EN BANC
[ G.R. No. 244027. April 11, 2023 ]
JOVIT BUELLA Y ABALAIN, PETITIONER, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, RESPONDENT.
CONCURRING OPINION
LEONEN, SAJ.:
The Commission on Elections is mandated to guarantee the orderly conduct of elections. Thus, the transport and possession of firearms and other deadly weapons are banned during the election period if done without the proper permits for exemption.
This purpose is not achieved if the commission indiscriminately classifies all types of bladed instruments as deadly weapons, without properly defining what should be banned. Bladed instruments, without further definition as to its primary purpose or use, may encompass a multitude of objects not contemplated by law enforcement agencies.
I agree with the ponencia that the inclusion of "bladed instruments" under the blanket prohibition on deadly weapons in Comelec Resolution No. 10015 is ultra vires. In my view, the Commission on Election's definition of a "deadly weapon" is vague and unclear, not only on what may be considered deadly, but also on what may be considered a weapon.
During the 2016 National and Local Elections, five separate Informations were filed against Matea C. Obay (Obay), Jeffrey A. Esperas (Esperas), Ruel A. Valencia (Valencia), Joel C. Pastorizo (Pastorizo), and Jovit A. Buella (Buella) before the trial court for violation of Comelec Resolution No. 10015 in relation to Section 261(q) of the Omnibus Election Code, or the prohibition against the bearing, carrying or transporting firearms or other deadly weapons during the election period.1 The Information against Buella, in particular, reads:
That on or about May 8, 2016, in the City of Naga, Camarines Sur, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, did then and there [willfully], unlawfully and feloniously have in his possession, custody and control, one (1) black folding knife TM:Cardsharp, without the written permit to carry the same outside of his residence and public place for the election period January 10, 2016 to June 8, 2016 from the COMELEC.ℒαwρhi৷
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW.2
For reference, Section 261(q) of the Omnibus Election Code provides:
Sec. 261. Prohibited Acts. - The following shall be guilty of an election offense:
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q. Carrying firearms outside residence or place of business. - Any person who, although possessing a permit to carry firearms, carries any firearms outside his residence or place of business during the election period, unless authorized in writing by the Commission: Provided, That a motor vehicle, water or air craft shall not be considered a residence or place of business or extension hereof.
This prohibition shall not apply to cashiers and disbursing officers while in the performance of their duties or to persons who by nature of their official duties, profession, business or occupation habitually carry large sums of money or valuables.
Section 32 of Republic Act No. 7166,3 on the other hand, provides:
SEC. 32. Who May Bear Firearms. — During the election period, no person shall bear, carry or transport firearms or other deadly weapons in public places, including any building, street, park, private vehicle or public conveyance, even if licensed to possess or carry the same, unless authorized in writing by the Commission. The issuance of firearm licenses shall be suspended during the election period.
Only regular members or officers of the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other enforcement agencies of the Government who are duly deputized in writing by the Commission for election duty may be authorized to carry and possess firearms during the election period: Provided, That, when in the possession of firearms, the deputized law enforcement officer must be: (a) in full uniform showing clearly and legibly his name, rank and serial number which shall remain visible at all times; and (b) in the actual performance of his election duty in the specific area designated by the Commission.
Comelec Resolution No. 10015 was promulgated by the Commission on Elections on November 13, 2015 to provide for the rules and regulations relative to the bearing, carrying, or transporting of firearms or other deadly weapons during the 2016 National and Local Elections. The Resolution states:
RULE II
GENERAL PROVISIONS
SECTION 1. Prohibited Acts. - During the Election Period:
a. No person shall bear, carry or transport Firearms or Deadly Weapons outside his residence or place of business, and in all public places, including any building, street, park, and in private vehicles or public conveyances, even if he is licensed or authorized to possess or to carry the same unless authorized by the Commission, through the CBFSP, in accordance with the provisions of this Resolution[.]4
The Resolution states the same definition of "firearm" as Republic Act No. 10591,5 that is "any handheld or portable weapon, whether a small arm or light weapon, that expels or is designed to expel a bullet, shot, slug, missile or any projectile, which is discharged by means of expansive force of gases from burning gunpowder or other form of combustion or any similar instrument or implement."6 The Resolution goes even further and adds:
For purposes of this Resolution, imitation firearms are also deemed included in the term Firearms. An imitation firearm, as defined under R.A. No. 10591, refers to a replica of a firearm, or other device that is so substantially similar in coloration and overall appearance to an existing firearm as to lead a reasonable person to believe that such imitation firearm is a real firearm. The term shall include airguns and airsoft guns.7
Under the same Resolution, "deadly weapon" is defined as:
Rule I
SECTION 1. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Resolution:
. . . .
