Lack of quorum prompts death sentence recall

You could call it a reprieve by technical question.

A question on quorum in a 14-member Supreme Court has prompted the justices of the high tribunal to recall a decision affirming the death sentence of a man who raped his 11-year-old daughter.

In a three-page resolution dated Sept. 7, the SC justices resubmitted the case of Gerry Ebio for re-deliberation by the court en banc after he called attention to the fact that only seven of the justices signed the decision. The other seven were on leave at the time.

According to the SC, the question of the number of judges necessary to authorize the transaction of business by a court is a general rule to be determined from the constitution or statutory provisions creating and regulating the courts. As a general rule, a majority of the members of a court constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business and the decision of cases.

The Constitution is only clear on the matter of quorum when the SC meets by division, as can be deduced from Paragraph 3 of Article 8, Section 4 that there should be at least three members present for the division to conduct its business.

"There is no similar pronouncement, however, when the (SC) meets en banc. The second paragraph of Article 8, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution does not expressly state the number of justices required to be present to constitute a quorum of the court en banc," the SC said.

"The deliberations of the 1987 Constitution are also silent on what constitutes a quorum when the (SC) is composed of only 14 members," the SC said.

"In case of doubt in a criminal case, especially where the death penalty is imposed, the doubt should be resolved in favor of the accused," the court held.

The SC said that, considering that the life of the accused was at stake, it deemed it wise to resubmit the case to the court en banc for re-deliberation.

Ebio filed a motion for reconsideration on the court’s Oct. 14, 2002 decision upholding the decision of the Sorsogon regional trial court sentencing him to death by lethal injection.

The accused raised the issue of whether or not the votes of only seven justices of the SC sitting en banc could validly affirm the death penalty and whether there would be a need for a quorum when sitting en banc.

It takes time to fill a vacancy in the SC. The Judicial and Bar Council undertakes the process of selecting nominees to fill SC vacancies. This list of nominees is then submitted by the JBC to the President, who appoints one of the nominees on the list to the SC.