You are on page 1of 2

!"#$%&%'%&"#() )(+ && ,&-.$%$ /0120 3 01245 (%%67 $.,89.6 !(#,.

)(9&(


!:;<=-><?;@; .A;BC><D -EFGDBBD? )>HD? IGJK;F #;C;K 9;C>J $EHDBG> %;< %><@ L;KCD? L;BDK;
CnAVL2 V. CCMLLLC (Gk. 10S323)

CASL: 1hls ls a peLlLlon for prohlblLlon wlLh prayer for Lhe
lssuance of a wrlL of prellmlnary ln[uncLlon by lranclsco l.
Chavez sLands as a Laxpayer and a clLlzen asklng Lhls CourL Lo
en[oln Lhe Commlsslon on LlecLlons (CCMLLLC) from enforclng
SecLlon 32 of lLs 8esoluLlon no. 6320

8ACkGkCUND:
!"#$%&' )*+ All propaganda maLerlals showlng Lhe plcLure,
lmage, or name of a person, and all adverLlsemenLs on prlnL, ln
radlo or on Lelevlslon showlng Lhe lmage or menLlonlng Lhe
name of a person, who subsequent to the p|acement or d|sp|ay
thereof becomes a cand|date for pub||c off|ce shall be
lmmedlaLely removed by sald candldaLe and radlo sLaLlon, prlnL
medla or Lelevlslon sLaLlon w|th|n 3 days after the effect|v|ty of
Lhese lmplemenLlng rules, oLherwlse, he and sald radlo sLaLlon,
prlnL medla or Lelevlslon sLaLlon shall be presumed Lo have
conducLed premaLure campalgnlng ln vlolaLlon of Lhe Cmnlbus
LlecLlon Code.
eLlLloner Chavez, on varlous daLes, enLered lnLo formal
agreemenLs wlLh cerLaln esLabllshmenLs Lo endorse Lhelr
producLs.
o AugusL 18, 2003- he auLhorlzed a cerLaln Andrew So Lo
use hls name and lmage for 96 norLh, a cloLhlng
company
o CcL & nov. 2003- eLlLloner also slgned LndorsemenL
AgreemenLs wlLh konka lnLernaLlonal lasLlcs
ManufacLurlng CorporaLlon and anoLher corporaLlon
lnvolved ln Lhe amusemenL and vldeo games buslness,
C-8ox.
ursuanL Lo Lhese agreemenLs, Lhree blllboards were seL up
along Lhe 8allnLawak lnLerchange of Lhe norLh Lxpressway.
uecember 30, 2003- peLlLloner flled hls cerLlflcaLe of candldacy
for Lhe poslLlon of SenaLor under Alyansa ng ag-asa, a LrlparLlLe
alllance of Lhree pollLlcal parLles: 8CMul, 8LC8MA, and
Aksyon uemokraLlko.
!anuary 6, 2004- respondenL CCMLLLC lssued 8esoluLlon no.
6320, whlch conLalned SecLlon 32.
!anuary 21, 2004- peLlLloner was dlrecLed Lo comply wlLh Lhe
sald provlslon.
lebruary 23, 2004- peLlLloner asked Lhe CCMLLLC LhaL he be
exempLed from Lhe appllcaLlon of SecLlon 32, conslderlng LhaL
Lhe blllboards adverLed Lo are mere producL endorsemenLs and
cannoL be consLrued as paraphernalla for premaLure
campalgnlng.
CCMLLLC denled hls requesL
Chavez asks Lhls CourL Lo declare Lhe assalled provlslon
unconsLlLuLlonal

ISSULS 1C 8L kLSCLVLD:
W/n Lhe assalled provlslons are unconsLlLuLlonal as Lhe same ls
allegedly:
(1) a gross vlolaLlon of Lhe non-lmpalrmenL clause,
(2) an lnvalld exerclse of pollce power,
(3) ln Lhe naLure of an ex-posL facLo law,
(4) conLrary Lo Lhe lalr LlecLlons AcL, and
(3) lnvalld due Lo overbreadLh.

kLSCLU1ICNS AND AkGUMLN1S

IINAL VLkDIC1:

WPL8LlC8L, Lhe peLlLlon ls ulSMlSSLu and SecLlon 32 of CCMLLLC
8esoluLlon no. 6320 ls declared valld and consLlLuLlonal. 1he prayer for
a 1emporary 8esLralnlng Crder and/or a WrlL of rellmlnary ln[uncLlon ls
hereby uLnlLu.

