Romulo B. Macalintal v. Office of the President, et al. — Decision — Official PDF

Decision 31 G.R. No. E-08557 The Court must remain vigilant against any legislative measure that would use term-setting as a pretext for indefinitely depriving the electorate of regular elections. However, vigilance does not permit the Court to disregard a controiling precedent or to substitute its preferred electoral calendar for the one enacted by Congress. Applying the governing constitutional standard, the Court finds no sufficient basis to invalidate Republic Act No. 12326 or to grant the interim relief sought. Hamilton described the judiciary as having “neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment.” The TRO prayed for by petitioner would have the Court exercise its will before it has exercised judgment by suspending a law enacted by Congress and approved by the President, and to command, by consequence, the conduct of an election before the Court has determined whether that law is in fact unconstitutional. Our task is to determine, after full deliberation, whether Congress has kept within constitutional bounds—not to anticipate that it has not. Having undertaken that task, the Court finds that Congress did not overstep those bounds in enacting Republic Act No. 12326, ACCORDINGLY, the Court resolves to: (1) GRANT petitioner Romulc B. Macalintal’s motion for leave to file and admit the Reply incorporated in his Omnibus Motion, and the Reply is NOTED and ADMITTED; (2) DENY the Motion for Leave of Court to Intervene and to Admit Attached ,Comment-in-Intervention filed. by Jupiter Stalin, M. Larida and NOTE the Entry of Appearance filed by his counsel, Atty. Garri Solomon R. Fernandez; (3) DENY the prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order, status quo. ante order, and/or writ of preliminary injunction; and (4) DISMISS the Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition. for lack of merit and UPHOLD the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 12326. SG ORDERED.