Sections 44 and 45 of RA 7160 governing vacancies and succession are quoted hereunder:

Section 44. Permanent Vacancies in the Offices of the Governor, Mayor, and Vice-Mayor. –
If a permanent vacancy occurs in the office of the governor or mayor, the vice-governor or
vice-mayor concerned shall become the governor or mayor. If a permanent vacancy in the
offices of the governor, vice-governor, mayor or vice-mayor, the highest sanggunian
member or, in case of his permanent inability, the second highest-ranking sanggunian
member, shall become the governor, vice-governor, mayor or vice-mayor as the case may
be. Subsequent vacancies in the said office shall be filled automatically by the other
sanggunian members according to their ranking as defined herein:

(b) If a permanent vacancy occurs in the office of the punong barangay, the highest-ranking
sanggunian barangay members or, in case of his permanent inability, the second highest-
ranking sanggunian member, shall become the punong barangay.

(c) A tie between or among the highest ranking sanggunian members shall be resolved by
the drawing of lots.

(d) The successors as defined herein shall serve only the unexpired terms of their
predecessors.

For purposes of this Chapter, a permanent vacancy arises when an elective local official
fills a higher vacant office, refuses to assume office, fails to qualify, dies, is removed from
office, voluntarily resigns, or is otherwise permanently incapacitated to discharge the
functions of his office.

For purposes of succession as provided in this Chapter, ranking in the sanggunian shall be
determined on the basis of the proportion of votes obtained by each winning candidate to the
total number of registered voters in each district in the immediately preceding local election.

Section 45. Permanent Vacancies in the Sanggunian. –

(a) Permanent vacancies in the sanggunian where automatic successions provided above
do not apply shall be filled by appointment in the following manner:

(1) The President, through the Executive Secretary, in the case of the sangguniang
panlalawigan and the sangguniang panglungsod of highly urbanized cities and
independent component cities;

(2) The governor, in the case of the sangguniang panglunsod of component cities
and the sanguniang bayan;

(3) The city or municipal mayor, in the case of sangguniang barangay, upon
recommendation of the sangguniang barangay concerned;

(b) Except for the sangguniang barangay, only the nominee of the political party under which
the sanggunian member concerned had been elected and whose elevation to the position
next higher in rank created the last vacancy in the sanggunian shall be appointed in the
manner hereinabove provided. The appointee shall come from the same political party as
that on the sanggunian member who caused the vacancy and shall serve the unexpired term
 of the vacant office. In the appointment herein mentioned, a nomination and a certificate of
membership of the appointee from the highest official of the political party concerned are
conditions sine qua non, and any appointment without such nomination and certification shall
be null and void ab initio and shall be a ground for administrative action against the official
responsible therefor.

(c) In case the permanent vacancy is caused by a sanggunian member who does not belong
to any political party, the local chief executive shall, upon recommendation of the
sanggunian concerned, appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.

(d) In case of vacancy in the representation of the youth and the barangay in the
sanggunian, said vacancy shall be filled automatically by the official next in rank of the
organization concerned.

Under Section 44, a permanent vacancy arises when an elective official fills a higher vacant office,
refuses to assume office, fails to qualify, dies, is removed from office, voluntarily resigns, or is
otherwise permanently incapacitated to discharge the functions of his office.

What is crucial is the interpretation of Section 45(b) providing that "xxx only the nominee of the
political party under which the Sanggunian member concerned has been elected and whose
elevation to the position next higher in rank created the last vacancy in the Sanggunian shall be
appointed in the manner hereinabove provided. The appointee shall come from the political party as
that of the Sanggunian member who caused the vacancy xxx."

The reason behind the right given to a political party to nominate a replacement where a
permanent vacancy occurs in the Sanggunian is to maintain the party representation as willed by
the people in the election.2

With the elevation of petitioner Tamayo, who belonged to REFORMA-LM, to the position of Vice-
Mayor, a vacancy occurred in the Sanggunian that should be filled up with someone who should
belong to the political party of petitioner Tamayo. Otherwise, REFORMA-LM’s representation in the
Sanggunian would be diminished. To argue that the vacancy created was that formerly held by
Rolando Lalas, a LAKAS-NUCD-Kampi member, would result in the increase of that party’s
representation in the Sanggunian at the expense of the REFORMA-LM. This interpretation is
contrary to the letter and spirit of the law and thus violative of a fundamental rule in statutory
construction which is to ascertain and give effect to the intent and purpose of the law. 3 As earlier
pointed out, the reason behind par. (b), section 44 of the Local Government Code is the
maintenance party representation in the Sanggunian in accordance with the will of the electorate. 1âwphi1.nêt

The "last vacancy" in the Sanggunian refers to that created by the elevation of the member
formerly occupying the next higher in rank which in turn also had become vacant by any of the
causes already enumerated. The term "last vacancy" is thus used in Sec. 45 (b) to differentiate it
from the other vacancy previously created. The term by no means refers to the vacancy in the No. 8
position which occurred with the election of Rolando Lalas to the seventh position in the
Sanggunian. Such construction will result in absurdity.

Petitioners also allege that the Court of Appeals erred in giving due course to the petition because
the verification is defective. It is argued that the affidavit merely stated that the allegations therein
are "true and correct to the best of my own knowledge and information" whereas Section 4, Rule 7 of
the Rules of Court specifically requires that the allegations be "true and correct of his knowledge and
belief."

The contention is without merit. Verification based on the affiant’s own knowledge and information is
sufficient under the circumstances. Verification is merely a formal and not a jurisdictional requisite
which does not affect the validity or efficacy of the pleading, or the jurisdiction of the
court.4 Therefore, a defective verification, as in the present case, does not render the pleading or the
petition invalid and the Court of Appeals did not err in giving due course to the petition.

WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby GRANTED. The decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R.
SP No. 54675 dated October 7, 1999 is REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The appointment of petitioner
Purto J. Navarro to the Sanggunian Bayan of Mapandan, Pangasinan is hereby AFFIRMED as valid
and legal.

SO ORDERED.