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ADAZA vs. PACANA Jr.

1. Adaza was the governor of Misamis Oriental whose term was set to expire in 1986. He ran for and won a seat in the Batasan Pambansa in 1984. Pacana was the vice-governor who lost his bid for the Batasan. 2. The constitution prohibits members of the Batasan from simultaneously holding any other government office. Therefore, Adaza could no longer serve as governor after taking his seat in the Batasan. 3. However, Pacana as vice-governor who lost his election could continue serving in that role. The law considers those who filed for the Batasan elections to be on "forced leave of absence" from their local offices.

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79 views2 pages

ADAZA vs. PACANA Jr.

1. Adaza was the governor of Misamis Oriental whose term was set to expire in 1986. He ran for and won a seat in the Batasan Pambansa in 1984. Pacana was the vice-governor who lost his bid for the Batasan. 2. The constitution prohibits members of the Batasan from simultaneously holding any other government office. Therefore, Adaza could no longer serve as governor after taking his seat in the Batasan. 3. However, Pacana as vice-governor who lost his election could continue serving in that role. The law considers those who filed for the Batasan elections to be on "forced leave of absence" from their local offices.

Uploaded by

Susie Vanguardia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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G.R. No.

L-68159 March 18, 1985


HOMOBONO ADAZA vs. FERNANDO PACANA, JR.,
ESCOLIN, J.:
FACTS:
Adaza is the governor of Misamis Oriental and Pacana is the vice-governor. Their
respective term of office expires on March 3, 1986. Both parties ran in the Batasang Pambansa
(BP) elections in 1984 and respondent lost to petitioner. Petitioner Adaza took his oath of office
as Mambabatas Pambansa and since then he has discharged the functions of said office. On
the other hand, respondent Pacana took his oath of office as the governor. Adaza has brought
this petition to exclude Pacana therefrom, claiming to be the lawful occupant of the position. He
argues that he was elected to said office for a term of six years, that he remains to be the
governor of the province until his term expires. Petitioner further contends that respondent
Pacana should be considered to have abandoned or resigned from the position of vice-governor
when he filed his certificate of candidacy for the 1984 Batas Pambansa elections.
ISSUE:  Whether or not Adaza can serve as a member of the Batasan and as a governor of the
province simultaneously. 
HELD:
NO. The constitutional prohibition against a member of the Batasan Pambansa from
holding any other office or employment in the government during his tenure is clear and
unambiguous. Section 10, Article VIII of the 1973 Constitution provides that a member of the
National Assembly [now Batasan Pambansa shall not hold any other office or employment in
the government or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including government
owned or controlled corporations, during his tenure, except that of prime minister or member of
the cabinet.
The language used in the above-cited section is plain, certain and free from ambiguity. The only
exceptions mentioned therein are the offices of prime minister and cabinet member. The
wisdom or expediency of the said provision is a matter which is not within the province of the
Court to determine.
A public office is a public trust.  As such, a holder thereof "is subject to such regulations and
conditions as the law may impose" and "he cannot complain of any restrictions which public
policy may dictate on his holding of more than one office."  In the light of the oft-mentioned
constitutional provision, this fact operated to vacate his former post and he cannot now continue
to occupy the same, nor attempt to discharge its functions.
DOCTRINE:
1. Constitutional Law; Election Law; A governor who later ran for the Batasan and took his
oath can no longer exercise the functions of governor.—A public office is a public trust. It is
created for the interest and the benefit of the people. As such, a holder thereof “is subject to
such regulations and conditions as the law may impose” and “he cannot complain of any
restrictions which public policy may dictate on his holding of more than one office.”
2. Same; Same; A vice-governor who later ran for the Batasan and lost can continue serving as
vice-governor and subsequently succeed as governor once said office is vacated. —The second
proposition advanced by petitioner is that respondent Pacana, as a mere private citizen, had no
right to assume the governorship left vacant by petitioner’s election to the Batasan Pambansa.
He maintains that respondent should be considered as having abandoned or resigned from the
vice-governorship when he filed his certificate of candidacy for the Batas Pambansa elections.
The point pressed runs afoul of Batas Pambansa Blg. 697, the law governing the election of
members of the Batasan Pambansa on May 14, 1984, Section 13[2] of which specifically
provides that “governors, mayors, members of the various sangguniang or barangay officials
shall, upon filing a certificate of candidacy, be considered on forced leave of absence from
office.'' Indubitably, respondent falls within the coverage of this provision, considering that at the
time he filed his certificate of candidacy for the 1984 Batasan Pambansa election he was a
member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan as provided in Sections 204 and 205 of Batas
Pambansa Blg. 337, otherwise known as the Local Government Code.

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