7. Quo Warranto

How De Facto Officer Ousted

A de facto officer may be ousted in a direct proceeding where the title will be the principal issue, not in a collateral action or in an action to which he is not a party.

The proper remedy generally is to institute quo warranto proceeding under Rule 66 of the ROC. The title to a public office generally may not be attacked collaterally. For elective offices, election protests and electoral quo warranto are governed by the applicable election laws and the jurisdiction of the proper electoral tribunal or court (1987 Constitution, Art. VI, Sec. 17; Art. VII, Sec. 4; Art. IX-C, Sec. 2(2); B.P. Blg. 881, Secs. 250–253).

Kinds of Election Contests:

• Election Protest
• Quo Warranto

Objective: An election protest contests the election or returns and may determine who was duly elected. Electoral quo warranto challenges the proclaimed candidate’s eligibility or loyalty and may result in that candidate’s ouster, without necessarily installing the petitioner.

Withdrawal of nomination and substitution by another nominee is neither an election protest nor an action for quo warranto. Petitioner correctly brought before the Supreme Court this special civil action for certiorari under Section 7 of Article IX-A of the 1987 Constitution, notwithstanding the proclamation of, and assumption of office by, the substitute nominee. (Lokin,Jr. v. COMELEC G.R. 179431-32/180443, 2010).

Election Contest

An election contest includes an election protest, which contests the election or returns, and electoral quo warranto, which challenges the proclaimed winner’s eligibility or loyalty. The proper petitioner and relief depend on the applicable election law and tribunal rules. (B.P. Blg. 881, Secs. 250–253; 1987 Constitution, Art. VI, Sec. 17)

Requisites of a Quo Warranto:

• For electoral quo warranto, filed by any registered voter in the constituency; for ordinary quo warranto over title to public office under Rule 66, the Solicitor General or a public prosecutor may sue, and a person claiming entitlement to the office may sue in their own name. Grounds:
• Ineligibility
• Disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines; a foreign green card may be relevant evidence in assessing an applicable residency or eligibility requirement but is not automatically disloyalty.
• Within 10 days from proclamation of results

General Rule: When proclaimed officer was disqualified by quo warranto, 2nd placer cannot be proclaimed winner.

Exception: When the one who got the highest votes has been disqualified and the electorate is fully aware of this fact - but they still voted for him.

Execution pending appeal is allowed, but it must be for urgent reasons.

Allowable reasons:

• Public interest involved
• Shortness of remaining term
• Length of time that the contest has been pending

Quo Warranto v. Election Protest

Recall

Jurisdiction

• Presidential Electoral Tribunal – 1987 CONST., art. VII, sec. 4

> art. VII, sec. 4 SECTION 4. The President and the Vice-President shall be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of six years which shall begin at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following the day of the election and shall end at noon of the same date six years thereafter. The President shall not be eligible for any reelection. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time. No Vice-President shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of the service for the full term for which he was elected. Unless otherwise provided by law, the regular election for President and Vice-President shall be held on the second Monday of May. The returns of every election for President and Vice-President, duly certified by the board of canvassers of each province or city, shall be transmitted to the Congress, directed to the President of the Senate. Upon receipt of the certificates of canvass, the President of the Senate shall, not later than thirty days after the day of the election, open all certificates in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives in joint public session, and the Congress, upon determination of the authenticity and due execution thereof in the manner provided by law, canvass the votes. The person having the highest number of votes shall be proclaimed elected, but in case two or more shall have an equal and highest number of votes, one of them shall forthwith be chosen by the vote of a majority of all the Members of both Houses of the Congress, voting separately. The Congress shall promulgate its rules for the canvassing of the certificates. The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of the President or Vice- President, and may promulgate its rules for the purpose.

• Senate Electoral Tribunal – 1987 CONST., art. VI, sec. 17

> art. VI, sec. 17 SECTION 17. The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an Electoral Tribunal which shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective Members. Each Electoral Tribunal shall be composed of nine Members, three of whom shall be Justices of the Supreme Court to be designated by the Chief Justice, and the remaining six shall be Members of the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case may be, who shall be chosen on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties and the parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein. The senior Justice in the Electoral Tribunal shall be its Chairman.

