AVELINO V CUENCO

FACTS:
1. The petitioners, Senator Jose Avelino, in a quo warranto proceeding (a legal
proceeding during which an individuals right to hold office or government
privilege is challenge), asked the court to declare him the rightful Senate
President and oust the respondent, Mariano Cuenco.
2. In a session of the Senate, Tanadas request to deliver a speech in order to
formulate charges against then Senate President Avelino was approved.
3. With the leadership of the Senate President followed by his supporters, they
deliberately tried to delay and prevent Tanada from delivering his speech.
4. The Senate President with his supporters employed delaying tactics, the tried to
adjourn the session then walked out.
5. Only 12 Senators were left in the hall. The members of the senate left continued
the session and Senator Cuenco was appointed as the Acting President of the
Senate and was recognized the next day by the President of the Philippines.
ISSUES:
1. Whether or not the court has jurisdiction of the case.
2. Whether or not Resolutions 67 & 68 (declaring vacant the position) was validly
approved.
HELD:
1. The Court has no jurisdiction of the case because the subject matter is political in
nature and in doing so, the court will be against the doctrine of separation of
powers.
2. To the first question, the answer is in the negative, in view of the separation of
powers, the political nature of the controversy (Alejandrino vs. Quezon, 46 Phil.
83; Vera vs. Avelino, 77 Phil. 192; Mabanag vs. Lopez Vito, 78 Phil. 1) and the
constitutional grant to the Senate of the power to elect its own president, which
power should not be interfered with, nor taken over, by the judiciary. A fortiori
the court abstain in this case because the selection of the presiding officer affect
only the Senators themselves who are at liberty at any time to choose their
officers, change or reinstate them. Anyway, if, as the petition must imply to be

acceptable, the majority of the Senators want petitioner to preside, his remedy
lies in the Senate Session Hall not in the Supreme Court.
3. The basis for determining the existence of a quorum in the Senate shall be the
total number of Senators who are in the country and within the coercive
jurisdiction of the Senator.
4. There are 24 senators in all. Two are absentee senators; one being confined
(Soto) and the other abroad (Confesor).
5. It was held that there is a quorum that 12 being the majority of 23 (including
Soto, excluding Confesor). In fine, all the four justice agree that the Court being
confronted with the practical situation that of the 23 senators who may
participate in the Senate deliberations in the days immediately after this decision,
twelve senators will support Senator Cuenco and, at most, 11 will side with
Senator Avelino, it would be most injudicious to declare the latter as the rightful
President of the Senate, that office being essentially one that depends exclusively
upon the will of the majority of the senators, the rule of the Senate about tenure
of the President of that body being amenable at any time by that majority. And at
any session hereafter held with thirteen or more senators, in order to avoid all
controversy arising from the divergence of opinion here about quorum and for
the benefit of all concerned,the said twelve senators who approved the
resolutions herein involved could ratify all their acts and thereby place them
beyond the shadow of a doubt.