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EN BANC.
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term. Monsod warned against prescreening candidates
[from]
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Id., at 236.
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Id., at 239-240.
Id., at 242.
Id., at 242.
Id., at 243.
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U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779, 131 L.Ed.2d 881 (1995).
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how short, will be considered one term for the purpose of computing
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the number of successive terms allowed.
This is actually based on the opinion expressed by Commissioner
Davide in answer to a query of Commissioner Suarez: For
example, a special election is called for a Senator, and the Senator
newly elected would have to serve the unexpired portion of the term.
Would that mean that serving the unex_______________
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pired portion of the term is already considered one term? So, half a
term, which is actually the correct statement, plus one term would
disqualify the Senator concerned from running? Is that the meaning
of this provision on disqualication, Madam President?
Commissioner Davide said: Yes, because we speak of term, and if
there is a special election, he will serve only for the unexpired
portion of that particular term plus one more term for the13 Senator
and two more terms for the Members of the Lower House.
There is a difference, however, between the case of a vice-mayor
and that of a member of the House of Representatives who succeeds
another who dies, resigns, becomes incapacitated, or is removed
from ofce.
The vice-mayor succeeds to the mayorship by operation
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of law. 15On the other hand, the Representative is elected to ll the
vacancy. In a real sense, therefore, such Representative serves a
term for which he was elected. As the purpose of the constitutional
provision is to limit the right to be elected and to serve in Congress,
his service of the unexpired term is rightly counted as his rst term.
Rather than refute what we believe to be the intendment of Art. X,
8 with regard to elective local ofcials, the case of a Representative
who succeeds another conrms the theory.
Petitioner also cites Art. VII, 4 of the Constitution which
provides for succession of the Vice-President to the Presidency in
case of vacancy in that ofce. After stating that The President shall
not be eligible for any reelection, this provision says that No
person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for
more than four years shall be qualied for election to the same ofce
at any time. Petitioner contends that, by analogy, the vice-mayor
should likewise be considered to have served a full term as mayor if
he succeeds to the latters ofce and serves for the remainder of the
term.
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Art. VI, 8.
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In both cases, the mayor is entitled to run for reelection because the
two conditions for the application of the disqualication provisions
have not concurred, namely, that the local ofcial concerned has
been elected three consecutive times and that he has fully served
three consecutive terms. In the rst case, even if the local ofcial is
considered to have served three full terms notwithstanding his
resignation before the end of the rst term, the fact remains that he
has not been elected three times. In the second case, the local ofcial
has been elected three consecutive times, but he has not fully served
three consecutive terms.
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To consider C in the third case to have served the rst term in full
and therefore ineligible to run a third time for reelection would be
not only to falsify reality but also to unduly restrict the right of the
people to choose whom they wish to govern them. If the vice-mayor
turns out to be a bad mayor, the people can remedy the situation by
simply not reelecting him for another term. But if, on the other hand,
he proves to be a good mayor, there will be no way the people can
return him to ofce (even if it is just the third time he is standing for
reelection) if his service of the rst term is counted as one for the
purpose of applying the term limit.
To consider C as eligible for reelection would be in accord with
the understanding of the Constitutional Commission that while the
people should be protected from the evils that a monopoly of
political power may bring about, care should be taken that their
freedom of choice is not unduly curtailed.
WHEREFORE, the petition is DISMISSED.
SO ORDERED.
Narvasa (C.J.), Davide, Jr., Romero, Bellosillo, Melo, Puno,
Vitug, Kapunan, Panganiban, Martinez, Quisumbing and Purisima,
JJ., concur.
Regalado, J., On ofcial leave.
Petition dismissed.
Notes .Statutes providing for election contests are to be
liberally construed to the end that the will of the people in the
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