The Province of Amaya is one of the smallest provinces in the Philippines with only one legislative district composed of four municipalities: Uno, Dos, Tres, and Cuatro.
Andres, a resident and registered voter of Cuatro municipality, ran and was elected as member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Amaya in the 2010 and 2013 local elections.
While Andres was serving his second term as SP member, a law was enacted re-apportioning the four towns of Amaya into two legislative districts: Uno and Dos comprising the First District, and Tres and Cuatro comprising the Second District.
In the 2016 local elections, Andres ran and was elected as member of the SP of Amaya representing the Second District.
Andres seeks your legal advice regarding his intention to run as a member of the SP of Amaya for the Second District in the next local elections in 2019. What will you advise Andres? (2.5%)
Suggested Answer:
I will advise him that he is disqualified from running due to the three-term limit rule. Under jurisprudence, the three-term limit applies in case of districts that were reapportioned and renamed. Accordingly, his having won for three consecutive terms bars his running for the same position because the previous Cuatro District and the Second District (which combined Tres and Cuatro Districts) are essentially, although not literally, the same.
