G.R. No. 211140.
January 12, 2016 ISSUE: WON a petition for mandamus can be issued to compel
PETITIONER: Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco
RESPONDENTS: Hon. Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr., Secretary
General Marilyn B. Barua-Yap and Regina Ongsiako Reyes
RECIT READY:
Petition for Mandamus under Rules 65 of Rules of Court by Velasco
against respondents Belmonte, Barua-Yap, and Reyes.
Prior to the May 2013 elections, a certain Joseph Socorro Tan of
Municipality of Torrijos, Marinduque filed with the COMELEC a
petition to cancel the Certificate of Candidacy of respondent Reyes
for the position of Representative of lone district of Marinduque. He
alleged that Reyes made several material misrepresentations in her
COC. COMELEC First Division granted the petition and subsequently
cancelled the COC of Reyes. However, the May 13, 2013 elections
was held while Reyes’s Motion for Reconsideration was pending.
Despite the COMELEC En Banc’s affirmation the First Division’s
decision, the Marinduque PBOC proclaimed Reyes as the winning
candidate. In the meantime, the COMELEC Resolution became final
and executory. Notwithstanding the issuances of COMELEC, Reyes
took the oath and assumed membership of the HOR. Petitioner
Velasco filed a petition for certiorari before the COMELEC, assailing
the proceedings of PBOS and the proclamation of Reyes null and
void. COMELEC denied the said petition. The COMELEC En Banc,
however, reversed the aforesaid decision and granted the petition of
Velasco. In a separate decision, it also ordered the reconstitution of
the Marinduque PBOC and proclaimed Velasco as the winning
candidate for the contested position. Petitioner alleges that despite
several letters and formal requests sent to Speaker Belmonte and
Sec.Gen. Barua-Yap to honor the decisions of COMELEC, they refused
to recognize him, and administer his oath and register his name in
the Roll of Members to replace that of Reyes’s. Hence, this instant
petition for mandamus.
Speaker Belmonte and Sec-gen. Barua-Yap to perform the specific
acts sought by Velasco.
RULING: YES. Speaker Belmonte and Sec.Gen Barua-Yap are legally
duty-bound to recognize Velasco as the duly elected Member of the
HOR. The administration of oath and the registration of Velasco in
the Roll of Members of the HOR for the lone district of Province of
Marinduque is no longer a matter of discretion or judgement since
Velasco is the proclaimed winning candidate. Reyes’s COC was
cancelled due to her ineligibility to run as representative, for without
a valid COC, Reyes could not be treated as a candidate in the election
and much less as a duly proclaimed winner. Her proclamation by the
PBOC on May 18, 2013 has no basis. As such, there is no legal ground
for her to serve as member of the HOR. Velasco is the rightful
representative of the Lone District of the Province of Marinduque;
hence, entitled to a writ of mandamus.
WHEREFORE, the petition for mandamus is GRANTED.
DOCTRINE/LEGAL BASIS: Electoral Tribunals. Section 17, Art. VI,
Philippine Constitution.
FACTS:
 October 12, 2012 – Joseph Socorro Tan filed with the
COMELEC a petition to cancel the COC of respondent Reyes
for the position of Representative of lone district of
Marinduque. Tan alleged that Reyes made several material
misrepresentations in her COC namely: 1) that she is a
resident of Brgy. Lupac, Boac, Marinduque, 2) that she is a
natural-born Filipino, 3) that she is not a permanent resident
of, or an immigrant to, a foreign country, 4) that her date of
 birth is July 3, 1964, 5) that her civil status is single, 6) that
she is eligible for the office she seeks to be elected to.
 March 27, 2013 – COMELEC First Division granted the
petition and cancelled the COC of Reyes. Reyes filed a Motion
for Reconsideration. However, this remained pending when
the national and local elections was held on May 13, 2013.
 May 14, 2013—The COMELEC En Banc affirmed the prior
decision of the COMELEC First Division.
 May 18, 2012—despite the COMELEC’s resolution, the
Marinduque Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC)
proclaimed Reyes the winner of the election.
