04/02/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Be that as it may, the Court is not precluded from passing judgment on them. It is hornbook doctrine that courts will decide cases, otherwise moot, when (1) there is a grave violation of the Constitution; (2) the exceptional character of the situation and the paramount public interest involved demand; (3) the constitutional issue raised requires formulation of controlling principles to guide the bench, the bar, and the public; and (4) the case is capable of repetition yet evading review.[3] Let me cite a few examples. In Javier v. Commission on Elections,[4] petitioner Evelio B. Javier was assassinated on February 11, 1986 before his petition to the Court could be decided. In his petition, Javier argued that the proclamation of his rival, Arturo F. Pacificador, was void because it was made only by a division and not by the Commission on Elections en banc as required by the 1973 Constitution. The new Solicitor General moved for the dismissal of the petition on the ground of mootness in view of supervening events. The Court refused, saying: The abolition of the Batasang Pambansa and the disappearance of the office in dispute between the petitioner and the private respondent - both of whom have gone their separate ways - could be a convenient justification for dismissing this case. But there are larger issues involved that must be resolved now, once and for all, not only to dispel the legal ambiguities here raised. The more important purpose is to manifest in the clearest possible terms that this Court will not disregard and in effect condone wrong on the simplistic and tolerant pretext that the case has become moot and academic. The Supreme Court is not only the highest arbiter of legal questions but also the conscience of the government. The citizen comes to us in the quest of law but we must also give him justice. The two are not always the same. There are times we cannot grant the latter because the issue has been settled and decision is no longer possible according to the law. But there are also times when although the dispute has disappeared, as in this case, it nevertheless cries out to be resolved. Justice demands that we act then, not only for the vindication of the outraged right, though gone, but also for the guidance of and as a restraint on the future.[5] (Emphasis supplied) In Salonga v. Cruz-Paño,[6] the Court had already deliberated on the case, a consensus on the judgment of the Court had been reached, and a draft ponencia was circulating for concurrences and separate opinions, if any. However, on January 18, 1985, respondent Judge Rodolfo Ortiz granted the motion of respondent City Fiscal Sergio Apostol to drop the subversion case against petitioner. In accordance with the instructions of the Minister of Justice, the prosecution reevaluated its evidence and decided the exclusion of petitioner as one of the accused in the information filed under the questioned resolution. However, this did not prevent the Court from deciding the merits of the petition. In doing so, the Court reasoned that "[t]he setting aside or declaring void, in proper cases, of intrusions of State authority into areas reserved by the Bill of Rights for the individual as constitutionally protected spheres where even the awesome powers of Government may not enter at will is not the totality of the Court's function." It "also elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/47263 160/203