Manuel T. De Guia Vs. Commission on Elections

Manuel T. De Guia, in his capacity as councilor of the Municipality of Parañaque, Metro Manila, Petitioner

Vs.

Hon. Commission on Elections, Respondent


G.R. No. 104712, May 6, 1992


Facts:

On November 18, 1991, Congress passed RA 7166 "An Act providing for Synchronized National and Local Elections and for Electoral Reforms, Authorizing Appropriations therefor, and for other purposes." On November 20, 1991, COMELEC issued Resolution No. 2313 and the subsequent resolutions in question.

On February 20, 1992, Petitioner De Guia, an incumbent member of the Sangguniang Bayan of the Municipality of Parañaque filed with COMELEC a motion for clarification of its Resolution No. 2313 inquiring whether the members of the Sangguniang Bayan of Parañaque and other municipalities of Metro Manila enumerated therein, which are all single-district municipalities would be elected by district in the May 11, 1992 or in the 1995 regular elections.

COMELEC issued Resolution No. 2379 stating that its purpose in recommending to Congress the apportionment of Sangguniang Panglungsod and Bayan seats to reduce the number of candidates to be voted for.

Petitioner De Guia received the copy of the Resolution to mean that the election of elective members of Sangguniang Bayan, by district of the 13 Municipalities in Metro Manila shall apply in the May 11, 1992 election. Not satisfied, De Guia filed the instant petition for reversal of the position of the respondent. Petitioner insisted that the Sangguniang Bayan of Parañaque should fall under category (d) in which they will still be elected at large until the 1995 elections.

Issue:

Whether or Not the Members of the Sangguniang Bayan of Parañaque and other municipalities of Metro Manila enumerated therein, would be elected by district in the May 11, 1992 regular elections?

Held:

Yes. As stated in Paragraph (c) Section 3, Cities with 2 or more legislative districts ( Manila, Cebu, Davao ) shall continue to be elected by district, as well as the 13 Municipalities of Metro Manila which have already been apportioned into 2 districts.

Paragraph (d) Section 3 of RA 7166 refers only to elective officials of the Sangguniang Panglungsod which are single district cities and Sangguniang Bayan for Municipalities outside Metro Manila, which will remain to be elected at large in the May 11, 1992 election. Paragraph (d) should be interpreted in line with the rest of the statute and to follow the interpretation of the petitioner would make the act of the statute in singling out the single district provinces as useless or meaningless. The key to open the door to what the legislature intended in the language of a statute is its purpose or reason which induced it to enact the statute.

Statutes should be construed in light of the object to be achieved. A Construction should be rejected that gives the language used in a statute a meaning that does not accomplish its purpose for which it is enacted.

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