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Three-Term Limit Upheld for Asilo

Lucena City councilor Wilfredo Asilo had served three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2007. In 2005 during his third term, he was preventively suspended for 90 days due to a criminal case but the suspension was later lifted and he resumed his duties. Asilo then filed to run for the same position in 2007. Petitioners argued he was disqualified due to the three-term limit. The Supreme Court ruled that the preventive suspension did not interrupt Asilo's third term, so running in 2007 would violate the three-term limit under the Constitution. Preventive suspensions are intended to be temporary and do not effectively interrupt service within a term. Allowing them to reset the term limit could too easily be abused. As

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Francis Puno
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90 views1 page

Three-Term Limit Upheld for Asilo

Lucena City councilor Wilfredo Asilo had served three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2007. In 2005 during his third term, he was preventively suspended for 90 days due to a criminal case but the suspension was later lifted and he resumed his duties. Asilo then filed to run for the same position in 2007. Petitioners argued he was disqualified due to the three-term limit. The Supreme Court ruled that the preventive suspension did not interrupt Asilo's third term, so running in 2007 would violate the three-term limit under the Constitution. Preventive suspensions are intended to be temporary and do not effectively interrupt service within a term. Allowing them to reset the term limit could too easily be abused. As

Uploaded by

Francis Puno
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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Aldovino VS COMELEC

FACTS:
Lucena City councilor Wilfredo F. Asilo was elected to the said office for three consecutive
terms: 1998-2001, 2001-2004, and 2004-2007. In September 2005, during his third term of
office, the Sandiganbayan issued an order of 90-day preventive suspension against him in
relation to a criminal case. The said suspension order was subsequently lifted by the Court, and
Asilo resumed the performance of the functions of his office.
Asilo then filed his certificate of candidacy for the same position in 2007. His disqualification
was sought by herein petitioners on the ground that he had been elected and had served for three
consecutive terms, in violation of the three-term Constitutional limit.

ISSUE:
WON the suspensive condition interrupts the three-term limitation rule of COMELEC?

RULING:
NO. The preventive suspension of public officials does not interrupt their term for purposes of
the three-term limit rule under the Constitution and the Local Government Code (RA 7160).

The candidacy of Lucena City Councilor Wilfredo F. Asilo for a fourth term in the 2007
elections was in contravention of the three-term limit rule of Art. X, sec. 8 of the Constitution
since his 2004-2007 term was not interrupted by the preventive suspension imposed on him, the
SC granted the petition of Simon B. Aldovino, Danilo B. Faller, and Ferdinand N. Talabong
seeking Asilo’s disqualification.
“Preventive suspension, by its nature, does not involve an effective interruption of service within
a term and should therefore not be a reason to avoid the three-term limitation,” held the Court. It
noted that preventive suspension can pose as a threat “more potent” than the voluntary
renunciation that the Constitution itself disallows to evade the three-term limit as it is easier to
undertake and merely requires an easily fabricated administrative charge that can be dismissed
soon after a preventive suspension has been imposed.

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