ContentsATIENZA v COMELEC2ANG BAGONG BAYANI-OFW LABOR PARTY, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS;6SABDULLAH T. MACABAGO, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and JAMAEL M. SALACOP, respondents.11HADJI RASUL BATABOR, petitioner, vs. COMISSION ON ELECTIONS, BARANGAY BOARD OF CANVASSERS, BOARD OF ELECTION INSPECTORS OF PRECINCTS NOS. 3A, 4A and 5A, BARANGAY MAIDAN, TUGAYA, LANAO DEL SUR, and MOCASIM ABANGON BATONDIANG, respondents.14BAGO P. PASANDALAN, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and BAI SALAMONA L. ASUM, respondents.16SULTAN MOHAMAD L. MITMUG, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, MUNICIPAL BOARD OF CANVASSERS OF LUMBA-BAYABAO, LANAO DEL SUR, and DATU GAMBAI DAGALANGIT, respondents.19ABS-CBN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, respondent.24ERNESTO TAJANLANGIT, petitioner, vs. MANUEL L. CAZEAS, respondent.28MA. AMELITA C. VILLAROSA, petitioner, vs. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL and RICARDO V. QUINTOS, respondents.32SULTAN MOHAMAD L. MITMUG, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, MUNICIPAL BOARD OF CANVASSERS OF LUMBA-BAYABAO, LANAO DEL SUR, and DATU GAMBAI DAGALANGIT, respondents.38DATU ISRAEL SINSUAT and DATU JABERAEL SINSUAT, Petitioners, v. The HONORABLE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS40

ATIENZA v COMELEC

ABAD, J.: This petition is an offshoot of two earlier cases already resolved by the Court involving a leadership dispute within a political party. In this case, the petitioners question their expulsion from that party and assail the validity of the election of new party leaders conducted by the respondents. Statement of the Facts and the Case For a better understanding of the controversy, a brief recall of the preceding events is in order. On July 5, 2005 respondent Franklin M. Drilon (Drilon), as erstwhile president of the Liberal Party (LP), announced his partys withdrawal of support for the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. But petitioner Jose L. Atienza, Jr. (Atienza), LP Chairman, and a number of party members denounced Drilons move, claiming that he made the announcement without consulting his party. On March 2, 2006 petitioner Atienza hosted a party conference to supposedly discuss local autonomy and party matters but, when convened, the assembly proceeded to declare all positions in the LPs ruling body vacant and elected new officers, with Atienza as LP president. Respondent Drilon immediately filed a petition[1] with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to nullify the elections. He claimed that it was illegal considering that the partys electing bodies, the National Executive Council (NECO) and the National Political Council (NAPOLCO), were not properly convened. Drilon also claimed that under the amended LP Constitution,[2] party officers were elected to a fixed three-year term that was yet to end on November 30, 2007. On the other hand, petitioner Atienza claimed that the majority of the LPs NECO and NAPOLCO attended the March 2, 2006 assembly. The election of new officers on that occasion could be likened to people power, wherein the LP majority removed respondent Drilon as president by direct action. Atienza also said that the amendments[3] to the original LP Constitution, or the Salonga Constitution, giving LP officers a fixed three-year term, had not been properly ratified. Consequently, the term of Drilon and the other officers already ended on July 24, 2006. On October 13, 2006, the COMELEC issued a resolution,[4] partially granting respondent Drilons petition. It annulled the March 2, 2006 elections and ordered the holding of a new election under COMELEC supervision. It held that the election of petitioner Atienza and the others with him was invalid since the electing assembly did not convene in accordance with the Salonga Constitution. But, since the amendments to the Salonga Constitution had not been properly ratified, Drilons term may be deemed to have ended. Thus, he held the position of LP president in a holdover capacity until new officers were elected. Both sides of the dispute came to this Court to challenge the COMELEC rulings. On April 17, 2007 a divided Court issued a resolution,[5] granting respondent Drilons petition and denying that of petitioner Atienza. The Court held, through the majority, that the COMELEC had jurisdiction over the intra-party leadership dispute; that the Salonga Constitution had been validly amended; and that, as a consequence, respondent Drilons term as LP president was to end only on November 30, 2007. Subsequently, the LP held a NECO meeting to elect new party leaders before respondent Drilons term expired. Fifty-nine NECO members out of the 87 who were supposedly qualified