Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila EN BANC A.M. No. 98-5-01-SC November 9, 1998 In Re Appointment !"te!

M"r#$ %0, 1998 o& 'on. M"teo A. (")en*+e)" "n! 'on. P)"#i!o ,. ("))"rt" " -+!.e o& t$e Re.ion") Tri") Co+rt o& ,r"n#$ /0, ,".o Cit1 "n! o& ,r"n#$ 02, C"b"n"n"t+"n Cit1, re pe#tive)1. NAR(ASA, C.J.: The question presented for resolution in the administrative matter at bar is whether, durin the period of the ban on appointments imposed b! "ection #$, Article %&& of the, Constitution, the President is nonetheless required to fill vacancies in the 'udiciar!, in view of "ections ()#* and + of Article %&&&, A corollar! question is whether he can ma-e appointments to the 'udiciar! durin the period of the ban in the interest of public service, Resolution of the issues is needful. it will preclude a recurrence of an! conflict in the matter of nominations and appointments to the /udiciar! 0 as that here involved 0 between the Chief E1ecutive, on the one hand, and on the other, the "upreme Court and the /uducial and Bar Council over which the Court e1ercises eneral supervision and wields specific powers includin the assi nment to it of other functions and duties in addition to its principal one of recommendin appointees to the /udiciar!, and the determination of its Members emoluments, 1 &, The Relevant Facts The Resolution of the Court En Banc, handed down on Ma! #(, #++2, sets out the relevant facts and is for that reason hereunder reproduced in full, Referred to the Court En Banc b! the Chief /ustice are the appointments si ned b! 3is E1cellenc! the President under date of March 45, #++2 of 3on, Mateo A, %alen6uela and 3on, Placido B, %allarta as /ud es of the Re ional Trial Court of Branch 78, Ba o Cit! and of Branch 8(, Cabanatuan Cit!, respectivel!, The appointments were received at the Chief /ustice9s chambers on Ma! #8, #++2, The referral was made in view of the serious constitutional issue concernin said appointments arisin from the pertinent antecedents, The issue was first ventilated at the meetin of the /udicial and Bar Council on March +, #++2, The meetin had been called, accordin to the Chief /ustice as Ex Officio Chairman, to discuss the question raised b! some sectors about the :constitutionalit! of 33 appointments: to the Court of Appeals, specificall!, in li ht of the forthcomin presidential elections, Attention was drawn to "ection #$, Article %&& of the Constitution readin as follows; "ec, #$, Two months immediatel! before the ne1t presidential elections and up to the end of his, term, a President or Actin President shall not ma-e appointments, e1cept temporar! appointments to e1ecutive positions when continued vacancies therein will pre'udice public service or endan er public safet!, <n the other hand, appointments to fill vacancies in the "upreme Court durin the period mentioned in the provision 'ust quoted could seemin l! be 'ustified b! another provision of the same Constitution "ection ( )#* of Article %&&& which states; "ec, ( )#* The "upreme Court shall be composed of a Chief /ustice and fourteen Associate /ustices, 33 33, An! vacanc! shall be filled within ninet! da!s from the occurrence thereof, Also pertinent althou h not specificall! discussed is "ection + of the same Article %&&& which provides that for the lower courts, the President shall issue the appointments 0 from a list of at least three nominees prepared b! the Council for ever! vacanc! 0 within ninet! da!s from the submission of the list, The view was then e1pressed b! "enior Associate /ustice =loren6 >, Re alado, Consultant of the Council, who had been a member of the Committee of the E1ecutive >epartment and of the Committee on the /udicial >epartment of the #+27 Constitutional Commission, that on the basis of the commission9s records, the election ban had no application to appointments to the Court of Appeals, ?ithout an! e1tended discussion or an! prior research and stud! on the part of the other Members of the /BC, this h!pothesis was accepted, and was then submitted to the President for consideration, to ether with the Council9s nominations for ei ht )2* vacancies in the Court of Appeals, <n April 7, #++2 the Chief /ustice received an official communication from the E1ecutive "ecretar! transmittin the appointments of ei ht )2* Associate /ustices of the Court of Appeals all of which had been dul! si ned on March ##, #++2 b! 3is E1cellenc! the President, &n view of the fact that all the appointments had been si n on March ##, #++2 0 the da! immediatel! before the commencement of the ban on appointments imposed b! "ection #$, Article %&& of the Constitution 0 who impliedl! but no less clearl! indicated that the President9s <ffice did not a ree with the h!pothesis that appointments to the /udiciar! were not covered b! said ban, the Chief /ustice resolved to defer consideration of nominations for the vacanc! in the "upreme Court created b! the retirement of Associate /ustice Ricardo /, =rancisco, speciall! considerin that the Court had scheduled sessions in Baquio Cit! in April, #++2, that the le islature9s

