The dissenting or separate opinion of an outgoing official of the Commission on Elections on the disqualification case filed against UniTeam standard-bearer Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. will become a mere piece of paper should the 1st Division decide on it after February 2.
UniTeam senatorial candidate Harry Roque explained that unless there is actual promulgation of a decision by the Comelec’s 1st Division, Commissioner Rowena Guanzon cannot register a dissenting opinion.
“If the 1st Division does not promulgate a decision by the time commissioner Guanzon’s term of office ends on February 2, then we can safely say that her dissenting opinion can no longer be part of the final case resolution,” Roque said.
Guanzon’s retirement would, in effect, render her prematurely released dissenting opinion as a piece of paper, according to Roque.
“Her fixed term, unfortunately, precludes the commissioner from insisting that her opinion become a part or be included in the consolidated decision of the 1st Division after February 2,” Roque added.
A practicing lawyer since 1990 and former professor at the UP College of Law, Roque expressed disappointment that the commissioner released her opinion ahead of the 1st Division’s decision as it goes against the Comelec’s collegial nature.
“Can a decision of a member pre-empt the decision of a collegial body? The answer is no,” Roque said. “The decision should be promulgated by the Division itself and not by an individual commissioner.”
Roque added that all privileged information among members of a court of law or institutional commission must remain private and undisclosed until the decision of a collegial body has been promulgated.
He said while Comelec commissioners like Supreme Court justices are impeachable, they are not immune from administrative penalties that can be filed against them by the collegial body.
“Although they can be removed from office through an impeachment initiated by the House and with the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, erring justices or commissioners can still be subject to disciplinary measures,” Roque said.
Roque also reminded Guanzon that she could not impose a deadline on her fellow commissioners to resolve the case as this goes against the very essence of a collegial body.
“Comelec is collegial because all commissioners are in equal standing. They should act as one body regardless of whether the decision is unanimous or there is a dissenting opinion,” Roque said.
