candidac2 for the sa/eposition sou0ht b2 the latter, this act has the ulti/ate effect of frustratin0 thetrue intent of the voters. Dhile their intent 3as to vote for the publicl2 @no3nstron0 candidate, their votes could be credited to the nuisance candidate. #f

this practice is not curbed, the ilipino people /a2 find the 3ron0 /enelected to an office.

+awphl.n-t

Such an obective is indeed 3ithin the co/petence of the le0islature to provide for.Nonetheless, the purposealone does not resolve the constitutionalit2 of a statute. #t/ust also be as@ed 3hether the effect of said la3 is or is not to trans0ress thefunda/ental la3.

oes the la3, it /a2 then be as@ed, operate to bar bona fide candidates fro/ runnin0for office because of their financial inabilit2 to /eet the bond re+uiredH or this the

test /ust be the a/ount at 3hich the bond is fi4ed. Dhere it is fi4ed at an a/ount that3ill i/pose no hardship on an2 person for 3ho/ there should be an2 desire to voteas a no/inee for an office, and 2et enou0h to prevent the f ilin0 of certificates ofcandidates b2 an2one, re0ardless of 3hether or not he is a desirable candidate, it is areasonable /eans to re0ulate elections. On the otherhand, if it puts a real barrier that3ould stop /an2 suitable /en and 3o/en fro/ presentin0 the/selves asprospective candidates, it beco/es unustifiable, for it 3ould defeat its ver2 obectiveof securin0 the ri0ht of honest candidates to run for public office.

ore/ost de/ocracies have si/ilar /easure to discoura0e *frea@ and propa0andacandidates. One 3as adopted in the electoral s2ste/ of En0land. A candidate for the=ouse of Co//ons, 3here each /e/ber receives >,%;5 pounds annualco/pensation 7for/erl2 ),555 pounds8 is re+uired, b2 the Representatives of thePeople Act of ):), to deposit );5 pounds 3ith the returnin0 officer at the ti/e ofno/ination, the /one2 to be forfeited if he failed to secure )? of the votes. I

#n the !nited States of A/erica a fee s2ste/ obtains in so/e states 3hereb2candidates are re+uired to pa2 filin0 fees F fre+uentl2 to help defra2 costs of electionservices F ran0in0 fro/ one dollar up3ards or a certain percenta0e of the annualsalar2 of the office sou0ht, the percenta0e bein0 fro/ )?&6 to ;6.II

#t should be noted that in the fore0oin0 the deposits or fees are based on or constitutea certain percenta0e of the 2earl2 salar2. "he a/ount of the bond re+uired b2 RA&&%) is, as noted, e+ual to the one-2ear salar2 or e/olu/ent of the office. #t is +uiteevident, therefore, that several or a considerable nu/ber of deservin0, honest andsincere prospective candidates for that office 3ould be prevented fro/ runnin0 in the

election solel2 due to their bein0 less endo3ed 3ith the /aterial thin0s in life. #t is3orth re/e/berin0 that Section & of the Revised Election Code provides1 *No

candidate shall spend for his election ca/pai0n /ore than the total a/ount of thee/olu/ents for one 2ear attached to the office for 3hich he is a candidate.* "hus, thea/ount of a one-2ear salar2 is considered b2 the la3 itself to be substantial enou0hto finance the entire election ca/pai0n of the candidate. or Con0ress, therefore, tore+uire such a/ount to be posted in the for/ of suret2 bond, 3ith the dan0er offorfeitin0 the sa/e in the event of failure to obtain the re+uired percenta0e of votes,unless there are /ore than four candidates, places a financial burden on honestcandidates that 3ill in effect dis+ualif2 so/e of the/ 3ho 3ould other3ise have been+ualified and bona fide candidates.

"he Constitution, in providin0 for the +ualification of Con0ress/en, sets forth onl2a0e, citienship, votin0 and residence +ualifications. No propert2 +ualification of an2@ind is thereunder re+uired. Since the effect of Republic Act &&%) is to re+uire ofcandidates for Con0ress a substantial propert2 +ualification, and to dis+ualif2 those3ho do not /eet the sa/e, it 0oes a0ainst the provision of the Constitution 3hich, inline 3ith its de/ocratic character, re+uires no propert2 +ualification for the ri0ht tohold said public office.

reedo/ of the voters to e4ercise the elective franchise at a 0eneral election i/pliesthe ri0ht to freel2 choose fro/ all +ualified candidates for public office. "he i/positionof un3arranted restrictions and hindrances precludin0 +ualified candidates fro/runnin0 is, therefore, violative of the constitutional 0uarant2 of freedo/ in the e4ercise

of elective franchise. #t seriousl2 interferes 3ith the ri0ht of the electorate to choosefreel2 fro/ a/on0 those eli0ible to office 3ho/ever the2 /a2 desire. III

Republic Act &&%), /oreover, relates a personGs ri0ht to run for office to the de0ree ofsuccess he 3ill sho3 at the polls. A candidate, ho3ever, has no less a ri0ht to run3hen he faces prospects of defeat as 3hen he is e4pected to 3in. Conse+uentl2, forthe la3 to i/pose on said candidate F should he lose b2 the fatal /ar0in F afinancial penalt2 not i/posed on others 3ould unreasonabl2 den2 hi/ e+ualprotection of the la3. #t is, also, in /2 opinion, unconstitutional on this account. 7Sec.) J)K, Art. ###, Phil. Const.8

Nuisance candidates, as an evil to be re/edied, do not ustif2 the adoption of/easures that 3ould bar poor candidates fro/ runnin0 for office. Republic Act &&%)

in fact enables rich candidates, 3hether nuisance or not, to present the/selves forelection. Conse+uentl2, it cannot be sustained as a valid re0ulation of elections tosecure the e4pression of the popular 3ill.

# full2 concur, therefore, 3ith the /aorit2 opinion.

Regala, ., concurs.

$oot&ote+

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I At the salar2 of >,%;5 per annu/ for a Me/ber of the =ouse of Co//ons,);5 is &.(6 of the one-2ear salar2.

IIState e4. rel. Ri00le v. Brodi0an, )&> P. %>, RA ):);B, p. ):'9 Lelso v.Coo@, ))5 NE :'9 ohnson v. $rand or@s Count2, )( N.. >(>, ))> ND)5')9 Ballin0er v. Mcau0hlin, %% S.. %5(, ))( N.D. '59 Ned0er3ood v.Pitts, )%% "enn. ;'5, )%; SD )5>(.

IIISee Adair v. re4el, '% Neb. ''(, )5; N.D. )'&.

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maquera vs. borra, 15 scra 7 (1965)

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