representatives to the /BC were occupied with the forthcomin elections, and that a member of the Council was oin on a trip out of the countr!, <n Ma! (, #++2, the Chief /ustice received a letter from the President, addressed to the /BC, requestin transmission of the :list of final nominees: for the vacanc! :no later than ?ednesda!, Ma! 7, #++2: in view of the dut! imposed on him b! the Constitution :to fill up the vacanc! 33 within ninet! )+5* da!s from =ebruar! #4, #++2, the date the present vacanc! occurred, <n Ma! $, #++2, "ecretar! of /ustice "ilvestre Bello &&& requested the Chief /ustice for : uidance: respectin the e1pressed desire of the :re ular members: of the /BC to hold a meetin immediatel! to fill up the vacanc! in the Court in line with the President9s letter of Ma! (, The Chief /ustice advised "ecretar! Bello to await the repl! that he was draftin to the President9s communication, a cop! of which he would ive the "ecreatar! the followin da!, <n Ma! 7, #++2 the Chief /ustice sent his repl! to the President, 3e be an b! statin that no sessions had been scheduled for the Council until after the Ma! elections for the reason that apparentl! the President9s <ffice did not share the view posited b! the /BC that "ection #$, Article %&& of the Constitution had no application to /BC@recommendend appointments 0 the appointments to the Court of Appeals havin been all uniforml! dated March ##, #++2, before the commencement of the prohibition in said provision 0 thus ivin rise to the :need to underta-e further stud! of the matter,: prescindin from :the@desire to avoid an! constitutional isssue re ardin the appointment to the mentioned vacanc!: and the further fact that :certain senior members of the Court of Appeals 33 )had* as-ed the Council to reopen the question of their e1clusion on account of a e from such )final* list,: 3e closed with the assurance that the /BC e1pected to deliberate on the nominations :forthwith upon the completion of the comin elections,: The letter was delivered to MalacaAan at about $ o9cloc- in the afternoon of Ma! 7, #++2 and a cop! iven to the <ffice of /ustice "ecretar! Bello shortl! before that hour, &t would appear, however, that the /ustice "ecretar! and the re ular members of the Council had alread! ta-en action without awaitin the Chief /ustice9s promised response to the President9s letter of Ma! (, #++2, <n that da!, Ma! 7, #++2, the! met at some undisclosed place, deliberated, and came to an a reement on a resolution which the! caused to be reduced to writin and thereafter si ned, &n that two@pa e Resolution the! drew attention to "ection ( )#*, Article %&&& of the Constitution )omittin an! mention of "ection #$, Article %&&* as well as to the President9s letter of Ma! ( in which he :emphaticall! requested that the required list of final nominees be submitted to him.: and pointin out that the :Council would be remiss in its duties: should it fail to submit said nominations, closed with an appeal that the Chief /ustice convene the Council for the purpose :on Ma! B, #++2, at 8;55 o9cloc- in the afternoon,: This Resolution the! transmitted to the Chief /ustice to ether with their letter, also dated Ma! 7, in which the! emphasi6ed that :we are pressed for time: a ain drawin attention to "ection ( )#*, Article %&&& of the Constitution )and a ain omittin an! reference to "ection #$, Article %&&*, The! ended their letter with the followin intri uin para raph; "hould the Chief /ustice be not disposed to call for the meetin aforesaid, the undersi ned members constitutin the ma'orit! will be constrained to convene the Council for the purpose of compl!in with its Constitutional mandate; &t seems evident, as 'ust intimated, that the resolution and the coverin letter were deliberated on, prepared and si ned hours before deliver! of the Chief /ustice9s letter to the President and the /ustice "ecretar!, "ince the Members of the Council appeared determined to hold a meetin re ardless of the Chief /ustice9s wishes, the latter convo-ed the Council to a meetin at 4 o9cloc- in the afternoon of Ma! B, #++2, Present at the meetin were the Chief /ustice, "ecretar! Bello, ex officio member and the re ular members of the Council; /ustice Re ino 3ermosisima, Att!, Teresita Cru6 "ison, /ud e Cesar C, Perale'o, Also present, on invitation of the