Gonzales vs.

COMELEC
21 SCRA 774

Facts: In June 1967, Republic Act 4913 was passed. This law provided for the
COMELEC to hold a plebiscite for the proposed amendments to the Constitution. It was
provided in the said law that the plebiscite shall be held on the same day that the
general national elections shall be held (November 14, 1967). This was questioned by
Ramon Gonzales and other concerned groups as they argued that this was unlawful as
there would be no proper submission of the proposals to the people who would be more
interested in the issues involved in the general election rather than in the issues
involving the plebiscite.

Gonzales also questioned the validity of the procedure adopted by Congress when they
came up with their proposals to amend the Constitution (RA 4913). In this regard, the
COMELEC and other respondents interposed the defense that said act of Congress
cannot be reviewed by the courts because it is a political question.

Issue: (1) Who decides whether amendments or revision should be proposed by

Congress or by a constitutional convention and (2) must amendments to the
Constitution be submitted for approval in a special election or may they be included
among issues presented during a general election?

Ruling: (1) The choice of which constituent assembly should initiate amendments or
revision is a matter of wisdom left to the discretion of the Congress. (2) Ideally,
amendments should be presented in a special election in order that it can command the
undivided attention of the electorate. However, this is not required by the constitution.