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Moreno v. COMELEC

1) Norma Mejes filed a petition to disqualify Urbano Moreno from running for Punong Barangay, arguing that he was convicted of arbitrary detention in 1998. Moreno argued that he was granted probation and his probation was terminated in 2000, restoring his civil rights. 2) The issue is whether Moreno is disqualified under the Local Government Code provision disqualifying those sentenced for an offense within two years, given that he was granted probation. 3) The Court ruled that Moreno was not disqualified as the grant of probation suspended the sentence and he did not serve the sentence. His termination from probation restored his civil rights, including the right to run for office.

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Francis Puno
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97 views3 pages

Moreno v. COMELEC

1) Norma Mejes filed a petition to disqualify Urbano Moreno from running for Punong Barangay, arguing that he was convicted of arbitrary detention in 1998. Moreno argued that he was granted probation and his probation was terminated in 2000, restoring his civil rights. 2) The issue is whether Moreno is disqualified under the Local Government Code provision disqualifying those sentenced for an offense within two years, given that he was granted probation. 3) The Court ruled that Moreno was not disqualified as the grant of probation suspended the sentence and he did not serve the sentence. His termination from probation restored his civil rights, including the right to run for office.

Uploaded by

Francis Puno
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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[G.R. NO.

168550 : August 10, 2006]

URBANO M. MORENO, Petitioner, v. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and


NORMA L. MEJES, CHICO-NAZARIO, Respondents.

Facts:

Norma L. Mejes (Mejes) filed a petition to disqualify Moreno from running for
Punong Barangay on the ground that the latter was convicted by final
judgment of the crime of Arbitrary Detention and was sentenced to suffer
imprisonment of Four (4) Months and One (1) Day to Two (2) Years and Four
(4) Months by the Regional Trial Court, Branch 28 of Catbalogan, Samar on
August 27, 1998.

Moreno filed an answer averring that the petition states no cause of action
because he was already granted probation. Allegedly, following the case
of Baclayon v. Mutia,  the imposition of the sentence of imprisonment, as well
as the accessory penalties, was thereby suspended. Moreno also argued that
under Sec. 16 of the Probation Law of 1976 (Probation Law), the final
discharge of the probation shall operate to restore to him all civil rights lost or
suspended as a result of his conviction and to fully discharge his liability for
any fine imposed. The order of the trial court dated December 18, 2000
allegedly terminated his probation and restored to him all the civil rights he
lost including the right to vote and be voted for in the July 15, 2002 elections.

After due proceedings, the Investigating Officer recommended that Moreno be


disqualified from running for Punong Barangay. The Comelec First Division
adopted this recommendation. Further, the Comelec en banc held that the
provisions of the Local Government Code take precedence over the case
of Baclayon v. Mutia cited by Moreno and the Probation Law because it is a
much later enactment and a special law setting forth the qualifications and
disqualifications of elective local officials.

In his petition, Moreno argues that the disqualification under the Local
Government Code applies only to those who have served their sentence and
not to probationers because the latter do not serve the adjudged sentence.
The Probation Law should allegedly be read as an exception to the Local
Government Code because it is a special law which applies only to
probationers. Further, even assuming that he is disqualified, his subsequent
election as Punong Barangay allegedly constitutes an implied pardon of his
previous misconduct.
Issue:

WON Moreno is disqualified as a candidate for puno barangay pursuant to


Sec. 40(a) of the Local Government Code which reads: .

Sec. 40. Disqualifications. - The following persons are disqualified from


running for any elective local position:

(a) Those sentenced by final judgment for an offense involving moral turpitude
or for an offense punishable by one (1) year or more of imprisonment,
within two (2) years after serving sentence; [Emphasis supplied.]

Held:

NO. In Baclayon v. Mutia, the Court declared that an order placing defendant


on probation is not a sentence but is rather, in effect, a suspension of the
imposition of sentence. The grant of probation to petitioner suspended the
imposition of the principal penalty of imprisonment, as well as the accessory
penalties of suspension from public office and from the right to follow a
profession or calling, and that of perpetual special disqualification from the
right of suffrage. We thus deleted from the order granting probation the
paragraph which required that petitioner refrain from continuing with her
teaching profession.

Applying this doctrine to the instant case, the accessory penalties of


suspension from public office, from the right to follow a profession or calling,
and that of perpetual special disqualification from the right of suffrage,
attendant to the penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision
correccional in its minimum period  imposed upon Moreno were similarly
suspended upon the grant of probation.

Clearly, the period within which a person is under probation cannot be


equated with service of the sentence adjudged. Sec. 4 of the Probation Law
specifically provides that the grant of probation suspends the execution of the
sentence. During the period of probation,  the probationer does not serve the
penalty imposed upon him by the court but is merely required to comply with
all the conditions prescribed in the probation order.

.
This is as good a time as any to clarify that those who have not served their
sentence by reason of the grant of probation which, we reiterate, should not
be equated with service of sentence, should not likewise be disqualified from
running for a local elective office because the two (2)-year period of ineligibility
under Sec. 40(a) of the Local Government Code does not even begin to run.

The fact that the trial court already issued an order finally discharging Moreno
fortifies his position. Sec. 16 of the Probation Law provides that "[t]he final
discharge of the probationer shall operate to restore to him all civil rights lost
or suspended as a result of his conviction and to fully discharge his liability for
any fine imposed as to the offense for which probation was granted." Thus,
when Moreno was finally discharged upon the court's finding that he has
fulfilled the terms and conditions of his probation, his case was deemed
terminated and all civil rights lost or suspended as a result of his conviction
were restored to him, including the right to run for public office.

In construing Sec. 40(a) of the Local Government Code in a way that


broadens the scope of the disqualification to include Moreno, the Comelec
committed an egregious error which we here correct. We rule that Moreno
was not disqualified to run for Punong Barangay of Barangay Cabugao,
Daram, Samar in the July 15, 2002 Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang
Kabataan Elections.

Finally, we note that Moreno was the incumbent Punong Barangay at the time
of his conviction of the crime of Arbitrary Detention. He claims to have
obtained a fresh mandate from the people of Barangay Cabugao, Daram,
Samar in the July 15, 2002 elections. This situation calls to mind the poignant
words of Mr. Justice now Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban in Frivaldo v.
Comelec 18 where he said that "it would be far better to err in favor of popular
sovereignty than to be right in complex but little understood legalisms."

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