Ongsiakoreyes V Comelec Case Digest 514e64

CONSTI (Group 12)

ONGSIAKO REYES vs. COMELEC October 22, 2013 G.R. No. 207264 PEREZ, J.: FACTS: During the 2013 elections, petitioner Regina Ongsiako Reyes was proclaimed the winner and took her oath of office for the position of Member of the House of Representatives (HoR) for the lone congressional district of Marinduque. However, prior to her proclamation, the COMELEC en banc, acting on a petition to cancel Reyes’ Certificate of Candidacy (CoC), ruled that petitioner does not possess Filipino citizenship and residency. Petitioner Reyes claims that it is the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) which has exclusive jurisdiction over her qualifications as a member of the HoR and COMELEC gravely abused its discretion when it took cognizance of the cancellation case against her. ISSUE: 1 W/N HRET has jurisdiction over her case. HELD: 1 NO. The HRET has no jurisdiction over her case as COMELEC has jurisdiction over the petitioner’s CoC, its due course or its cancellation, which determines who can be legally proclaimed. After a COMELEC en banc decision, no certificate cancellation can go to the HRET. The HRET’s constitutional authority is over the HoR . Petitioner is not a Member of the HoR as her proclamation has no effect due to the prior cancellation of her CoC by the COMELEC en banc. Notes: 1 Motion for Reconsideration is DENIED.