Chief /ustice, were /ustices 3ilario C, >avide, /r,, =lerida Ruth P, Romero, /osue N, Bellosillo, Re!nato ", Puno, /ose C, %itu , %icente %, Mendo6a, Artemio %, Pan aniban, Antonio M, Martine6, Deonardo A, Euisumbin and =idel P, Purisima, The Chief /ustice reviewed the events leadin to the session, and after discussion, the bod! a reed to ive the President time to answer the Chief /ustice9s letter of Ma! 7, #++2, <n Ma! B, #++2, the Chief /ustice received a letter from his E1cellenc! the President in repl! to his letter of Ma! 7 )which the President said had been :received earl! this mornin :*, The President e1pressed the view that :the election@ban provision )Article %&&, "ec, #$* 33 applies onl! to executive appointments or appointments in the e1ecutive branch of overnment,: the whole article bein :entitled 9EFECGT&%E >EPARTMENT,:9 3e also observed that further proof of his theor! :is the fact that appointments to the 'udiciar! have special, specific provisions applicable to them: ) citing Article %&&&, "ec, ( )#* and Article %&&&, "ection +, &n view thereof, he :firml! and respectfull! reiterate)d* 33 )his* request for the /udicial and Bar Council to transmit 33 the final list of nominees for the lone "upreme Court vacanc!,: The Chief /ustice replied to the letter the followin da!, Ma! 2, #++2, "ince the Chief /ustice9s letter e1plains the issue quite, plainl!, it is here quoted in full, Than- !ou for !our letter of Ma! B, #++2, respondin to m! own communication of Ma! 7, #++2 which, & would li-e to sa! reflects the collective sentiments of m! collea ues in the "upreme Court, Hnowin how bus! !ou are, & will deal strai htawa! with the points set out in !our letter,

The datin of the latest appointments to the Court of Appeals was adverted to merel! to e1plain how we in the Court and the /BC came to have the impression that !ou did not share the view e1pressed in the /BC minutes of March +, #++2 that there is no election ban with re ard to the /BC appointments, Be this as it ma!, the Court feels that there is a serious question concernin the matter in li ht of the seemin l! inconsistent provision of the Constitution, The first of these is "ection #$, Article %&&, which reads; "ec, #$, Two months immediatel! before the ne1t presidential elections and up to the end of his term, a President or Actin President shall not ma-e appointments, e1cept temporar! appointments to e1ecutive positions when continued vacancies therein will pre'udice public service or endan er public safet!, The second is "ection ( )#* of Article %&&& which states; "ec, ( )#* The "upreme Court shall be composed of a Chief /ustice and fourteen Associate /ustices, 33 33 An! vacanc! shall be filled within ninet! da!s from the occurrence thereof, As !ou can see, Iour E1cellenc!, "ection #$ of Article %&& imposes a direct prohibition on the President; he :shall not ma-e appointments: within the period mentioned, and since there is no specification of which appointments are proscribed, the same ma! be considered as appl!in to all appointments of an! -ind and nature, This is the eneral rule then, the onl! e1ception bein onl! as re ards :e1ecutive positions: as to which :temporar! appointments ma! be made within the interdicted period :when continued vacancies therein will pre'udice public service or endan er public safet!,: As the e1ception ma-es reference onl! to :e1ecutive: positions, it would seem that :'udicial: positions are covered b! the eneral rule, <n the other hand, "ection ( )#* of Article %&&&, requires that an! vacanc! in the "upreme Court :shall be filled within ninet! da!s from the occurrence thereof,: Gnli-e "ection #$ Article %&&, the dut! of fillin the vacanc! is not specificall! imposed on the President. hence, it ma! be inferred that it is a dut! shared b! the /udicial and Bar Council and the President, Now, in view of the eneral prohibition in the first@quoted provision, how is the requirement of fillin in the Court within ninet! da!s to be construedJ <ne interpretation that immediatel! su ests itself is that "ection ( )#*, Article %&&& is a eneral provision while "ection #$, Article %&& is a particular one. that is to sa!, normall!, when there are no presidential elections 0 which after all, occur onl! ever! si1 !ears 0 "ection ( )#*, Article %&&& shall appl!; vacancies in the "upreme Court shall be filled within +5 da!s. but when )as now* there are presidential elections, the prohibition in "ection #$, Article %&& comes into pla!; the President shall not ma-e an! appointments, The reason for said prohibition, accordin to =r, /, Bernas, ",/,, an authorit! on Constitutional Daw and himself a member of the Constitutional Commission, is :)i*n order not to tie the hands of the incomin President throu h midni ht appointments,: Another interpretation is that put forth in the Minutes of the /BC meetin of March +, #++2, & must emphasi6e that the validit! of an! appointment to the "upreme Court at this time hin es on the correct interpretation of the fore oin sections of the Constitution, <n account of the importance of the question, & consulted the Court about it but, as & stated in m! letter of Ma! 7, #++2, :it declined to ta-e an! position, since obviousl! there had not been enou h time to delivarate on the same 33 )althou h it* did a ree that further stud! wass necessar! 