G.R. No. 193237 October 9, 2012 b.

COMELEC First Division found that

DOMINADOR G. JALOSJOS, JR., Petitioner, vs. Jalosjos’ certificate of compliance of
COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and AGAPITO J. probation was fraudulently issued;
CARDINO, Respondents. thus, Jalosjos has not yet served his
x-----------------------x sentence
G.R. No. 193536 c. The penalty imposed on Jalosjos was
AGAPITO J. CARDINO, Petitioner, vs. DOMINADOR G. the indeterminate sentence of one year,
JALOSJOS, JR., and COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, eight months and twenty days of
Respondents. prisión correccional as minimum, to
four years, two months and one day of
DOCTRINE: The disqualification of a convict to run for prisión mayor as maximum
public office under the Revised Penal Code, as affirmed 7. COMELEC En Banc denied Jalosjos’ motion for
by final judgment of a competent court, is part of the reconsideration
enforcement and administration of "all laws" relating to a. With the proper revocation of Jalosjos’
the conduct of elections. Even without a petition under earlier probation and a clear showing
either Section 12 or Section 78 of the Omnibus Election that he has not yet served the terms of
Code, or under Section 40 of the Local Government Code, his sentence, there is simply no basis
the COMELEC is under a legal duty to cancel the for Jalosjos to claim that his civil as
certificate of candidacy of anyone suffering from the well as political rights have been
accessory penalty of perpetual special disqualification to violated
run for public office by virtue of a final judgment of b. Having been convicted by final
conviction. judgment, Jalosjos is disqualified to
run for an elective position or to hold
FACTS: public office
1. Both Jalosjos and Cardino were candidates for c. His proclamation as the elected mayor
Mayor of Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte in in the May 10, 2010 election does not
the May 2010 elections deprive the Commission of its authority
a. Jalosjos was running for his third term to resolve the present petition to its
2. Cardino filed a petition under Section 78 of the finality, and to oust him from the office
Omnibus Election Code to deny due course and he now wrongfully holds
to cancel the certificate of candidacy of Jalosjos
alleging that: ISSUE: WON JALOSJOS IS PERPETUALLY
a. Jalosjos made a false material DISQUALIFIED IN RUNNING FOR A PUBLIC
representation in his COC when he OFFICE BECAUSE OF HIS CRIMINAL CONVICTION
declared under oath that he was BY FINAL JUDGMENT
eligible for the Office of Mayor
b. long before Jalosjos filed his certificate RULING: YES. The law itself bars the convict from
of candidacy, Jalosjos had already been running for public office, and the disqualification is part
convicted by final judgment for robbery of the final judgment of conviction. The final judgment of
and sentenced to prisión mayor by the the court is addressed not only to the Executive branch,
RTC but also to other government agencies tasked to
c. Jalosjos has not yet served his sentence implement the final judgment under the law.
3. Jalosjos admitted his conviction but stated that
he had already been granted probation  The perpetual special disqualification against
4. Cardino countered that the RTC revoked Jalosjos arising from his criminal conviction by
Jalosjos’ probation in an Order final judgment is a material fact involving
5. Jalosjos refuted Cardino and stated that the eligibility which is a proper ground for a petition
RTC issued an Order declaring that Jalosjos had under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code
duly complied with the order of probation and  Jalosjos’ certificate of candidacy was void from
that during the 2004 elections, the COMELEC the start since he was not eligible to run for any
denied a petition for disqualification filed public office at the time he filed his certificate of
against him on the same grounds candidacy
6. COMELEC First Division granted Cardino’s  Jalosjos was never a candidate at any time, and
petition and cancelled Jalosjos’ certificate of all votes for Jalosjos were stray votes hence
candidacy  Jalosjos "is not eligible by reason of VOID AB INITIO  Cardino, as the only
his disqualification as provided for in Section qualified candidate, actually garnered the
40(a) of Republic Act No. 7160." highest number of votes for the position of
a. "Jalosjos has indeed committed Mayor
material misrepresentation in his  A false statement in a certificate of candidacy
certificate of candidacy when he that a candidate is eligible to run for public office
declared, under oath, that he is eligible is a false material representation which is a
for the office he seeks to be elected to ground for a petition under Section 78 of the
when in fact he is not by reason of a OEC
final judgment in a criminal case, the  Section 74 requires the candidate to state under
sentence of which he has not yet oath in his certificate of candidacy "that he is
served." eligible for said office."
  A candidate is eligible if he has a right to run for  The last sentence of Article 32 states that "the
the public office so if a candidate is not actually offender shall not be permitted to hold any
eligible because he is barred by final judgment public office during the period of his perpetual
in a criminal case from running for public office, special disqualification."  Once the judgment
and he still states under oath in his certificate of of conviction becomes final, it is immediately
candidacy that he is eligible to run for public executory
office, then the candidate clearly makes a false  Any public office that the convict may be holding
material representation that is a ground for a at the time of his conviction becomes vacant
petition under Section 78 upon finality of the judgment, and the convict
 A sentence of prisión mayor by final judgment is becomes ineligible to run for any elective public
a ground for disqualification under Section 40 of office perpetually
the Local Government Code and under Section
12 of the Omnibus Election Code In the case of Jalosjos, he became ineligible perpetually
to hold, or to run for, any elective public office from the
The penalty of prisión mayor automatically carries with time his judgment of conviction became final.
it, by operation of law, the accessory penalties of
temporary absolute disqualification and perpetual  Perpetual special disqualification is a ground for
special disqualification. a petition under Section 78 of the Omnibus
Election Code because this accessory penalty is
ART. 30 RPC ART. 32 RPC an ineligibility, which means that the convict is
Temporary absolute perpetual special not eligible to run for public office, contrary to
disqualification produces disqualification means the statement that Section 74 requires him to
the effect of "deprivation that "the offender shall state under oath
of the right to vote in any not be permitted to hold  the false material representation may refer to
election for any popular any public office during "qualifications or eligibility”
elective office or to be the period of his
elected to such office." disqualification," which is One who suffers from perpetual special disqualification
perpetually. is ineligible to run for public office. If a person suffering
The duration of the from perpetual special disqualification files a certificate
temporary absolute of candidacy stating under oath that "he is eligible to run
disqualification is the for (public) office," as expressly required under Section
same as that of the 74, then he clearly makes a false material representation
principal penalty. that is a ground for a petition under Section 78.
Both constitute ineligibilities to hold elective public
office. Section 78 of the OEC, therefore, is to be read in relation
to the constitutional and statutory provisions on
A person suffering from these ineligibilities is qualifications or eligibility for public office. If the
ineligible to run for elective public office, and commits candidate subsequently states a material representation
a false material representation if he states in his in the CoC that is false, the COMELEC, following the
certificate of candidacy that he is eligible to so run. law, is empowered to deny due course to or cancel such
certificate. Indeed, the Court has already likened a
 The word "perpetually" and the phrase "during proceeding under Section 78 to a quo warranto
the term of the sentence" should be applied proceeding under Section 253 of the OEC since they both
distributively to their respective antecedents; deal with the eligibility or qualification of a candidate,
thus, the word "perpetually" refers to the with the distinction mainly in the fact that a "Section 78"
perpetual kind of special disqualification, while petition is filed before proclamation, while a petition for
the phrase "during the term of the sentence" quo warranto is filed after proclamation of the winning
refers to the temporary special disqualification candidate.
 The duration between the perpetual and the
temporary (both special) are necessarily  A candidate for mayor during the 2010 local elections
different because the provision, instead of certifies under oath four statements: (1) a statement that
merging their durations into one period, states the candidate is a natural born or naturalized Filipino
that such duration is "according to the nature of citizen; (2) a statement that the candidate is not a
said penalty" — which means according to permanent resident of, or immigrant to, a foreign
whether the penalty is the perpetual or the country; (3) a statement that the candidate is eligible for
temporary special disqualification the office he seeks election; and (4) a statement of the
candidate’s allegiance to the Constitution of the Republic
The accessory penalty of perpetual special of the Philippines
disqualification takes effect immediately once the
judgment of conviction becomes final.  What is indisputably clear is that the false
material representation of Jalosjos is a ground
 The effectivity of this accessory penalty does not for a petition under Section 78
depend on the duration of the principal penalty,  However, since the false material
or on whether the convict serves his jail sentence representation arises from a crime penalized by
or not prisión mayor, a petition under Section 12 of the
Omnibus Election Code or Section 40 of the
 Local Government Code can also be properly
filed
 The petitioner has a choice whether to anchor
his petition on Section 12 or Section 78 of the
Omnibus Election Code, or on Section 40 of the
Local Government Code. The law expressly
provides multiple remedies and the choice of
which remedy to adopt belongs to the petitioner

