Sanidad vs COMELEC

73 SCRA 333, October 12, 1967

Facts:
Petitioners Pablo Sanidad and Pablito Sanidad filed for Prohibition with Preliminary
Injunction seeking to prohibit the Comelec from holding and conducting the Referendum
Plebiscite and to declare without force and effect PD Nos. 991, 1033, and 1031.
Petitioners contend that under the 1935 and 1973 Constis, there is no grant to the
incumbent President to exercise constituent power to propose amendments to the new
Constitution.
The respondent Commission on Elections, represented by the Solicitor General,
maintains that petitioners have no standing to sue; the issue raised is political in nature, beyond
judicial cognizance of this Court; at this state of the transition period, only the incumbent
President has the authority to exercise constituent power.

Issue:

Whether or not the President has authority to propose amendments to the

Constitution.

Ruling:

Yes. In the period of transition, the power to propose amendments to the Constitution lies
in the interim National Assembly upon special call by the President. If the President has been
legitimately discharging the legislative functions of the Interim Assembly, there is no reason why
he cannot validly discharge the function of that Assembly to propose amendments to the
Constitution, (which is but adjunct, although peculiar, to its gross legislative power.)

With the interim National Assembly not convened and only the Presidency and the
Supreme Court in operation, (the urges of absolute necessity render it imperative upon) the
President acted as agent for and in behalf of the people to propose amendments to the
Constitution because of absolute necessity.

The Court find the petition to be devoid of merit.