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Avelino V Cuenco

FACTS: The petitioners, Senator Jose Avelino, in a quo warranto proceeding, asked the court to declare him the rightful Senate President and oust the respondent, Mariano Cuenco. In a session of the Senate, Tanadas request to deliver a speech in order to formulate charges against then Senate President Avelino was approved.With the leadership of the Senate President followed by his supporters, they deliberately tried to delay and prevent Tanada from delivering his speech. The SPwith his supporters employed delaying tactics, the tried to adjourn the sessionthen walked out. Only 12 Senators were left in the hall. The members of the senate left continued the session and Senator Cuenco was appointed as the Acting President of the Senate and was recognized the next day by the President of the Philippines.

ISSUES:1. Whether or not the court has jurisdiction of the case.2. Whether or not Resolutions 67 & 68 was validly approved.

HELD:1. The Court has no jurisdiction of the case because the subject matter is political in nature and in doing so, the court will be against the doctrine of separation of powers. To the first question, the answer is in the negative, in view of

the separation of powers, the political nature of the controversy (Alejandrinovs. Quezon, 46 Phil. 83; Vera vs. Avelino, 77 Phil. 192; Mabanag vs. Lopez Vito,78 Phil. 1) and the constitutional grant to the Senate of the power to elect its own president, which power should not be interfered with, nor taken over, by the judiciary. We refused to take cognizance of the Vera case even if the rightsof the electors of the suspended senators were alleged affected without any immediate remedy. A fortiori we should abstain in this case because the selection ofthe presiding officer affect only the Senators themselves who are at liberty atany time to choose their officers, change or reinstate them. Anyway, if, as thepetition must imply to be acceptable, the majority of the Senators want petitioner to preside, his remedy lies in the Senate Session Hall not in the Supreme Court.

2. It was held that there is a quorum that 12 being the majority of 23. In fine,all the four justice agree that the Court being confronted with the practical situation that of the twenty three senators who may participate in the Senate deliberations in the days immediately after this decision, twelve senators will support Senator Cuenco and, at most, eleven will side with Senator Avelino, it would be most injudicious to declare the latter as the rightful President of the Senate, that office being essentially one that depends exclusively upon the will ofthe majority of the senators, the rule of the Senate about tenure of the President of that body being amenable at any time by that majority. And at any sessionhereafter held with thirteen or more senators, in order to avoid all controversy arising from the divergence of opinion here about quorum and for the benefit of all concerned,the said twelve senators who approved the resolutions herein involved could ratify all their acts and thereby place them beyond the shadow of a

doubt.