 May 31, 2013 – Petitioner Velasco filed an Election Protest
Ad Cautelam against Reyes before the House of
Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET). On the same day,
and before the same body, a certain Christopher Matienzo
also filed a Petition for Quo Warranto Ad Cautelam against
Reyes.
 June 5, 2013 – COMELEC issued a Certificate of Finality,
holding its May 14, 2013 resolution final and executory in the
absence of a restraining order from SC.
 June 7, 2013—Speaker Belmonte Jr. administered the taking
of oath of office of Reyes.
 June 10, 2013—Reyes filed a petition for certiorari before SC,
assailing the COMELEC decision on Tan’s petition, denial of
her motion for reconsideration, and the June 5 Certificate of
Finality. On the other hand, Velasco also filed a petition for
certiorari before the COMELEC, assailing the proceedings of
PBOC and the proclamation of Reyes null and void. This
however, was subsequently denied by COMELEC, and at the
same time, Reyes’s petition was also dismissed.
 SC held that Reyes cannot assert that it is the HRET which has
jurisdiction over her since she is not yet considered a
member of HOR.
 June 28, 2013—Tan filed a Motion for Execution of the March
27 and June 5 COMELEC Resolution and prayed that Velasco
be proclaimed as the winner of the May 2013 elections for
Representative of lone district of Marinduque.
Notwithstanding the prior decisions and petitions, Reyes
assumed the position as member of HOR beginning June 30.
 July 9, 2013—COMELEC reversed its June 19 decision denying
the petition of Velasco and declared null and void the
proclamation of Reyes. It also proclaimed Velasco as the
winning candidate.
 July 10, 2013—COMELEC granted Tan’s June 28 petition and
ordered the reconstitution of the Marinduque PBOC and
proclamation of Velasco as the duly elected Representative
of Lone District of Marinduque.
 July 16, 2013—Velasco was formally proclaimed as the
Representative of Lone District of Marinduque by the newly
constituted Marinduque PBOC.
 July 22,2013—The 16th Congress held its first joint session
and Reyes, along with other duly recognized representatives,
took her oath before Speaker Belmonte Jr.
 July 23, 2013—Reyes filed a Manifestation and Notice of
Withdrawal of Petition without waiver of her arguments,
positions, defenses/causes of action as will be articulated in
the HRET which is now the proper forum. Reyes also filed
another two subsequent MRs but both were denied by the
SC.
 November 29, 2013—Velasco filed a Motion for Issuance of
Writ of Execution before the COMELEC.
 December 5, 2013 and Janurary 14, 2014—Velasco sent
Reyes letters demanding that he be allowed to assume the
position as representative. On December 10, 2013, he also
wrote a letter to Speaker Belmonte stating the same.
 December 11, 2013—COMELEC, in response to Velasco’s
November 29 petition, ordered that its Resolutions,
 Certificate of Finality, and Velasco’s Certificate of
Proclamation be sent to Speaker Belmonte.\
 February 4, 2014—Velasco wrote again to Speaker Velasco
reiterating the above-mentioned request but to no avail.
 February 6, 2014—Velasco wrote Sec-gen Barua-Yap
reiterating his request to delete the name of Reyes in the Roll
of Members and register his name in her place as the duly
elected representative of Marinduque.
 Petitioner alleges that despite all letters and requests to
Speaker Belmonte and Sec-gen Baruya, they refused to
recognize him as the duly elected representative of the lone
district of Marinduque; and that Reyes, in the face of the
numerous written demands, continues to discharge the
duties of the position. Thus, this instant petition.
ISSUE: WON a petition for mandamus can be issued to compel
Speaker Belmonte and Sec-gen. Barua-Yap to perform the
specific acts sought by Velasco
RELEVANT ARGUMENTS
 Petitioner: Velasco contends that he “has a well-defined
and clear legal right and basis to warrant the grant of the
writ of mandamus”, as provided by the decisions of the
COMELEC nullifying Reyes’s proclamation and
recognizing him as the winning candidate.