Issue 1: Non-|mpa|rment c|ause
!"#$%&%'%&"#() )(+ && ,&-.$%$ /0120 3 01245 (%%67 $.,89.6 !(#,.)(9&(


!:;<=-><?;@; .A;BC><D -EFGDBBD? )>HD? IGJK;F #;C;K 9;C>J $EHDBG> %;< %><@ L;KCD? L;BDK;
1he non-lmpalrmenL clause ls conLalned ln SecLlon 10, ArLlcle lll
of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon, whlch provldes LhaL no law lmpalrlng Lhe
obllgaLlon of conLracLs shall be passed.
1he non-lmpalrmenL clause of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon musL yleld Lo Lhe
lofLler purposes LargeLed by Lhe CovernmenL
o Lqual opporLunlLy Lo proffer oneself for publlc offlce,
wlLhouL regard Lo Lhe level of flnanclal resources one
may have aL hls dlsposal
ConLracLs affecLlng publlc lnLeresL conLaln an lmplled
reservaLlon of Lhe pollce power Lo promoLe Lhe general welfare.
ollce power can change Lhe provlslons of Lhe conLracL, or even
abrogaLe lL enLlrely, for Lhe promoLlon or proLecLlon of Lhe
general welfare.
Issue 2: o||ce ower
A close examlnaLlon of Lhe assalled provlslon reveals LhaL lLs
prlmary ob[ecLlves are Lo prohlblL premaLure campalgnlng and
Lo level Lhe playlng fleld for candldaLes of publlc offlce, Lo
equallze Lhe slLuaLlon beLween popular or rlch candldaLes, on
one hand, and lesser-known or poorer candldaLes, on Lhe oLher,
by prevenLlng Lhe former from en[oylng undue advanLage ln
exposure and publlclLy on accounL of Lhelr resources and
popularlLy. 1he laLLer ls a valld reason for Lhe exerclse of pollce
power.
1he CCMLLLC ls expressly auLhorlzed Lo supervlse or regulaLe
Lhe en[oymenL or uLlllzaLlon of all medla communlcaLlon or
lnformaLlon Lo ensure equal opporLunlLy, Llme, and space. All
Lhese are almed aL Lhe holdlng of free, orderly, honesL,
peaceful, and credlble elecLlons.
Issue 3: Lx-post facto
Cne deflnlLely does noL commlL an offense by enLerlng lnLo a
conLracL wlLh prlvaLe parLles Lo use hls name and lmage Lo
endorse cerLaln producLs prlor Lo hls becomlng a candldaLe for
publlc offlce.
1he offense, as expressly prescrlbed ln Lhe assalled provlslon, ls
Lhe non-removal of Lhe descrlbed propaganda maLerlals Lhree
(3) days afLer Lhe effecLlvlLy of CCMLLLC 8esoluLlon no. 6320.
lf Lhe candldaLe for publlc offlce falls Lo remove such
propaganda maLerlals afLer Lhe glven perlod, he shall be llable
under SecLlon 80 of Lhe Cmnlbus LlecLlon Code for premaLure
campalgnlng.
lndeed, nowhere ls lL lndlcaLed ln Lhe assalled provlslon LhaL lL
shall operaLe reLroacLlvely. 1here ls, Lherefore, no ex posL facLo
law ln Lhls case.
Issue 4: Contrary to Ia|r L|ect|ons Act
eLlLloner's argumenL ls noL Lenable. 1he SollclLor Ceneral
rlghLly polnLs ouL LhaL Lhe assalled provlslon does noL prohlblL
blllboards as lawful elecLlon propaganda. lL only regulaLes Lhelr
use Lo prevenL premaLure campalgnlng and Lo equallze, as much
as pracLlcable, Lhe slLuaLlon of all candldaLes by prevenLlng
popular and rlch candldaLes from galnlng undue advanLage ln
exposure and publlclLy on accounL of Lhelr resources and
popularlLy.
Issue S: Cverbreadth
A sLaLuLe or regulaLlon ls consldered vold for overbreadLh when
lL offends Lhe consLlLuLlonal prlnclple LhaL a governmenLal
purpose Lo conLrol or prevenL acLlvlLles consLlLuLlonally sub[ecL
Lo SLaLe regulaLlons may noL be achleved by means LhaL sweep
unnecessarlly broadly and Lhereby lnvade Lhe area of proLecLed
freedoms.
1he provlslon ln quesLlon ls llmlLed ln lLs operaLlon boLh as Lo
Llme and scope. lL only dlsallows Lhe conLlnued dlsplay of a
person's propaganda maLerlals and adverLlsemenLs afLer he has
flled a cerLlflcaLe of candldacy and before Lhe sLarL of Lhe
campalgn perlod. Sald maLerlals and adverLlsemenLs musL also
show hls name and lmage.
1he provlslon, Lherefore, ls noL lnvalld on Lhe ground of
overbreadLh.

You might also like