f. Deadly Weapon includes all types of bladed instruments, hand grenades or other explosives, except pyrotechnics. Provided, that a bladed instrument is not covered by the prohibition when possession of the bladed instrument is necessary to the occupation of the possessor or when it is used as a tool for a legitimate activity.8
The ponencia held that the Commission on Elections exceeded the scope of its authority when it included "bladed instruments" within the definition of "deadly weapons," since the latter only contemplates those deadly weapons susceptible to licensing and regulation.9
I agree.
In my view, Rule II, Section 1 in relation to Rule I, Section 1(f) of Comelec Resolution No. 10015 is vague.
Unlike "firearms," no law has defined what a "deadly weapon" is. The Commission on Elections' definition is unnecessarily broad, including "all types of bladed instruments" that are not "necessary to the occupation of the possessor" or are not "used as a tool for a legitimate activity."
In doing so, it has not given an enumeration on the bladed instruments included in that definition, preferring instead to subsume it into "all types," or all objects with blades. Rule II, Section 1 of Comelec Resolution No. 10015 makes it an election offense to possess, transport, or carry outside of one's residence any object with bladed edges during the election period. The Resolution has likewise not defined what could be considered "necessary" to the possessor's occupation or what could be considered a "legitimate activity."
Thus, the mere possession of a kitchen knife outside of one's residence when not using it for kitchen purposes may be considered an election offense. The same situation can be said of shaving blades, when the possessor does not have or is incapable of growing a beard or body hair. This is an alarming interpretation, since election offenses carry with it the penalty of imprisonment of one year to six years, disqualification from public office, and deprivation of the right to suffrage.10
It can be argued that this absurd situation would not arise, since law enforcement officers would be reasonable enough not to include kitchen knives or shaving blades within this definition. In this particular case, however, accused Obay was charged with possession of a kitchen knife11 while accused Pastorizo was charged with possession of two pieces of shaving blades.12 With the myriad of bladed instruments in existence, it is unclear which specific bladed instruments should be included within the Commission on Elections' definition.
The definition under Rule 1, Section 1(f) does not even require the bladed instrument to be sharp or capable of doing harm. It merely states that the instrument be "bladed" or having a blade or blades. A decorative sword may not necessarily be for one's occupation, since one can purchase it as a hobby. It may also not be used as a tool for a legitimate activity since it is merely decorative. Thus, transporting, carrying, or possessing a decorative sword outside of one's residence can be considered an election offense under Rule II, Section 1 of Comelec Resolution No. 10015.
Pastorizo was also found to be carrying an icepick.13 An icepick, though sharp and pointy, does not have a blade, and thus, is not strictly a "bladed instrument." It would not be included within the Commission's definition of a "deadly weapon," but Pastorizo was nonetheless charged with an election offense.
It can be argued that any object can become a deadly weapon if one is creative enough. Section 26414 of the Omnibus Election Code, however, is a penal provision. As the ponencia so aptly points out, penal laws are to be construed strictly against the State and liberally in favor of the accused.15 The State cannot hold persons criminally liable under Rule II, Section 1 of Comelec Resolution No. 10015 without a precise definition of what exactly constitutes a "deadly weapon."
This Court has stated that a statute or act is vague "when it lacks comprehensible standards that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application."16 People v. Nazario17 explains that the statute or act is unconstitutional since "(1) it violates due process for failure to accord persons, especially the parties [targeted] by it, fair notice of the conduct to avoid; and (2) it leaves law enforcers unbridled discretion in carrying out its provisions and becomes an arbitrary flexing of the Government muscle."18 Nazario, however, cautions that the vagueness must be such that "it cannot be clarified by either a saving clause or by construction."19 The statute or act may still be valid if merely "couched in imprecise language—but which nonetheless specifies a standard though defectively phrased—in which case, it may be 'saved' by proper construction."20
Thus, for the definition under Rule I, Section 1(f) to remain valid, it must state a more specific standard of what constitutes a "deadly weapon."
