Velasco vs Belmonte

Facts:

 Velasco principally alleges that he is the "legal and rightful winner during the May 13, 2013
elections
 Joseph Socorro Tan filed with COMELEC a petition to deny Reyes’ Certificate of Candidacy
o Tan alleged that Reyes made several material misrepresentations in her COC, i.e., "(i) that
she is a resident of Brgy. Lupac, Boac, Marinduque; (ii) that she is a natural-born Filipino
citizen; (iii) that she is not a permanent resident of, or an immigrant to, a foreign country;
(iv) that her date of birth is July 3, 1964; (v) that her civil status is single; and finally (vi)
that she is eligible for the office she seeks to be elected to
 It was granted
 Reyes filed an MR
 But while said motion was pending resolution, the synchronized local and national elections were
held on May 13, 2013.
 On May 18, 2013, despite its receipt of the May 14, 2013 COMELEC Resolution, the Marinduque
Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) proclaimed Reyes as the winner of the May 13, 2013
 On June 7, 2013, Speaker Belmonte, Jr. administered the oath of office to Reyes.
 In the present cases, before respondent Regina Reyes was proclaimed on May 18, 2013, the
COMELEC En Banc, in its Resolution of May 14, 2013 in SPA No. 13-053 (DC), had already resolved
that the COMELEC First Division correctly cancelled her COC on the ground that she lacked the
Filipino citizenship and residency requirements. Thus, the COMELEC nullified her proclamation

Issue: propriety of issuing a writ of mandamus to compel Speaker Belmonte, Jr. and Sec. Gen. Barua-Yap
to perform the specific acts sought by Velasco in this petition.

Held: Petition has merit.

 With the COMELEC's cancellation of respondent Regina Reyes' COC, resulting in the nullification
of her proclamation, the Tribunal, much as we would want to, cannot assume jurisdiction over
the present petitions.
 The jurisdiction of the HRET begins only after the candidate is considered a Member of the
House of Representatives.
 To be considered a Member of the House of Representatives, there must be a concurrence of
the following requisites:
o (1) a valid proclamation,
 Such element is obviously absent in the present cases as Regina Reyes'
proclamation was nullified by the COMELEC, which nullification was upheld by
the Supreme Court.
o (2) a proper oath, and
o (3) assumption of office,
 The difference between a ministerial and discretionary act has long been established. A purely
ministerial act or duty is one which an officer or tribunal performs in a given state of facts, in a
prescribed manner, in obedience to the mandate of a legal authority, without regard to or the
exercise of his own judgment upon the propriety or impropriety of the act done.
 If the law imposes a duty upon a public officer and gives him the right to decide how or when
the duty shall be performed, such duty is discretionary and not ministerial.
 The duty is ministerial only when the discharge of the same requires neither the exercise of
official discretion or judgment.
 Speaker Belmonte, Jr. and Sec. Gen. Barua-Y ap have no discretion whether or not to administer
the oath of office to Velasco and to register the latter's name in the Roll of Members of the
House of Representatives
o There was already a decision declaring Velasco the winner
 Velasco is the proclaimed winning candidate for the Representative of the Lone
District of the Province of Marinduque.
 It is to be noted that it is Reyes’ COC which was cancelled.
o The cancellation does not make her a valid candidate hence no valid proclamation
happened.
 There is no longer a matter of discretion or judgment on the part of Speaker Belmonte, Jr. and
Sec. Gen. Barua-Yap.
 They are legally duty-bound to recognize Velasco as the duly elected Member of the House of
Representatives for the Lone District of Marinduque in view of the ruling rendered by this Court
and the COMELEC'S compliance with the said ruling, now both final and executory.