-That it is the ministerial duty of respondent Speaker
Belmonte to administer his oath and allow him to assume
and exercise the prerogatives of being the representative
of Marinduque, and of respondent Barua-Yap to register
his name as the duly elected member of HOR and delete
the name of Reyes from the Roll of Members. That both
respondents are unlawfully neglecting the performance
of their ministerial duties, excluding him from the
enjoyment of his right
-that the “continued usurpation and unlawful holding of
such position by respondent Reyes has worked injustice
and serious prejudice to him in that she has already
received the salaries, allowances, binuses, and
emoluments that pertain to the position of Marinduque
representative since June 30, 2013 up to the present…”
RESPONDENT: REYES. The petition is actually one for quo warranto
and not mandamus given that it essentially seeks a declaration that
she usurped the subject office. She argues that, being a collateral
attack on a title to public office, the petition must be dismissed as
enunciated by the court in several cases.
Reyes questions the jurisdiction of the court over quo warranto cases
involving HOR. She argues that several jurisprudence have already
ruled that it is the HOR Electoral Tribunal that has the sole and
exclusive jurisdiction over all contests relating to election, returns,
and qualifications of the members of HOR. She went further that
COMELEC is divested of jurisdiction upon her proclamation as the
winning candidate, as in fact, the HRET had already assumed
jurisdiction over quo warranto cases filed against Reyes by several
individuals.
Reyes concludes that this Court is “devoid of original jurisdiction to
annul her proclamation” and that Velasco as second placer cannot be
declared winner as he was not the choice of the people of
Marinduque; Velasco is stopped from asserting the jurisdiction of this
court over her because he filed an election protest ad cautelam in the
HRET on May 31,2014.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL (FOR BELMONTE AND BARUA-YAP). Upon
Reyes’s proclamation, exclusive jurisdiction to resolve election
contests…[is] vested in the HRET. Hence, until and unless the HRET
grants any quo warranto petition or election protest filed against
respondent Reyes, and such HRET resolution or resolutions become
final and executory, respondent Reyes may not be restrained from
exercising the prerogatives of Marinduque representative…
Additionally, the second placer in the may 13, 2013 elections, cannot
validly assume the post of Marinduque representative. Hence,
respondents Speaker Belmonte and Sec.Gen. Barua-Yap may not be
compelled by mandamus to, respectively, administer the proper oath
to the petitioner and register the latter’s name in the roll of members
of the house.
If the jurisdiction of the COMELEC were to be retained until the
assumption of office of the winner, then there would be obviously a
clash of jurisdiction between HRET and the COMELEC…HRET’s
jurisdiction begins only after assumption of office, at noon of June 30
following election, then quo warranto petitions and election protests
filed on after said date would be dismissed outright by the HRET
under its own rules for having been filed out of time, where the
winners have already been proclaimed within the period after the
May elections and up to June 14.
RULING: YES. Speaker Belmonte and Sec.Gen Barua-Yap are legally
duty-bound to recognize Velasco as the duly elected Member of the
HOR. The administration of oath and the registration of Velasco in
the Roll of Members of the HOR for the lone district of Province of
Marinduque is no longer a matter of discretion or judgement since
Velasco is the proclaimed winning candidate. Reyes’s COC was
cancelled due to her ineligibility to run as representative, for without
a valid COC, Reyes could not be treated as a candidate in the election
and much less as a duly proclaimed winner. Her proclamation by the
PBOC on May 18, 2013 has no basis. Reyes has absolutely no legal
basis to serve as member of the HOR, and she has no legal personality
to be recognized as party-respondent at a quo warranto proceeding
before the HRET. Velasco is the rightful representative of the Lone
District of the Province of Marinduque; hence, entitled to a writ of
mandamus.
WHEREFORE, the petition for mandamus is GRANTED.
DOCTRINE/LEGAL BASIS: Electoral Tribunals. Section 17, Art. VI,
Philippine Constitution.

***HRET, however, promulgated a resolution on December 14. 2015

dismissing the twin quo warranto filed by Reyes. It ruled that the
constitutional mandate of the HRET is to be the sole judge of all
contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of the
member of the house; but its jurisdiction begins only after the
candidate is considered member of the HOR—which is met by the
following requisites: 1)valid proclamation 2)proper oath and 3)
assumption of office. Reyes’s proclamation was nullified by
COMELEC, as such, the Tribunal is without power to assume
jurisdiction over her petitions. She cannot be considered a member
of the HOR.