Case Digest: Paras vs Comelec

PARAS v COMELEC

G.R. No. 123169

Facts:

Petitioner is an elected barangay chairman of Pula, Cabanatuan City in 1994. Sometime in October 1995, A petition for his recall as Punong Barangay was filed by his constituents. Public respondent COMELEC resolved to approve the petition and set the recall election on November 13. In view of the petitioner’s opposition, COMELEC deferred the election and rescheduled it on December 16, 1995. To prevent the recall election from taking place, the petitioner filed a petition for injunction before the RTC. The trial court issued a TRO. After conducting a summary hearing, the court dismissed the petition and lifted the restraining order. The public respondent on a resolution date January 5, 1996, rescheduled the recall election to be held January 13, 1996. Hence, this petition for certiorari. The petitioner argues the pursuant to Section 74b of the Local Government code: “no recall shall take place within one (1) year from the date of the official's assumption to office or one (1) year immediately preceding a regular local election", petitioner insists that the scheduled January 13, 1996 recall election is now barred (SK) election was set on the first Monday of May 1996.

Issue:

 Whether or not the recall election in question is in violation to the provisions of Section 74b of the Local Government Code.

Held:

It is a rule in statutory construction that every part of the statute must be interpreted with reference to the context, that every part of the statute must be considered together with the other parts, and kept subservient to the general intent of the whole enactment. Paras’ interpretation of the law is too literal that it does not accord with the intentions of the authors of the law. The spirit rather that the letters of a law determines its construction. Hence, it was held that the “regular local election” refers to an election where the office held by the local elective official sought to be recalled.

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