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Legal Interpretation for Elections

The petitioner Manuel De Guia claimed members of the Sangguniang Bayan should be elected at large based on section 3(d) of RA 7166. However, the court ruled section 3(d) refers only to cities with a single district and municipalities outside Metro Manila. The purpose of the law was to divide provinces with one district into two, so members must be elected by district. Interpreting section 3(d) to require at-large elections would contradict this purpose and make parts of the statute meaningless.

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81 views1 page

Legal Interpretation for Elections

The petitioner Manuel De Guia claimed members of the Sangguniang Bayan should be elected at large based on section 3(d) of RA 7166. However, the court ruled section 3(d) refers only to cities with a single district and municipalities outside Metro Manila. The purpose of the law was to divide provinces with one district into two, so members must be elected by district. Interpreting section 3(d) to require at-large elections would contradict this purpose and make parts of the statute meaningless.

Uploaded by

Lu Cas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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StatConDigest - Manuel T.

De Guia Vs Commission on Elections, GR 104712 (May 6, 1992)

Statutory Rule: A construction that gives to the language in a statute meaning that does not
accomplish the purpose for which the statute was enacted should be rejected.

Facts:
Petitioner Manuel De Guia is a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of the Municipality of
Paranaque. He contends that under par(d) of Sec. 3 of Ra 7166, members of the Sangguaniang
Panglungsod and Sangguniang Bayan shall be elected at large in the May 1992 elections.

Issue:
Whether or not, par(d) Sec. 3 of RA 7166 should be interpreted to mean that elective officials of
the Sangguniang Panlungsod and SB shall be elected at large.

Ruling:
No. Par (d) Sec. 3 of RA 7166 refers only to elective officials of the Sangguniang Panlungsod
which are single district cities and Sangguniang Bayan for municipalities outside Metro Manila.
The law specifically stated that provinces with only one legislative district should be divided into
two and therefore should necessarily be elected by districts. Par (d) should be interpreted in line
with the rest of the statute and to follow the interpretation of the petitioner would make the act
of the statute in singling out the single district provinces as useless or meaningless.

The key to open the door to what the legislature intended in the language of a state is its
purpose or reason which induced it to enact the statute. Statutes should then be construed in
light of the object to be achieved. A construction should be rejected that gives the language
used in a statute a meaning that does not accomplish the purpose for which the statute was
enacted.

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