Paras v.

COMELEC

G.R. No. 123169 (November 4, 1996)

FACTS: A petition for recall was filed against Paras, who is the incumbent Punong Barangay. The recall
election was deferred due to Petitioner’s opposition that under Sec. 74 of RA No. 7160, no recall shall
take place within one year from the date of the official’s assumption to office or one year immediately
preceding a regular local election. Since the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election was set on the first
Monday of May 2006, no recall may be instituted.

ISSUE: W/N the SK election is a local election.

HELD: No. Every part of the statute must be interpreted with reference to its context, and it must be
considered together and kept subservient to its general intent. The evident intent of Sec. 74 is to subject
an elective local official to recall once during his term, as provided in par. (a) and par. (b). The spirit,
rather than the letter of a law, determines its construction. Thus, interpreting the phrase “regular local
election” to include SK election will unduly circumscribe the Code for there will never be a recall election
rendering inutile the provision. In interpreting a statute, the Court assumed that the legislature intended
to enact an effective law. An interpretation should be avoided under which a statute or provision being
construed is defeated, meaningless, inoperative or nugatory.