Admin Finals Flashcards
May premature campaigning be committed by a person who is not a candidate?
Yes. “[i]t shall be unlawful for any person, whether or not a voter or candidate, or for any party, or association of persons, to engage in an election campaign or partisan political activity, except during the campaign period.” Very simply, premature campaigning may be committed even by a person who is not a candidate.
A person, after filing his/her COC but prior to his/her becoming a candidate (thus, prior to the start of the campaign period), can already commit the acts described under Section 79(b)
Who is a candidate?
a person who files a certificate of candidacy is not a candidate until the start of the campaign period
Does condonation doctrine apply to appointive officials?
No. condonation doctrine would not apply to appointive officials since, as to them, there is no sovereign will to disenfranchise. Carpio-Morales vs. Court of Appeals (Sixth Division), 774 SCRA 431, G.R. Nos. 217126-27 November 10, 2015
Condonation Doctrine
The condonation doctrine means that offenses committed or acts done by a public officer prior to his present term of office are generally held not to furnish cause for his removal and disqualification from holding his present term of office for which he was elected because his re-election serves as a condonation of his previous misconduct. His re-election implies that when the people have re-elected him to office, there is an assumption that they did this with knowledge of his life and character, and that they disregarded or forgave his faults or misconduct, if he had been guilty of any.
Is the condonation doctrine still controlling?
The doctrine of condonation is actually bereft of legal bases.
the concept of public office is a public trust and the corollary requirement of accountability to the people at all times, as mandated under the 1987 Constitution, is inconsistent with the idea that an elective local official’s administrative liability for a misconduct committed during a prior term can be wiped off by the fact that he was elected to a second term of office, or even another elective post.
Election is not a mode of condoning an administrative offense, and there is no constitutional or statutory basis in our jurisdiction to support the notion that an official elected for a different term is fully absolved of any administrative liability arising from an offense done during a prior term.
Non-establishment clause
no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. This constitutional mandate is the non-establishment clause which calls for government neutrality in religious matters. It follows that governmental reliance on religious justification is inconsistent with this policy of neutrality.
Can Religion be a ground for disqualification of registration of a political party
No. moral disapproval, without more, is not a sufficient governmental interest to justify exclusion of homosexuals from participation in the party-list system. The denial of Ang Ladlad’s registration on purely moral grounds amounts more to a statement of dislike and disapproval of homosexuals, rather than a tool to further any substantial public interest. Respondent’s blanket justifications give rise to the inevitable conclusion that the COMELEC targets homosexuals themselves as a class, not because of any particular morally reprehensible act. It is this selective targeting that implicates our equal protection clause.
Ombudsman vs Spec Prosecutors
Powers
O: The Ombudsman is armed with the power to prosecute erring public officers and employees, giving him an active role in the enforcement of laws on anti-graft and corrupt practices and such other offenses that may be committed by such officers and employees.
SP: The Office of the Special Prosecutor shall, under the supervision and control and upon authority of the Ombudsman, have the following powers:
(a) To conduct preliminary investigation and prosecute criminal cases within the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan;
(b) To enter into plea bargaining agreements; and
(c) To perform such other duties assigned to it by the Ombudsman.
Functions:
The Ombudsman is mandated by law to act on all complaints against officers and employees of the government and to enforce their administrative, civil and criminal liability in every case where the evidence warrants.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor is merely a component of the Office of the Ombudsman and may only act under the supervision and control and upon authority of the Ombudsman.
Jurisdiction
The Ombudsman is clothed with authority to conduct preliminary investigation and to prosecute all criminal cases involving public officers and employees, not only those within the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan, but those within the jurisdiction of the regular courts as well.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor’s power to conduct preliminary investigation and to prosecute is limited to criminal cases within the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.
Grounds for Impeachment
Treason, Bribery, Graft and Corruption, Betrayal of Public Trust and Other High Crimes
QW vs EP
Distinction or issues involved
EP:
Purpose is to ascertain whether the candidate proclaimed elected by the board of canvassers is the true and lawful choice of the electorate
A contest between the defeated and winning candidates on the ground of frauds or irregularities in the casting and counting of the ballots, or in the preparation of returns.
Raises the question of who actually obtained the plurality of the legal votes and, therefore, entitle to hold office
Can only be filed by a candidate who has duly filed a COC and has been voted for in the preceding elections
Protestant vs. Protestee
barangay elections = filed in MTC by candidate who got the second or third position for PB
For tied positions (Kagawad, councilor) may be filed by candidates who garnered from the last position and count up to the fourth place
City level - filed w COMELEC
HoR - filed by any party who ran as Congressman within 4th place
Senate - any candidate who ran for senator
Period of filing:
Depends on the body
Senate, Pres DOUBLE CHECK THIS (30 days
QW
A SCA under the Omnibus Election Code
Raises in issue the disloyalty or ineligibility of the winning candidate
A proceeding to unseat the respondent from office but not necessarily to install the petitioner in his place
Any voter may initiate the action which is , strictly speaking, not a contest where the parties strive for supremacy because the petitioner will not be seated even if the respondent may be unseated
May be filed by any voter in the constiutency.
Filing period: May be filed beyond thirty or 15 day period if ground is citizenship or disqualification)
Citizenship has no reglementary period to file the case
10 days from the time of the occupation of the office
