LABO DOCTRINE IS BACK!

June 28, 2025 Opinion

Who would ever forget Ramon “Jun” Lozano Labo Jr., who must be over 91 years old now. He is the famed Filipino faith healer and a politician who was elected mayor of Baguio City twice in 1988 and 1992 but was disqualified due to being regarded as an Australian citizen under Philippine jurisdiction at the time. Labo won against former Mayor and Comelec Commissioner Luis L. Lardizabal and in the second run against former Councilor Bobby “Bungo” Ortega, who both filed the DQ cases. As to succession, the doctrine says Lardizabal and thereafter Ortega who were then second placers were not voted upon by the people so the Vice Mayor succeeds, thus Domogan had his luckiest break in his career.

The Labo doctrine was based in a 1912 Topacio case vs. Paredes. In 2013, it was Maquiling vs. COMELEC where the Supreme Court held that the Second Placer received the mandate of the people because he is the one who obtained the most number of “valid votes” since the votes received by the “No. 1” placer are all “stray votes”. Today, through Ilocano Justice Sammy Gaerlan, who I heard is being considered Ombudsman when the other Sammy (Martires) retires on July 26, the Supreme Court reverted to the Labo Doctrine based on the “premise” that the Second Placer did not receive the mandate of the people.

It held that there is no legal basis for proclaiming the second placer in elections when the winning local elective official is disqualified or ineligible; instead, the rules on succession in cases of permanent vacancy as stipulated in the Local Government Code shall be applied. In a 37-page ruling, the SC en banc upheld the resolution of the Comelec cancelling the certificate of candidacy of Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu as Sultan Kudarat Governor for not meeting the residency requirement. The COMELEC First Division ruled to cancel Pax Ali’s COC as it held that he failed to comply with the necessary requisites for a valid transfer of residence back to his domicile of origin in Purok Garden, Barangay Tamnag, Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat.

The same was affirmed by the COMELEC En Banc, prompting him to elevate the case before the Supreme Court who held that Pax Ali committed material misrepresentation for filing his COC as a governor of Sultan Kudarat when he knew in the first place that he could not be a resident of Sultan Kudarat, as he was the incumbent mayor of DAS, Maguindanao. As a consequence of the cancellation of Pax Alis”s COC, the SC said this case is an opportune time to visit and abandon the second-placer rule, which has no basis in law and is inconsistent with the very essence of republicanism. The court ruled that Pax Ali cannot be considered a candidate in the May 9, 2022 elections and the votes cast for him should not be counted and must be considered stray votes.

It noted that the duly elected Vice-Governor of Sultan Kudarat in the elections will be declared the Governor by virtue of the rule of succession as provided under the Local Government Code. It added that the second-placer cannot be proclaimed as winner in lieu of the disqualified first-placer regardless of the nature of proceedings, whether disqualification, denial or cancellation of a certificate of candidacy, or quo warranto. “The second-place rule undermines the people’s choice in every election and is repugnant to the people’s constitutional right to suffrage. The court cannot impose upon the electorate to accept as their representative the candidate whom they did not choose in the elections,” the SC said.

It also cited cases in which making a distinction between the effect of a denial/ cancellation of a COC and the other remedies only resulted in conflicting decisions. “In fine, the Court hereby abandons the second-placer rule and declares that the rules on succession under the LGC shall apply in all cases where a permanent vacancy results from a local elective official’s disqualification from office regardless of the proceedings involved,” the SC added. The court also explained that Republic Act 6646, or the Electoral Reforms Law of 1987, covers two situations: the first is when the disqualification becomes final before the elections, and the second is when the disqualification becomes final after the elections. | As to the first situation, which is applicable in this case, the disqualified candidate cannot be voted for, and the votes for the candidate are considered stray.

It cited an exception: in cases involving congressional or senatorial candidates with unresolved disqualification or COC denial/ cancellation cases after the elections because, in their case, the Comelec loses jurisdiction over unfinished cases to the electoral tribunals after the candidates take their oath of office. Meanwhile, the second situation applies when the proceedings concerning the disqualification petition shall continue even after the election and proclamation of the winner, and the candidate may be voted for. The SC noted that RA 6646 is silent about the treatment and status of the votes cast in favor of the candidate whose disqualification or denial/ cancellation of COC became final only after the elections.

In revisiting its earlier jurisprudence, the court laid down divergent results about how to fill the vacancy caused by their removal from office: The first group applies the rule of succession under the Local Government Code with respect to vacancies in the offices of the governor, vice-governor, mayor, and vice-mayor. On the other hand, the second group, which is the prevailing jurisprudence, calls for the proclamation of the second placer if the winning candidate’s COC is cancelled. With the abandonment of the second placer rule, the SC ordered the winning vice governor to assume the gubernatorial position by virtue of the rule of succession under the Local Government Code. The 2025 barangay polls will go on!

The ruling comes dashing the hopes of those who filed DQ cases against candidates who won but have questions on citizenships hanging and were not proclaimed, one in Manila, the other in Benguet. The good news is that Comelec is lawyering for them as announced by Chairman Garcia that he will be filing a Motion for Reconsideration on the decision. Might as well rely on the dissenting opinion of Justice Leonen. If affirmed, the vacancy will be filled by a “caretaker” appointed by the House Speaker or depending on the availability funds, a Special Election can be called. It will be a long haul though. Sigh.