• House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal – 1987 CONST., art. VI, sec. 17

> art. VI, sec. 17 SECTION 17. The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an Electoral Tribunal which shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective Members. Each Electoral Tribunal shall be composed of nine Members, three of whom shall be Justices of the Supreme Court to be designated by the Chief Justice, and the remaining six shall be Members of the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case may be, who shall be chosen on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties and the parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein. The senior Justice in the Electoral Tribunal shall be its Chairman.

• COMELEC – 1987 CONST., art. IX-C, sec. 2(2); B.P. Blg. 881, secs. 250 and 253

> art. IX-C, sec. 2(2) SECTION 2. The Commission on Elections shall exercise the following powers and functions:

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

Decisions, final orders, or rulings of the Commission on election contests involving elective municipal and barangay offices shall be final, executory, and not appealable.

> B.P. Blg. 881, secs. 250 and 253 Section 250. Election contests for Batasang Pambansa, regional, provincial and city offices. - A sworn petition contesting the election of any Member of the Batasang Pambansa or any regional, provincial or city official shall be filed with the Commission by any candidate who has duly filed a certificate of candidacy and has been voted for the same office, within ten days after the proclamation of the results of the election. Section 253. Petition for quo warranto. - Any voter contesting the election of any Member of the Batasang Pambansa, regional, provincial, or city officer on the ground of ineligibility or of disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines shall file a sworn petition for quo warranto with the Commission within ten days after the proclamation of the results of the election. Any voter contesting the election of any municipal or barangay officer on the ground of ineligibility or of disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines shall file a sworn petition for quo warranto with the regional trial court or metropolitan or municipal trial court, respectively, within ten days after the proclamation of the results of the election.

• RTC – R.A. No. 7166, sec. 22; B.P. Blg. 881, secs. 251 and 253

> R.A. No. 7166, sec. 22 Section 22. Election Contests for Municipal Offices. - All election contests involving municipal offices filed with the Regional Trial Court shall be decided expeditiously. The decision may be appealed to the Commission within five (5) days from promulgation or receipt of a copy thereof by the aggrieved party. The Commission shall decide the appeal within sixty (60) days after it is submitted for decision, but not later than six (6) months after the filing of the appeal, which decision shall be final, unappealable and executory.

> B.P. Blg. 881, secs. 251 and 253 Section 251. Election contests for municipal offices. - A sworn petition contesting the election of a municipal officer shall be filed with the proper regional trial court by any candidate who has duly filed a certificate of candidacy and has been voted for the same office, within ten days after proclamation of the results of the election.

Section 253. Petition for quo warranto. - Any voter contesting the election of any Member of the Batasang Pambansa, regional, provincial, or city officer on the ground of ineligibility or of disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines shall file a sworn petition for quo warranto with the Commission within ten days after the proclamation of the results of the election.

Any voter contesting the election of any municipal or barangay officer on the ground of ineligibility or of disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines shall file a sworn petition for quo warranto with the regional trial court or metropolitan or municipal trial court, respectively, within ten days after the proclamation of the results of the election.

• MTC – B.P. Blg. 881, secs. 252-253

> B.P. Blg. 881, secs. 252-253

Section 252. Election contest for barangay offices. - A sworn petition contesting the election of a barangay officer shall be filed with the proper municipal or metropolitan trial court by any candidate who has duly filed a certificate of candidacy and has been voted for the same office, within ten days after the proclamation of the results of the election. The trial court shall decide the election protest within fifteen days after the filing thereof. The decision of the municipal or metropolitan trial court may be appealed within ten days from receipt of a copy thereof by the aggrieved party to the regional trial court which shall decide the case within thirty days from its submission, and whose decisions shall be final.

Current rule: In barangay election contests decided by a trial court of limited jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction belongs to the COMELEC, not the RTC. The RTC-appeal provision quoted above from B.P. Blg. 881, sec. 252 is superseded on this point by the 1987 Constitution, art. IX-C, sec. 2(2).

Any voter contesting the election of any municipal or barangay officer on the ground of ineligibility or of disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines shall file a sworn petition for quo warranto with the regional trial court or metropolitan or municipal trial court, respectively, within ten days after the proclamation of the results of the election.

Section 253. Petition for quo warranto. - Any voter contesting the election of any Member of the Batasang Pambansa, regional, provincial, or city officer on the ground of ineligibility or of disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines shall file a sworn petition for quo warranto with the Commission within ten days after the proclamation of the results of the election.