Prior laws cannot be resorted to for this definition. Act No. 178021 implies that a "deadly weapon" is that "from which a bullet, ball, shot, shell, or other missile or missiles may be discharged by means of gunpowder or other explosive."22 Presidential Decree No. 9,23 as amended by Batas Blg. 624 enumerates bladed, pointed, or blunt weapons as "knife, spear, pana, dagger, bolo, barong, kris, or chako." The ponencia, however, has already pointed out that Presidential Decree No. 9 has since become inexistent, since the reason for its existence, that is, Martial Law in the 1970s, has already ceased.25
The Bureau of Jail Management Penology's operating manual may provide this Court some insight into a proper definition:
Deadly Weapon/s — are generally defined as a firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, or adapted for purposes of inflicting death or serious physical injury. The term includes, but is not limited to, a pistol, rifle, or shotgun; or a switch-blade knife, gravity knife, stiletto, sword, or dagger, or any billy, black-jack, bludgeon, metal knuckles and improvised weapons.26
Buella was charged with possession of "one (1) black folding knife TM:Cardsharp."27 A folding knife, without further allegation as to its primary and exclusive purpose, should not be automatically classified as a weapon, much less as a deadly weapon.
In my view, a "deadly weapon" should be an object primarily and exclusively designed to maim, kill, or otherwise cause death. A bladed instrument, without any further definition as to its primary purpose, should not automatically be a "deadly weapon" within the definition of Comelec Resolution No. 10015. As such, instruments carried for the primary purpose of self-defense, though sharp, pointy, or bladed, should not be classified as "deadly weapons."
The prohibition of firearms or other deadly weapons during the election period is meant to guarantee the safe and peaceful conduct of elections. However, elections are rarely disrupted by random individuals carrying common household items or self-defense tools outside their residences. Historically speaking, election-related violence is often committed by the private armies of rival politicians, as infamously illustrated by the Maguindanao Massacre.
The goal of the Commission of Elections is the conduct of free and safe elections. This is not achieved with indiscriminate arrests and unclear guidelines that do not clearly address the root of the violence. Accordingly, I recommend that the Commission on Elections be directed to provide a clearer and more concise definition of "deadly weapon" in their future resolutions.
ACCORDINGLY, I vote to GRANT the appeal and DECLARE "bladed weapons" as excluded from the scope of Comelec Resolution No. 10015.
Footnotes
1 Ponencia, p. 2.
2 Ponencia, pp. 2-3.
3 An Act Providing for Synchronized National and Local Elections and For Electoral Reforms, Authorizing Appropriations Therefor, and for Other Purposes.
4 Comelec Resolution No. 10015 (2015), rule 2, sec. 1(a).
5 Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act (2013).
6 Comelec Resolution No. 10015 (2015), rule 1, sec. 1(j).
7 Id.
8 Comelec Resolution No. 10015 (2015), rule 1, sec. 1(f).
9 Ponencia, p. 38.
10 OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE (1985), sec. 264.
11 Ponencia, p. 49.
12 Id. at 50.
13 Id.
14 OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE (1985), sec. 264 provides:
Sec. 264. Penalties. - Any person found guilty or any election offense under this Code shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years and shall not be subject to probation. In addition, the guilty party shall be sentenced to suffer disqualification to hold public office and deprivation of the right of suffrage. If he is a foreigner, he shall be sentenced to deportation which shall be enforced after the prison term has been served. Any political party found guilty shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than ten thousand pesos, which shall be imposed upon such party after criminal action has been instituted in which their corresponding officials have been found guilty.
15 Ponencia, p. 38.
16 People v. Nazario, 247-A Phil. 276, 286 (1988) [Per J. Sarmiento, En Banc].
17 247-A Phil. 276 (1988) [Per J. Sarmiento, En Banc].
18 Id. at 286.
19 Id.
20 Id. at 287.
21 An Act to Regulate the Importation, Acquisition, Possession, Use, and Transfer of Firearms, and to Prohibit the Possession of Same Except in Compliance with the Provisions of this Act.
22 Act No. 1780 (1907), sec. 1.
23 Presidential Decree No. 9 (1972), sec. 3.
24 Batas Pambansa Blg. 6, (1978), sec. 1.
25 Ponencia, pp. 38-41.
26 BJM-DI Standard Operating Procedure No. 19-17 (2017), Proper Handling, Custody and Disposition of Seized Deadly Weapons.
27 Ponencia, p. 3. It is unclear what type of folding knife this is, but a preliminary search online shows this image:
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