Author: Logronio, Angelo J.

VARGAS VS RILLORAZA (1948)

Petition: Certiorari
Petitioners: JORGE B. VARGAS
Respondent: EMILIO RILLORAZA, JOSE BERNABE, MANUEL
ESCUDERO, Judges of the People's Court, and THE SOLICITOR
GENERAL OF THE PHILIPPINES
Ponencia: HILADO J.
DOCTRINE: (temporary replacement, uninterrupted security of tenure)
No temporary composition of the Supreme Court is
authorized by the constitution.
were it not for the challenged section 14 there would have
been an uninterrupted continuity in the tenure of the
displaced Justice and in his exercise of the powers and
fulfillment of the duties appertaining to his office

d. It does not remove but merely disqualifies the members of

the Supreme Court affected to sit and vote in the
particular class of cases therein mentioned.
ISSUE:
1. W/N the Congress had power to add to the pre-existing grounds
of disqualification of a Justice of the Supreme Court that provided
for in said section 14
2. W/N a person may act as a Justice of the Supreme Court who
has not been duly appointed by the President and confirmed by
the Commission on Appointments pursuant to the constitution ,
even only as a "designee"
3. W/N by the method of "designation" created by section 14 a
Judge of First Instance designated by the President under the
same section can constitutionally "sit temporarily as Justice" of
the Supreme Court by virtue thereof.
PROVISIONS:

FACTS:
1. Defense counsel assails the constitutionality of Section 14 of the
Peoples Court Act or Commonwealth Act No. 682 among others,
upon the following grounds:
a. It provides for qualification of members of the Supreme
Court, other than those provided in section 6, Article VIII
of the Philippine Constitution.
b. It authorizes the appointment of members of the Supreme
Court who do not possess the qualifications set forth in
section 6, Article VIII, of the Philippine Constitution.
2. The Solicitor, in behalf of the prosecution opposes the motion and
in support of his opposition submits:
a. Section 14 of Commonwealth Act No. 682 does not and is
not intended to provide an additional qualification for
members of the Supreme Court, much less does it amend
section 6, Article VIII, of the Constitution of the
Philippines.
b. Qualifications of members of the Supreme Court
prescribed in section 6, Article VIII of the Constitution
apply to permanent "appointees" not to temporary
"designees."
c. Section 5, Article VIII of the Constitution is not applicable
to temporary designations under section 14,
Commonwealth Act No. 682.

ARTICLE VIII of 1935 Constitution

Judicial Department
Section 4. The Supreme Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice and
ten Associate Justices and may sit either en banc or in two divisions
unless otherwise provided by law.
Section 5. The Members of the Supreme Court and all judges of inferior
courts shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the
Commission on Appointments.
Section 6. No person may be appointed Member of the Supreme Court
unless he has been five years a citizen of the Philippines, is at least forty
years of age, and hasfor ten years or more been a judge of a court of
record or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines.
Section 9. The Members of the Supreme Court and all judges of inferior
courts shall hold office during good behavior, until they reach the age of
seventy years, or become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their
office. They shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by law,
which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. Until the
Congress shall provide otherwise, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
shall receive an annual compensation of sixteen thousand pesos, and
each Associate Justice, fifteen thousand pesos

Author: Logronio, Angelo J.

Peoples Court Act
SEC. 14. Any Justice of the Supreme Court who held any office or
position under the Philippine Executive Commission or under the
government called Philippine Republic may not sit and vote in any case
brought to that Court under section thirteen hereof in which the accused
is a person who held any office or position under either or both the
Philippine Executive Commission and the Philippine Republic or any
branch, instrumentality and/or agency thereof.
If, on account of such disqualification, or because of any of the grounds
or disqualification of judges, in Rule 126, section 1 of the Rules of Court,
or on account of illness, absence of temporary disability the requisite
number of Justices necessary to constitute a quorum or to render
judgment in any case is not present, the President may designate such
number of Judges of First Instance, Judges-at-large of First Instance, or
Cadastral Judges, having none of the disqualifications set forth in said
section one hereof, as may be necessary to sit temporarily as Justice of
said Court, in order to form a quorum or until a judgment in said case is
reached.

RULING + RATIO:
1. NO, the Congress had no power to add to the pre-existing
grounds of disqualification of a Justice of the Supreme Court
that provided for in said section 14
a. Because of section 14, such members of the Court "who
held any office or position under the Philippine Executive
Commission or under the government called Philippine
Republic" would be disqualified from sitting and voting in
the instant case, because the accused herein is a person
who likewise held an office or position at least under the
Philippine Executive Commission.
b. What the constitution in this respect ordained as a
power and a duty to be exercised and fulfilled by said
members would prohibit them from exercising and
fulfilling such because of the People's Court Act.
(Clear point repugnancy bet the law and consti)

c. For repugnancy to result it is not necessary that there

should be an actual removal of the disqualified Justice
from his office for, as above demonstrated, were it not
for the challenged section 14 there would have been
an uninterrupted continuity in the tenure of the
displaced Justice and in his exercise of the powers
and fulfillment of the duties appertaining to his office
2. NO, a person may not act as a Justice of the Supreme Court
who has not been duly appointed by the President and
confirmed by the Commission on Appointments pursuant to
the constitution , even only as a "designee"
a. One of the main disqualifying circumstance of the
designee is the lack of confirmation by or consent of the
Commission on Appointments
b. Moreover, it may also happen that a "designee" under
section 14 of the People's Court Act does not possess
the required constitutional qualifications of a regular
member of said Court. (Another point of repugnancy
bet the law and the consti)
c. And if fact that only four of the present ten Justices of this
Court are not adversely affected by the disqualification
established in section 14 of the People's Court Act, we
see that the "designees" constitute a majority when
sitting with said four Justices not confirmed. It still
cannot work if temporary, for no temporary
composition of the Supreme Court is authorized by
the constitution.
3. NO, by the method of "designation" created by section 14
designated by the President under the same section cannot
constitutionally "sit temporarily as Justice" of the Supreme
Court by virtue thereof.
a. The framers of the constitution naturally excludes the
intervention of any person or official who is not a member
of the Court in the performance of its functions; and it is
self-evident that the "designees" spoken of in section
14 of the People's Court Act can not be such
members in view of the fact that they have not
been appointed and confirmed as such pursuant to
said sections 5 and 6.
b. Hence, the "designees" in such a case cannot
constitutionally "sit temporarily as Justices" of the
Supreme Court.

Author: Logronio, Angelo J.