33, "ince the question has actuall! come up, and its importance cannot be ainsaid, and it is the Court that is empowered under the Constitution to ma-e an authoritative interpretation of its )provisions* or of those of an! other law, & believe that the Court ma! now perhaps consider the issue ripe for determination and come to rips with it, to avoid an! possible polemics concernin the matter, 3owever the Court resolves the issue, no serious pre'udice will be done, "hould the Court rule that the President is indeed prohibited to ma-e appointments in a presidential election !ear, then an! appointment Attempted within the proscribed period would be void an!wa!, &f the Court should ad'ud e that the ban has no application to appointments to the "upreme Court, the /BC ma! submit nominations and the President ma! ma-e the appointment forthwith upon such ad'ud ment, The matter is a delicate one, quite obviousl!, and must thus be dealt with with utmost circumspection, to avoid an! question re ardin the validit! of an appointment to the Court at this time, or an! accusation of :midni ht: appointments or rash hast! action on the part of the /BC or the President &n view thereof, and upon the advice and consent of the Members of the Court, & am requestin the re ular Members of the /udicial Bar Council to defer action on the matter until further device b! the Court, & earnestl! ma-e the same request of !ou, Iour E1cellenc!, & assure !ou, however that as befits a matter in which the Chief E1ecutive has evinced much interest, m! collea ues and & will ive it preferential and e1peditious attention and consideration, To this end, & intend to convene the Court b! ne1t wee-, at the latest, <n Ma! 2, #++2, a ain on the insistence of the re ular Members of the /BC, another meetin was held at which were present the Chief /ustice, the "ecretar! of /ustice and the three re ular, Members above mentioned, as well as /ustices 3ilario C, >avide, /r,, =lerida Ruth P, Romero, /osue N, Bellosillo, Re!nato ", Puno, /ose C, %itu , "antia o M, Hapunan, %icente %, Mendo6a, Artemio %, Pan aniban, Antonio M, Martine6, Deonardo A, Euisumbin and =idel P, Purisima, The meetin closed with a resolution that :the constitutional provisions 33 )in question* be referred to the

"upreme Court En Banc for appropriate action, to ether with the request that the "upreme Court consider that the ninet!@ da! period stated in "ection ( )#*, Article %&&& be suspended or interrupted in view of the peculiar circumstances, 33, <n Ma! #8, #++2, the Chief /ustice received from MalacaAan the appointments of two )8* /ud es of the Re ional Trial Court mentioned above, This places on the Chief /ustice the obli ation of actin thereon; i,e,, transmittin the appointments to the appointees so that the! mi ht ta-e their oaths and assume the duties of their office, The trouble is that in doin so, the Chief /ustice runs the ris- of actin in a manner inconsistent with the Constitution, for these appointments appear prima facie, at least, to be e1pressl! prohibited b! "ection #$, Article %&& of the Charter, This circumstance, and the referral of the constitutional question to the Court in virtue of the Resolution of Ma! 2, #++2, supra operate to raise a 'usticiable issue before the Court, an issue of sufficient importance to warrant consideration and ad'udication on the merits, Accordin l!, the Court Resolved to )#* C<N"&>ER the case at bar an administrative matter and cause it to be appropriatel! doc-eted; )8* to >&RECT the Cler- of Court to immediatel! serve copies of this Resolution on )a* the <ffice of the President, )b* the <ffice of the "olicitor Ceneral, )c* 3on, Mateo A, %alen6uela, and )d* 3on, Placido B, %allarta )at their addresses recorded in the /udicial and Bar Council*. and )4* to REEG&RE the <ffice of the President, the <ffice of the "olicitor Ceneral, 3on, Mateo A, %alen6uela, and 3on, Placido B, %allarta to file their comments on this Resolution within fifteen )#$* da!s from notice thereof, The Court further Resolved that )#* pendin the fore oin proceedin s and the deliberation