THE Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) can hold special elections in the event of a congressional seat vacancy without waiting for a resolution from the House of Representatives.
In a 34-page ruling promulgated on April 22, 2025, the SC en banc junked the petition filed by Elroy John Hagedorn seeking to compel the House to declare a vacancy in the third district of Palawan and to order the Comelec to conduct a special elections.
The petition was filed after Hagedorn’s father, Edward, died a year after being elected as representative of the province’s third district, resulting to a permanent vacancy in the post.
Following this, the city council of Puerto Princesa and the municipal council of Aborlan urged the House leadership to petition the poll body to hold a special election for Hagedorn’s post.
But the House ignored the requests and later designated then Speaker Martin Romualdez as caretaker of the third congressional district.
The younger Hagedorn also submitted to the office of Comelec chairperson George Garcia signatures collected from the province calling for the holding of a special elections.
He elevated the case to the SC after the Comelec said it cannot hold a special election without a House resolution certifying the vacancy.
In its ruling, the SC said that while the case has been rendered moot due to the conduct of the May 12 midterm elections, it still reviewed its merits to guide the bench in future cases.
“In the event of a vacancy in the House of Representatives that occurs at least one year before the expiration of the term of such seat, it is incumbent upon the Comelec to call for and hold a special election to fill such vacancy not earlier than 60 days nor longer than 90 days after the occurrence of the vacancy,” said the SC ruling penned by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando.
“This mandatory and ministerial duty of the Comelec to call and hold the special election emanates from Republic Act No. 6645 as amended by RA No. 7166, and is no longer conditioned upon any certification or call from the House,” it added.
It pointed out that the repeal of RA 6645 following the enactment of RA 7166 effectively removed the requirement for a congressional resolution before a special elections can be held in case of a vacancy in congressional seats.
The SC held that waiting for a House resolution before holding a special election could result to undue delays, and impede a congressional district having a representative in Congress.
It added that the poll body can rely on other means to confirm the congressional vacancy, such as official announcements, press releases, or certifications from the House Speaker or the Secretary General.
However, the SC stressed that its ruling does not apply to vacancies in party-list seats.
Garcia said the Comelec want to get clearer details of the SC ruling.
“We just want to know the extent of the Commission’s authority to call special elections. It would be great if we could read the decision giving us the discretion. We want to know what the parameters really are,” Garcia said, explaining that the court’s ruling would affect the poll body’s existing rules and procedures.
“We will need to change our rules,” he added.
Nevertheless, Garcia said they welcome the SC decision as it “strengthens the mandate of the Comelec that we can call special elections.” – With Gerard Naval