The COMELEC properly cancelled Jalosjos’ certificate of

candidacy.

 A void certificate of candidacy on the ground of

ineligibility that existed at the time of the filing
of the certificate of candidacy can never give rise
to a valid candidacy, and much less to valid votes
 Jalosjos’ certificate of candidacy was cancelled
because he was ineligible from the start to run
for Mayor
 Even without a petition under either Section 12
or Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code, or
under Section 40 of the Local Government Code,
the COMELEC is under a legal duty to cancel
the certificate of candidacy of anyone suffering
from the accessory penalty of perpetual special
disqualification to run for public office by virtue
of a final judgment of conviction
 To allow the COMELEC to wait for a person to
file a petition to cancel the certificate of
candidacy of one suffering from perpetual
special disqualification will result in the
anomaly that these cases so grotesquely
exemplify
 The COMELEC will be grossly remiss in its
constitutional duty to "enforce and administer
all laws" relating to the conduct of elections if it
does not motu proprio bar from running for
public office those suffering from perpetual
special disqualification by virtue of a final
judgment

FALLO: WHEREFORE, the Motion for Reconsideration

in G.R. No. 193237 is DENIED, and the Petition in G.R.
No. 193536 is GRANTED. The Resolutions dated 10 May
2010 and 11 August 2010 of the COMELEC First
Division and the COMELEC En Bane, respectively, in
SPA No. 09-076 (DC), are AFFIRMED with the
MODIFICATION that Agapito J. Cardino ran unopposed
in the May 2010 elections and thus received the highest
number of votes for Mayor. The COMELEC En Bane is
DIRECTED to constitute a Special City Board of
Canvassers to proclaim Agapito J. Cardino as the duly
elected Mayor of Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.

Let copies of this Decision be furnished the Secretaries of

the Department of Justice and the Department of
Interior and Local Government so they can cause the
arrest of, and enforce the jail sentence on, Dominador G.
Jalosjos, Jr. due to his conviction for the crime of robbery
in a final judgment issued by the Regional Trial Court
(Branch 18) of Cebu City in Criminal Case No. CCC-XIV-
140-CEBU. SO ORDERED.