Paras v.

COMELEC Case Digest

Paras v. COMELEC
G.R. No. 123169 (November 4, 1996)

FACTS:
A petition for recall was filed against Paras, who is the incumbent
Punong Barangay. The recall election was deferred due to Petitioners opposition that
under Sec. 74 of RA No. 7160, no recall shall take place within one year from the date
of the officials assumption to office or one year immediately preceding a
regular local election. Since the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election was set on the
first Monday of May 2006, no recall may be instituted.

ISSUE:
W/N the SK election is a local election.

HELD:
No. Every part of the statute must be interpreted with reference to its context, and it
must be considered together and kept subservient to its general intent. The evident
intent of Sec. 74 is to subject an elective local official to recall once during his term, as
provided in par. (a) and par. (b). The spirit, rather than the letter of a law, determines
its construction. Thus, interpreting the phrase regular local election to include SK
election will unduly circumscribe the Code for there will never be a recall election
rendering inutile the provision. In interpreting a statute, the Court assumed that the
legislature intended to enact an effective law. An interpretation should
be avoided under which a statute or provision being construed is defeated, meani
ngless, inoperative or nugatory.