Santiago v. COMELEC

TOPICS: Initiative to the Constitution, Delegation of Power

FACTS:

Pursuant to Article XVII [2] of the 1987 Constitution , Atty. Jesus S. Delfin filed with the COMELEC a “Petition to Amend the Constitution, to Lift Term Limits of Elective Officials, by People’s Initiative.” As required under the COMELEC Resolution No. 2300, signature stations shall be established all over the country to reach the Constitutional threshold on the number of signatures to be gathered based on the conduct of People’s Initiative. 

Senator Santiago, among others, filed a special action for prohibition on the said petition based on the following arguments:

1. The constitutional provision on people's initiative to amend the Constitution can only be implemented by law to be passed by Congress. 

2. COMELEC Resolution No. 2300 was ultra vires insofar as initiative on amendments to the Constitution is concerned, since the COMELEC has no power to provide rules and regulations for the exercise of the right of initiative to amend the Constitution.

3. The people’s initiative is limited to amendments to the Constitution, not revision. 

ISSUE:

1. WON the Section 7, Article XVII of the Constitution is a self-executing provision.

2. WON the COMELEC has a jurisdiction over the Delfin Petition. 

The issue of whether the proposal to lift the term limits of elective national and local officials is an amendment to, and not a revision of, the Constitution is rendered unnecessary

RULING:

I.

No, the provision is not self-executory. The Congress shall provide for the implementation of the exercise of this right. 

RA 6735, which provides for the 3 systems of initiative, is incomplete as it failed to provide the details in implementing the initiative on amendments to the Constitution.

Consequently, having failed to satisfy the requirements of subordinate legislation, the delegation of the power to COMELEC is invalid. Therefore, COMELEC has no power in promulgating rules in the implementation of the amendment through people’s initiative.

II.

No, the COMELEC has no jurisdiction in entertaining the Delfin Petition.

The COMELEC acquires jurisdiction over a petition for initiative only after its filing. The petition then is the initiatory pleading. Since the Delfin Petition is not the initiatory petition under R.A. No. 6735 and COMELEC Resolution No. 2300, it cannot be entertained or given cognizance of by the COMELEC. More so that it is merely entered as undocketed.

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DISCUSSIONS:

Sec. 2. Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein. No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter.

There are three (3) systems of initiative per RA 6735, namely:

1. Initiative on the Constitution which refers to a petition proposing amendments to the Constitution (lacking in RA 6735);

2. Initiative on Statutes which refers to a petition proposing to enact a national legislation; and

3. Initiative on local legislation which refers to a petition proposing to enact a regional, provincial, city, municipal, or barangay law, resolution or ordinance.

The COMELEC rule is a delegation of legislative authority. It is valid only if the law:

1. is complete in itself, setting forth therein the policy to be executed, carried out, or implemented by the delegate; and (lacking in RA 6735);

2. fixes a standard — the limits of which are sufficiently determinate and determinable — to which the delegate must conform in the performance of his functions. A sufficient standard is one which defines legislative policy, marks its limits, maps out its boundaries and specifies the public agency to apply it. (lacking in RA 6735);

General Rule:  What has been delegated, cannot be delegated. Exception:

1. Delegation of tariff powers to the President under Section 28(2) of Article VI of the Constitution;

2. Delegation of emergency powers to the President under Section 23(2) of Article VI of the Constitution;

3. Delegation to the people at large;

4. Delegation to local governments; and

5. Delegation to administrative bodies (empowering the COMELEC, an administrative body, to promulgate rules is a form of delegation of legislative authority) 

The only participation of the COMELEC or its personnel before the filing of such petition are

1. to prescribe the form of the petition;

2. to issue through its Election Records and Statistics Office a certificate on the total number of registered voters in each legislative district;

3. to assist, through its election registrars, in the establishment of signature stations; and

4. to verify, through its election registrars, the signatures on the basis of the registry list of voters, voters' affidavits, and voters' identification cards used in the immediately preceding election