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MANILA, Philippines – In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court (SC) has abandoned the “second placer rule” in Philippine elections or the rule that allows second placer bets to assume the post in cases where the original winner of the elections are disqualified or removed.
A majority of High Court magistrates voted to dismiss the certiorari petition filed by Sultan Kudarat Governor Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu against the Commission on Elections (Comelec), and her opponent in the 2022 race, Sharifa Akeel Mangudadatu.
Datu Pax Ali questioned the Comelec rulings that canceled his certificate of candidacy (COC), assailing his 2022 victory. The former won the Sultan Kudarat gubernatorial race against Sharifa Akeel with over 100,000 difference in votes in 2022.
“ACCORDINGLY, the Petition is DISMISSED. The Resolution dated January 18, 2022 of the COMELEC First Division and the Resolution dated May 2, 2022 of the COMELEC En Banc in SPA No. 21-078 (DC) and SPA No. 21-114 (DC) are AFFIRMED,” the High Court’s April 22 ruling said.
“Petitioner Datu Pax Ali S. Mangudadatu is ORDERED to cease and desist from discharging the functions of the Office of the Governor of Sultan Kudarat and to surrender the same to the duly elected Vice-Governor of the province in the May 9, 2022 elections. The Vice-Governor shall serve the remaining duration of the term July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025,” it added.
Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan penned the en banc decision that gathered majority of votes from justices, including Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.
In the recently concluded midterm elections, Datu Pax had over Sharifa Akeel anew by around 250,000 votes.
‘Second placer rule’ abandoned
In the 37-page ruling, the SC took the time to discuss the second placer rule. According to the High Court, the second placer rule has no basis in law and the second placer “is just that, a second placer who lost the elections.”
Things only started to change, according to the High Court, in the case of Jalosjos Jr. in 2012. In the said case, the SC said the previous applications of the second placer rule “should be limited to situations where the COC of the first-placer was valid at the time of the filing.”
According to the High Court, the second placer rule in the Jalosjos Jr. case has no legal basis because no law authorizes the proclamation of second placer in races where the winning bet was disqualified or later turned out to be ineligible.
“The second placer rule undermines the people’s choice in every election and is repugnant to the people’s constitutional right to suffrage. The Court cannot impose upon the electorate to accept as their representative, the candidate whom they did not choose in the elections,” the SC said.
Regardless if the winning bet is disqualified or had been removed due to COC cancellation or quo warranto, the second placer cannot be proclaimed as winner, the High Court ruled.
“In fine, the Court hereby abandons the second placer rule and declares that the rules on succession under the LGC (Local Government Code) shall apply in all cases where a permanent vacancy results from a local elective official’s disqualification from office regardless of the proceedings involved,” the SC added.
Therefore, in the case, the SC said Datu Pax’s replacement for his 2022 to 2025 gubernatorial term should be the duly elected vice governor, Raden Sakaluran.
Dissents
Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, in his separate opinion, said he concurred with the SC ruling that Datu Pax Ali failed to comply with the residency requirement to run in the polls, but he dissented in the ruling that rule on succession is applicable in the case. For the senior magistrate, the second placer rule should still apply.
Leonen said bets who were not qualified from the beginning, even before the filing of COC, should be distinguished from bets who were initially qualified but later turned out to be unqualified or disqualified. He said that despite the proclamation of the bet who had invalid candidacy, the position they had won is deemed to never have been filled or occupied.
“The qualified eligible candidate who obtained the highest number of votes is the true winner. This is why the position must necessarily go to the ‘second placer.’ Though they obtained the second highest number of votes in relation to the unqualified or disqualified candidate, the second placer is more accurately described as the first placer among the qualified candidates,” Leonen said.
“If a COC is denied due course or canceled, then the person who filed such COC was never a candidate in the first place. The second placer, therefore, is considered as the qualified candidate who garnered the highest number of votes,” Associate Justice Amy Lazaro Javier said in her dissenting opinion.
Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, in his dissenting opinion, said if the second placer rule is disregarded and rules on succession applied in election dispute cases, the contest for the position is “disregarded and tossed” to the side.
Elevating the person next in the line, who ran for a different post, would disregard the choice of the voters for a specific post, according to Lopez.
“Applying the First Qualified Placer Rule (second placer rule) more directly reflects the voters’ intent for that office as it considers the election contest as valid and existing. It considers the voice of the electorate in choosing among the qualified and eligible candidates, upholding its legitimacy. It gives effect to the votes cast on election day,” the justice added.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said that the poll body is looking into the possible filing of a motion for reconsideration.
“Since the decision is not yet final, we will reserve in the meantime our comment. But we are now studying the possibility of filing an MR,” Garcia said. – With a report from Michelle Abad/Rappler.com