b! the Court on the matter, and until further orders, no action be ta-en on the appointments of 3on, %alen6uela and 3on, %allarta which in the meantime shall be held in abe!ance and not iven an! effect and said appointees shall refrain from ta-in their oath of office. and that )8* e1ercisin its power of supervision over the /udicial and Bar Council, said Council and its ex officio and re ular Members herein mentioned be &N"TRGCTE>, as the! are herb! &N"TRGCTE>, to defer all action on the matter of nominations to fill up the lone vacanc! in the "upreme Court or an! other vacanc! until further orders, "< <R>ERE>, && The Relevant Pleadings &n compliance with the fore oin Resolution, the followin pleadin s and other documents were filed. to wit; #* the manifestation dated Ma! 82, #++2 of 3on, Mateo A,%alen6uela in compliance with the Resolution of Ma! #(, #++2. 8* the letter dated /une #, #++2 of 3on, Placido B, %allarta in compliance with the same Resolution. 4* the :Comments: of 3on, %alen6uela dated Ma! 8$, #++2. (* his :Addendum to Comments: dated /une 2, #++2. $* his :E1planation: dated /une 2, #++2. 7* the letter of 3on, %allarta dated /une 2, #++2. B* his letter dated /une #7, #++2. 2* the :E1planation: of 3on,%alen6uela dated /ul! #B, #++2; and +* the :Comment: of the <ffice of the "olicitor Ceneral dated Au ust $, #++2, A, Valenzuela's Assumption of ut! as "udge on #a! $%& $''( &n his Manifestation dated Ma! 82, #++2, /ud e %alen6uela alle ed inter alia ; 33 that on Ma! #(, #++2, he too- his <ath of <ffice as /ud e, RTC Branch 78, Ba o Cit!, before 3on, Anastacio C, Rufon, /ud e RTC, Branch $8, Bacolod Cit!, pursuant to the Appointment dated March 45, #++2, )and* he also, reported for dut! as such before said RTC Branch 78, Ba o Cit! 33 )and that he did so* :faultlessK!,: 33 without -nowled e of the on@ oin deliberations on the matter, At that time, the ori inals of the appointments of Messrs, %alen6uela and %allarta, dated March 45, #++2 0 addressed to them :Thru; the Chief /ustice, "upreme Court of the Philippines, Manila, and which had been sent to and received b! the Chief /ustice on Ma! #8, #++2 0 0 were still in the latter9s <ffice, and had not been transmitted to them precisel! because of the serious issue concernin the validil! of their appointments, &ndeed, one of the directives in the Resolution of Ma! #(, #++2 was that :pendin 33 deliberatibn b! the Court on the matter, and until further orders, no action be ta-en on the appointments 33 which in the meantime shall be held in abe!ance and not iven an! effect 33,: =or this reason, b! Resolution dated /une 84, #++2, the Court required %alen6uela to EFPDA&N b! what authorit! he had ta-en his oath on Ma! #(, #++2 as /ud e of Branch 78 of the RTC at Ba o Cit!, &n his :E1planation: dated /ul! #B, #++2, %alen6uela stated that he did so because on Ma! B, #++2 he :received from MalacaAan cop! of his appointment 33: which contained the followin direction; :B! virtue hereof, !ou ma! qualif! and enter upon the performance of the duties of the office 33,: The Court then deliberated on the pleadin s and documents above mentioned, in relation to the facts and circumstances on record and thereafter Resolved to promul ate the followin opinion, &&&, The Relevant )onstitutional Provisions The provisons of the Constitution material to the inquir! at bar read as follows; %

"ec, #$, Article %&&; T*o months immediatel! +efore the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term& a President or Acting President shall not ma,e appointments& e1cept temporar! appointments to e1ecutive positions when continued vacancies therein will pre'udice public service or endan er public safet!, "ec, ( )#*, Article %&&& ; The "upreme Court shall be composed of a Chief /ustice and fourteen Associate /ustices, &t ma! sit en +anc or in its discretion, in divisions of three, five, or seven Members, An! vacanc! shall +e filled *ithin ninet! da!s from the occurrence thereof"ec, +, Article %&&& ; The members of the "upreme Court and 'ud es in lower courts shall be appointed b! the President from a list of at least three nominees prepared b! the /udicial and Bar Council for, ever! vacanc!, "uch appointments need no confirmation, For the lo*er courts& the President shall issue the appointments *ithin ninet! da!s from the su+mission of the list , &%, The )ourt's Vie* The Court9s view is that durin the period stated in "ection #$, Article %&& of the Constitution 0 :)t*wo months immediate! before the ne1t presidential elections and up to the end his term: 0 the President is neither required to ma-e appointments to the courts nor allowed to do so. and that "ections ()#* and + of Article %&&& simpl! mean that the President is required to fill vacancies in the courts within the time frames provided therein unless prohibited b! "ection #$ of Article %&&, &t is not noteworth! that the prohibition on appointments comes into effect onl! once ever! si1 !ears, % .ntent of the )onstitutional )ommission The 'ournal of the Commission which drew up the present Constitution discloses that the ori inal proposal was to have an eleven@member "upreme Court, Commissioner Eulo io Derum wanted to increase the number of /ustices to fifteen, 3e also wished to ensure that that number would not be reduced for an! appreciable len th of time )even onl! temporaril!