SC: Congress’ OK not needed for special polls
The Commission on Elections does not need to get approval from Congress before it can hold special elections to fill vacant congressional seats, the Supreme Court has ruled.
The high tribunal emphasized that Republic Act No. 7166 already removed this requirement under another law, RA 6645, which mandated the poll body to first secure a resolution either from the Senate or House of Representatives certifying the vacancy and requesting the conduct of an election.
“When a vacancy in the House of Representatives arises at least one year prior to the expiration of the term for the vacated seat, the Comelec must call [for] and conduct a special election to fill the vacancy not earlier than 60 days nor longer than 90 days after the occurrence of such vacancy,” the Supreme Court en banc said in a 34-page decision on G.R. No. 275800 penned by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando.
The ruling, which dismissed the petition for mandamus filed by Elroy John Hagedorn, was promulgated on April 22 and made public on Wednesday.
Hagedorn had asked the high tribunal to compel the lower chamber to officially declare a vacancy in the third legislative district of Palawan and call for a special election.
The seat became vacant after Rep. Edward Hagedorn, who was elected in 2022, died the following year.
While the petition is now considered moot after the May midterm polls, the high tribunal still reviewed the case and ruled that Congress cannot be forced to pass a resolution certifying the vacancy and calling for a special election.
Public demand
Based on court records, local government units in Palawan, including Puerto Princesa City and the Municipality of Aborlan, passed resolutions asking House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez to request the Comelec to conduct a special election.
Elroy also submitted signatures from Palawan residents to Comelec Chair George Garcia, demonstrating public support for the special election.
But the poll body said that under RA 6645, it needed a resolution first from the House. The law passed in 1988 outlines the procedure for filing a vacancy in Congress. Congress, however, amended RA 6645 in 1991 through the passage of RA 7166. Under Section 39 of RA 7166, all laws or parts of any law that are inconsistent with its provisions are amended and repealed accordingly.
Comparing the language of the two laws, the Supreme Court said it showed that Congress amended the prerequisites and procedure for the conduct of a special election for its vacant seats.
This includes the deletion of the certification requirement, the period by which a vacancy shall occur for a special election to be mandatory, and the period by which the Comelec must hold the special election.
“To our mind, the deliberate replacement of the reckoning point for the conduct of the special election vis-à-vis the deletion of the certification requirement or any mention of the same in Republic Act No. 7166 demonstrates the Legislature’s intent to abandon the certification requirement entirely,” it said.
‘Unduly constrained’
The high tribunal pointed out that the Comelec should not be “unduly constrained” to await certification from Congress, either through a resolution while in session or a certification from the House Speaker or Senate President, before it calls for and holds the special election.
“To limit the Comelec to a resolution from Congress in determining the existence of a vacancy would be to curtail and render ineffectual its power and mandate to call for and hold the special elections within the allotted period,” it added.
In his concurring and dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa said Elroy’s petition should be dismissed because holding a special election was no longer practical.
But he also argued that a resolution from Congress is still necessary to officially notify the Comelec of a vacancy in either the Senate or the House.
