Supreme Court Abandons the Second Place Doctrine in Mangudadatu v. COMELEC

In the case of Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu v. COMELEC, G.R. Nos. 260219 & 260231, dated April 22, 2025, the Supreme Court (SC) abandoned the second placer rule previously laid down in Jalosjos, Jr.

The Supreme Court ruled that the second placer rule undermines the people’s choice in every election and is repugnant to the constitutional right of suffrage. The Court emphasized that it cannot impose upon the electorate a candidate whom they did not choose in the elections.

The case stemmed from a Petition filed by Sharifa Mangudadatu to deny due course to or cancel the Certificate of Candidacy (“COC”) of Pax Ali Mangudadatu for Provincial Governor of Sultan Kudarat, on the ground that Pax Ali made a material false representation regarding his residency qualification. Sharifa alleged that Pax Ali could not have established residence in Sultan Kudarat because, at the time he filed his COC, he was still the incumbent Mayor of Datu Abdullah Sangki (“DAS”), Maguindanao.

In his defense, Pax Ali contended that he had increased his physical presence in Sultan Kudarat in 2020, and by November 2021, months before the May 2022 elections, he had resigned from his post as Mayor of DAS, Maguindanao.

The SC ruled that Pax Ali was a resident of DAS, Maguindanao. It held that an incumbent public official who continuously exercises the rights and duties of his or her office in the locality where he or she was elected cannot claim animus non-revertendi relative to such place, nor animus manendi in a different locality. The SC declared Pax Ali’s COC canceled and unseated him from his post as Provincial Governor of Sultan Kudarat.

In view of the vacancy left by the cancellation of Pax Ali’s COC, the SC discussed the second placer rule and how, in several case laws, such a rule has been rejected. The Court noted that even before the enactment of the Omnibus Election Code, it had consistently held that the second placer in an election cannot be declared the winner, notwithstanding the ineligibility or disqualification of the candidate who received the majority of votes.

The SC formally abandoned the second placer rule. The Court ruled that the law on succession under Section 44 of the Local Government Code shall apply and ordered the Vice Governor of Sultan Kudarat to assume the permanent vacancy caused by Pax Ali’s COC cancellation. The full text is available in this link.