*, and to this end proposed that an! vacanc!, :must be filled within two months from the date that the vacanc! occurs,: 3is proposal to have a #$@member Court was not initiall! adopted, Persistin however in his desire to ma-e certain that the si6e of the Court would not be decreased for an! substantial period as a result of vacancies, Derum proposed the insertion in the provision )anent the Court9s membership* of the same mandate that :&N CA"E <= ANI %ACANCI, T3E "AME "3ADD BE =&DDE> ?&T3&N T?< M<NT3" =R<M <CCGRRENCE T3ERE<=,: 3e later a reed to su estions to ma-e the period three, instead of two, months, As thus amended, the proposal was approved, 2 As it turned out. however, the Commission ultimatel! a reed on a fifteen@member Court, 5 Thus it was that the section fi1in the composition of the "upreme Court came to include a command to fill up an! vacanc! therein within +5 da!s from its occurrence, &n this connection, it ma! be pointed out that that instruction that an! :vacan! shall be filled within ninet! da!s: )in the last sentence of "ection ( )#* of Article %&&&* contrasts with the prohibition "ection #$, Article %&&, which is couched in stron er ne ative lan ua e 0 that :a President or Actin President shall not ma-e appointments, , ,: The Commission later approved a proposal of Commissioner 3ilario C, >avide, /r, )now a Member of this Court* to add to what is now "ection + of Article %&&&, the followin para raph; ?&T3 RE"PECT T< D<?ER C<GRT", T3E PRE"&>ENT "3ADD &""GE T3E APP<&NTMENT ?&T3&N N&NETI >AI" =R<M T3E "GBM&""&<N <= T3E D&"T: )of nominees b! the /udicial and Bar Council to the President*, / >avide stated that his purpose was to provide a :uniform rule: for lower courts, Accordin to him, the +5@da! period should be counted from submission of the list of nominees to the President in view of the possibilit! that the President mi ht re'ect the list submitted to him and the /BC thus need more time to submit a new one, 4 <n the other hand, "ection #$, Article %&& 0 which in effect deprives the President of his appointin power :two months immediatel! before the ne1t presidential elections up to the end of his term: 0 was approved without discussion, %&, Anal!sis of Provisions Now, it appears that "ection #$, Article %& is directed a ainst two t!pes of appointments; )#* those made for bu!in votes and )8* those made for partisan considerations, The first refers to those appointments made within the two months precedin a Presidential election and are similar to those which are declared elections offenses in the <mnibus Election Code, viz,; 8 "ec, 87#, Prohibited Acts, 0 The followin shall be uilt! of an election offense; )a* %ote@bu!in and vote@sellin , 0 )#* An! person who ives, offer or promises mone! or an!thin of value gives or promises an! office or emplo!ment, franchise or rant, public or private, or ma-es or offers to ma-e an e1penditure, directl! or indirectl!, or cause an e1penditure to be made to an! person, association, corporation, entit!, or communit! in order to induce an!one or the pu+lic in general to vote for or against an! candidate or *ithhold his vote in the election , or to vote for or a ainst an! aspirant for the nomination or choice of a candidate in a convention or similar selection process of a political part!, 111 111 111

) * Appointment of new emplo!ees, creation of new position, promotion, or ivin salar! increases, 0 >urin the period of fort!