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    Santiago vs. Guingona

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    Sandy Marie David
    The Senate elected officers with Fernan as President and Guingona as minority leader. Senators Santiago and Tatad challenged Guingona's position, claiming Tatad should be minority leader instead. The Court dismissed the petition, finding the Constitution gives the Senate discretion to choose its own officers and the Court will not interfere with the Senate's internal processes.

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    Santiago vs. Guingona

    Uploaded by

    Sandy Marie David
    9 views2 pages
    The Senate elected officers with Fernan as President and Guingona as minority leader. Senators Santiago and Tatad challenged Guingona's position, claiming Tatad should be minority leader instead. The Court dismissed the petition, finding the Constitution gives the Senate discretion to choose its own officers and the Court will not interfere with the Senate's internal processes.

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    The Senate elected officers with Fernan as President and Guingona as minority leader. Senators Santiago and Tatad challenged Guingona's position, claiming Tatad should be minority leader instead. The Court dismissed the petition, finding the Constitution gives the Senate discretion to choose its own officers and the Court will not interfere with the Senate's internal processes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    9 views2 pages

    Santiago vs. Guingona

    Uploaded by

    Sandy Marie David
    The Senate elected officers with Fernan as President and Guingona as minority leader. Senators Santiago and Tatad challenged Guingona's position, claiming Tatad should be minority leader instead. The Court dismissed the petition, finding the Constitution gives the Senate discretion to choose its own officers and the Court will not interfere with the Senate's internal processes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    1

    Santiago v. Guingona, Jr.


    298 SCRA 756 [Nov 18, 1988]
    Panganiban, J.

    FACTS:

    Upon opening its 1st regular session, the Senate held its election of officers.
    Nominated by Sen. Blas F. Ople to the position of Senate President was Sen.
    Marcelo B. Fernan. Sen. Francisco S. Tatad was also nominated to the same
    position by Sen. Miriam Defenser Santiago. By a vote of 20 to 2,  Senator
    Fernan was declared the duly elected President of the Senate.

    The following were likewise elected: Senator Ople as president pro tempore,
    and Sen. Franklin M. Drilon as majority leader.

    Senator Tatad thereafter manifested that, with the agreement of Senator


    Santiago, allegedly the only other member of the minority, he was assuming the
    position of minority leader. He explained that those who had voted for Senator
    Fernan comprised the "majority," while only those who had voted for him, the
    losing nominee, belonged to the "minority."

    During the discussion on who should constitute the Senate "minority," Sen. Juan
    M. Flavier manifested that the senators belonging to the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP
    Party — numbering seven (7) and, thus, also a minority — had chosen Senator
    Guingona as the minority leader. No consensus on the matter was arrived at.

    The majority leader informed the body chat he was in receipt of a letter signed
    by the seven Lakas-NUCD-UMDP senators, stating that they had elected
    Senator Guingona as the minority leader. By virtue thereof, the Senate President
    formally recognized Senator Guingona as the minority leader of the Senate.

    The following day, Senators Santiago and Tatad filed before this Court the
    subject petition for quo warranto, alleging in the main that Senator Guingona
    had been usurping, unlawfully holding and exercising the position of Senate
    minority leader, a position that, according to them, rightfully belonged to
    Senator Tatad.
    2

    ISSUE:
    In recognizing respondent Guingona, Jr. as the Senate minority leader, did the
    Senate or its officials violate the Constitution or the laws?

    HELD:
    No. In dismissing the petition, the term “majority” simply “means the number
    greater than half or more than half of any total”. Art VI, sec 16(1) does not
    delineate who comprise the “majority” much less the “minority”. Notably, the
    Constitution in Art VI, sec 16(1) is explicit on the manner of electing a Senate
    President and a House Speaker, it is, however, dead silent on the manner of
    selecting the other officers in both chambers of Congress. All that it says is that
    “each House shall choose such other officers as it may deem necessary.” To our
    mind, the method of choosing who will be such other officers is merely a
    derivative of the exercise of the prerogative conferred to the House. In the
    absence of constitutional or statutory guidelines, this Court is devoid of any
    basis upon which to determine the legality of the acts of the Senate relative
    thereto.
    Congress verily has the power and prerogative to provide for such officers as it
    may deem. And it is certainly within its own jurisdiction and discretion to
    prescribe the parameters for the exercise of this prerogative. This Court has no
    authority to interfere and unilaterally intrude into that exclusive realm, without
    running afoul of constitutional principles that it is bound to protect and uphold
    — the very duty that justifies the Court's being. Constitutional respect and a
    becoming regard for the sovereign acts of a coequal branch prevents this Court
    from prying into the internal workings of the Senate.

    Sandy Marie L. David CONSTI 1


    ID # 2021-0019 Wed 4pm-8pm

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