Facts
Fifty-four (54) party-list groups and organizations filed petitions challenging the Resolutions issued by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) which disqualified them from participating in the 13 May 2013 party-list elections, either by denying their petitions for registration or by canceling their existing registration and accreditation.
The COMELEC, in reaching its decisions, relied on the prevailing Supreme Court decisions in Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party v. COMELEC and Barangay Association for National Advancement and Transparency v. COMELEC (BANAT). These prior rulings essentially mandated that all political parties, regional, and sectoral organizations participating in the party-list system must represent the marginalized and underrepresented sectors. Grounds for disqualification often included failure to represent a marginalized sector, failure of the nominees to belong to the marginalized sector, or deficiencies in proving track record.
Issues
- Whether the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in disqualifying petitioners from participating in the 13 May 2013 party-list elections.
- Whether the criteria for participating in the party-list system laid down in Ang Bagong Bayani and BANAT should be applied by the COMELEC in the coming 13 May 2013 party-list elections.
Ruling
“We hold that the COMELEC did not commit grave abuse of discretion in following prevailing decisions of this Court in disqualifying petitioners from participating in the coming 13 May 2013 party-list elections. However, since the Court adopts in this Decision new parameters in the qualification of national, regional, and sectoral parties under the party-list system, thereby abandoning the rulings in the decisions applied by the COMELEC in disqualifying petitioners, we remand to the COMELEC all the present petitions for the COMELEC to determine who are qualified to register under the party-list system, and to participate in the coming 13 May 2013 party-list elections, under the new parameters prescribed in this Decision. WHEREFORE, all the present 54 petitions are GRANTED“.
Essential Elements of Jurisprudence
The Supreme Court, in this landmark decision, established the following controlling doctrines and legal principles:
- Scope of Party-List System: The party-list system is not exclusively for sectoral parties representing the marginalized and underrepresented. The clear intent of the framers of the 1987 Constitution was to include both sectoral and non-sectoral parties.
- Three Components: The party-list system is composed of three different groups: (1) national parties or organizations, (2) regional parties or organizations, and (3) sectoral parties or organizations.
- National and Regional Parties: These parties do not need to organize along sectoral lines and do not need to represent the “marginalized and underrepresented” sectors. They may be ideology-based or cause-oriented political parties. It is sufficient that they consist of citizens advocating the same ideology, platform, or governance principles, regardless of economic status.
- Sectoral Parties:
- Sectoral parties representing sectors that are by nature economically marginalized and underrepresented (e.g., labor, peasant, urban poor) must ensure a majority of their members belong to that group.
- Sectoral parties representing groups that lack “well-defined political constituencies” (e.g., professionals, elderly, women, youth) must ensure a majority of their members belong to the sector they represent.
- Nominee Qualifications (General): Nominees of national, regional, and sectoral parties are subject to Section 9 of R.A. No. 7941 qualifications (e.g., natural-born citizen, registered voter, resident of one year, etc.).
- Nominee Qualifications (Specific):
- Nominees of national and regional parties or organizations must be bona fide members of such parties or organizations.
- Nominees of sectoral parties must either belong to their respective sectors, or must have a track record of advocacy for their respective sectors.
- Effect of Nominee Disqualification: National, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations shall not be disqualified if some of their nominees are disqualified, provided that they have at least one nominee who remains qualified. The grounds for refusing or canceling registration under Section 6 of R.A. No. 7941 pertain to the party itself, not merely the nominee.
Sample Q&A
Question: The Social Democratic Movement (SDM), a registered ideology-based national political party, seeks to participate in the party-list system. It advocates for comprehensive national healthcare and environmental protection, but its members primarily consist of affluent lawyers, professors, and doctors. The COMELEC disqualified SDM, citing the doctrine in Ang Bagong Bayani that all participating parties must represent marginalized and underrepresented sectors, which SDM clearly does not. Is the COMELEC’s disqualification of SDM proper under prevailing law?
Answer: No, the COMELEC’s disqualification is improper. The Supreme Court, in Atong Paglaum v. COMELEC, abandoned the absolute requirement derived from Ang Bagong Bayani that all parties must represent the marginalized and underrepresented sectors.
The framework established by the Supreme Court recognizes three categories of participants: national, regional, and sectoral parties, as authorized by the 1987 Constitution, Article VI, Section 5(1) and R.A. No. 7941, Section 3(a).
As an ideology-based national political party, SDM belongs to a category that does not need to organize along sectoral lines or represent a marginalized and underrepresented sector. It is sufficient that SDM consists of citizens advocating the same ideology or governance principles, regardless of their economic status, provided they otherwise meet the requirements for registration. Disqualifying SDM solely because it is non-sectoral or non-marginalized is contrary to the clear intent of the Constitution and R.A. No. 7941.
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