@five da!s before a re ular election and thirt! da!s before a re ular election and thirt! da!s before a special election, )#* an! head, official or appointin officer of a overnment office, a enc! or instrumentalit!, whether national or local, includin overnment@owned or controlled corporations, *ho appoints or hires an! ne* emplo!ee, whether provisional, temporar!, or casual, or creates and fills an! new position, e1cept upon prior authorit! of the Commission, The Commission shall not rant the authorit! sou ht unless, it is satisfied that the position to be filled is essential to the proper functionin of the office or a enc! concerned, and that the position shall not be filled in a manner that ma! influence the election, The second t!pe of appointments prohibited b! "ection #$, Article %&& consist of the so@called :midni ht: appointments, &n A!tona v- )astillo, 9 it was held that after the proclamation of >iosdado Macapa al as dul! elected President, President Carlos P, Carcia, who was defeated in his bid for reelection, became no more than a :careta-er: administrator whose dut! was to :prepare for the transfer of authorit! to the incomin President,: "aid the Court; The fillin up of vacancies in important positions, if few, and so spaced as to afford some assurance of deliberate action and careful consideration of the need for the appointment and the appointee9s qualifications ma! undoubtedl! be permitted, But the issuance of 4$5 appointments in one ni ht and the planned induction of almost all of them a few hours before the inau uration of the new President ma!, with some reason, be re arded b! the latter as an abuse of Presidential prero atives, the steps ta-en bein apparentl! a mere partisan effort to fill all vacant positions irrespective of fitness and other conditions, and thereb! to deprive the new administration of an opportunit! to ma-e the correspondin appointments, As indicated, the Court reco ni6ed that there ma! well be appointments to important positions which have to be made even after the proclamations of a new President, "uch appointments, so lon as the! are :few and so spaced as to afford some assurance of deliberate action and careful consideration of the need for the appointment and the appointee9s qualifications,: 10 can be made b! the out oin President, Accordin l!, several appointments made b! President Carcia, which were shown to have been well considered, were upheld, 11 "ec, #$, Article %&& has a broader scope than the A!tona rulin , &t ma! not unreasonabl! be deemed to contemplate not onl! :midni ht: appointments 0 those made obviousl! for partisan reasons as shown b! their number and the time of their ma-in 0 but also appointments of the Presidential election, <n the other hand, the e1ception in the same "ection #$ of Article %&& 0 allowin appointments to be made durin the period of the ban therein provided 0 is much narrower than that reco ni6ed in A!tona, The e1ception allows onl! the ma-in of temporar! appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies will pre/udice pu+lic service or endanger pu+lic safet!, <bviousl!, the article reatl! restricts the appointin power of the President durin the period of the ban, Considerin the respectives reasons for the time frames for fillin vacancies in the courts and the restriction on the President9s power of appointments, it is this Court9s view that, as a eneral proposition, in case of conflict, the former should !ield to the latter, "urel!, the prevention of vote@bu!in and similar evils outwei hs the need for avoidin dela!s in fillin up of court vacancies or the disposition of some cases, Temporar! vacancies can abide the period of the ban which, incidentall! and as earlier pointed out, comes to e1ist onl! once in ever! si1 !ears, Moreover, those occurrin in the lower courts can be filled temporaril! b! desi nation, But prohibited appointments are lon @lastin and permanent in their effects, The! ma!, as earlier pointed out, their ma-in is considered an election offense, To the contention that ma! perhaps be asserted, that "ections ( )#* and + of Article %&&& should prevail over "ection #$ of Article %&&, because the! ma! be considered later e1pressions of the people when the! adopted the Constitution, it suffices to point out that the Constitution must be construed in its entirel! as one, sin le instrument, To be sure, instances ma! be conceived of the imperative need for an appointment, durin the period of the ban, not onl! in the e1ecutive but also in the "upreme Court, This ma! be the case should the membership of the Court be so reduced that it will have no quorum, or should the votin on a particularl! important question requirin e1peditious resolution be evenl! divided, "uch a case, however, is covered b! neither "ection #$ of Article %&& nor "ections ( )#* and + of Article %&&&, 10 %&&, A 0ast 1ord A final word, concernin %alen6uela9s oath@ta-in and :reportin for dut!: as Presidin /ud e of RTC Branch 78, Ba o Cit!, on Ma! #(, #++2, 1% "tandin practice is for the ori inals of all apointments to the /udiciar! 0 from the hi hest to the lowest court 0 to be sent b! the <ffice of the President to the <ffice of the Chief /ustice, the appointments bein addressed to the appointee9s :Thru; the Chief /ustice, "upreme Court Manila,: &t is the Cler- of Court of the "upreme Court in the Chief /ustice9s behalf, who thereafter advises the individual appointee9s of their appointments and also of the date of commencement of the pre@requisite orientation seminar to be conducted b! the Philippine /udicial Academ! for new /ud es, The rationale of this procedure is salutar! and readil! precieved, The procedure ensures the authenticit! of the appointments, enables the Court, particularl! the <ffice of the Court Administrator, to enter in the appropriate records

all appointments to the /udiciar! as well as other relevant data such as the dates of qualification, the completion b! the appointee9s of their pre@requisite orientation seminars, their assumption of dut!, etc, The procedure also precludes the possibilit!, however remote of /ud es actin on spurious or otherwise defective appointments, &t is obviousl! not advisable, to sa! the least, for a /ud e to ta-e his oath of office and enter upon the performance of his duties on the basis alone of a document purportin to be a cop! of his appointment comin from MalacaAan , the authenticit! of which has not been verified from the latter or the <ffice of the Court Administrator. or otherwise to be in performin his duties as /ud e without the Court Administrator -nowin of that fact, The undesirabilit! of such a situation is illustrated b! the case of /ud e %alen6uela who acted, with no little impatience or rashness, on a mere cop! of his supposed appointment without havin received an! formal notice from this Court and without verif!in the authenticit! of the appointment or the propriet! of ta-in oath on the basis thereof, 3ad he bothered to inquire about his appointment from the Court Administrator9s <ffice, he would havebeen informed of the question concernin it and the Court9s in'unction, %&&&, )onclusion The appointments of Messrs, %alen6uela and %allarta on March 45, #++2 )transmitted to the <ffice of the Chief /ustice on Ma! #(, ++2* were unquestionabl! made durin the period of the ban, Consequentl!, the! come within the operation of the first prohibition relatin to appointments which are considered to be for the purpose of bu!in votes or influencin the election, ?hile the fillin of vacancies in the 'udiciar! is undoubtedl! in the public interest, there is no showin in this case of an! compellin reason to 'ustif! the ma-in of the appointments durin the period of the ban, <n the other hand, as alread! discussed, there is a stron public polic! for the prohibition a ainst appointments made within the period of the ban, &n view of the fore oin considerations, the Court Resolved to >ECDARE %<&> the appointments si ned b! 3is E1cellenc! the President under date of March 45, #++2 of 3on, Mateo A, %alen6uela and 3on, Placido B, %allarta as /ud es of the Re ional Trial Court of Branch 78, Ba o Cit! and of Branch 8(, Cabanatuan Cit!, respectivel! and to order them, forthwith on bein served with notice of this decision, to forthwith CEA"E AN> >E"&"T from dischar in the office of /ud e of the Courts to which the! were respectivel! appointed on March 45, #++2, This without pre'udice to their bein considered anew b! the /udicial and Bar Council for re@nomination to the same positons, &T &" "< <R>ERE>, avide& "r-& Romero& Bellosillo& #elo& Puno& Vitug& 2apunan& #endoza Pangani+an& 3uisum+ing& Purisima and Pardo& ""-& concur#endoza& "-& is on leave5ootnote # "ection 2, Article %&&&, Constitution, 8 N,B, The letter of the /BC dated March 4, #++2, containin the nominations of /ud e %alen6uela and two )8* others to RTC Branch 78, Ba o Cit!, to ether with nominations of other persons to four )(* other courts, was received b! the <ffice of the President on March 85, #++2, The /BC9s nominations of /ud e %allarta and three others to RTC Branch 8(, Cabanatuan Cit!, and of others to MeTC Branch $7, Malabon, are contained in its letter dated =ebruar! 8(, #++2, also received on March 85, #++2 at MalacaAan , <f those thus nominated, onl! Messrs, %alen6uela and %allarta were appointed b! the President, 4 Emphasis supplied, ( REC<R> <= T3E C<N"T&TGT&<NAD C<MM&""&<N )hereafter cited as REC<R>* pp, (B+@(28 )"ession of /ul! #(, #+27*, $ REC<R>, pp, 748@74( )"ession of <ct, 2, #+27*, 7 # REC<R>, pp, (2+@(+5 )"ession of /ul! #(, #+27*, B .d, at p, (($, 2 Emphasis supplied, + ##( Phil, vii )#+78*, #5 .d at 1@1i, ## 4ee Merrera v, Diwa , #2 Phil, #542 )#+74*. /or e v, Ma!or, ##+ Phil, $+$ )#+7(*. Euimsin v, Ta'an lan it, ##+ Phil, B8+ )#+7(*, #8 4ee "ec, +, second para raph, of R,A, No, 8+7 )The /udiciar! Act of #+(2*, in relation to "EC, (B of B,P, No, #8+ )The /udiciar! Reor ani6ation Act of #+25*; cf5 Rilloran6a v, %ar as, 25 Phil, 8+B )#+(2*, #4 4ee footnote 8, supra, The Dawphil Pro'ect @ Arellano Daw =oundation