to vote attended. Before the election, however, several persons associated with petitioner Atienza sought to clarify their membership status and raised issues regarding the composition of the NECO. Eventually, that meeting installed respondent Manuel A. Roxas II (Roxas) as the new LP president. On January 11, 2008 petitioners Atienza, Matias V. Defensor, Jr., Rodolfo G. Valencia, Danilo E. Suarez, Solomon R. Chungalao, Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez, Harlin Cast-Abayon, Melvin G. Macusi, and Eleazar P. Quinto, filed a petition for mandatory and prohibitory injunction[6] before the COMELEC against respondents Roxas, Drilon and J.R. Nereus O. Acosta, the party secretary general. Atienza, et al. sought to enjoin Roxas from assuming the presidency of the LP, claiming that the NECO assembly which elected him was invalidly convened. They questioned the existence of a quorum and claimed that the NECO composition ought to have been based on a list appearing in the partys 60th Anniversary Souvenir Program. Both Atienza and Drilon adopted that list as common exhibit in the earlier cases and it showed that the NECO had 103 members. Petitioners Atienza, et al. also complained that Atienza, the incumbent party chairman, was not invited to the NECO meeting and that some members, like petitioner Defensor, were given the status of guests during the meeting. Atienzas allies allegedly raised these issues but respondent Drilon arbitrarily thumbed them down and railroaded the proceedings. He suspended the meeting and moved it to another room, where Roxas was elected without notice to Atienzas allies. On the other hand, respondents Roxas, et al. claimed that Roxas election as LP president faithfully complied with the provisions of the amended LP Constitution. The partys 60th Anniversary Souvenir Program could not be used for determining the NECO members because supervening events changed the bodys number and composition. Some NECO members had died, voluntarily resigned, or had gone on leave after accepting positions in the government. Others had lost their re-election bid or did not run in the May 2007 elections, making them ineligible to serve as NECO members. LP members who got elected to public office also became part of the NECO. Certain persons of national stature also became NECO members upon respondent Drilons nomination, a privilege granted the LP president under the amended LP Constitution. In other words, the NECO membership was not fixed or static; it changed due to supervening circumstances. Respondents Roxas, et al. also claimed that the party deemed petitioners Atienza, Zaldivar-Perez, and Cast-Abayon resigned for holding the illegal election of LP officers on March 2, 2006. This was pursuant to a March 14, 2006 NAPOLCO resolution that NECO subsequently ratified. Meanwhile, certain NECO members, like petitioners Defensor, Valencia, and Suarez, forfeited their party membership when they ran under other political parties during the May 2007 elections. They were dropped from the roster of LP members. On June 18, 2009 the COMELEC issued the assailed resolution denying petitioners Atienza, et al.s petition. It noted that the May 2007 elections necessarily changed the composition of the NECO since the amended LP Constitution explicitly made incumbent senators, members of the House of Representatives, governors and mayors members of that body. That some lost or won these positions in the May 2007 elections affected the NECO membership. Petitioners failed to prove that the NECO which elected Roxas as LP president was not properly convened. As for the validity of petitioners Atienza, et al.s expulsion as LP members, the COMELEC observed that this was a membership issue that related to disciplinary action within the political party. The COMELEC treated it as an internal party matter that was beyond its jurisdiction to resolve. Without filing a motion for reconsideration of the COMELEC resolution, petitioners Atienza, et al. filed this petition for certiorari under Rule 65. The Issues Presented Respondents Roxas, et al. raise the following threshold issues: 1. Whether or not the LP, which was not impleaded in the case, is an indispensable party; and 2. Whether or not petitioners Atienza, et al., as ousted LP members, have the requisite legal standing to question Roxas election. Petitioners Atienza, et al., on the other hand, raise the following issues: 3. Whether or not the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion when it upheld the NECO membership that elected respondent Roxas as LP president; 4. Whether or not the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion when it resolved the issue concerning the validity of the NECO meeting without first resolving the issue concerning the expulsion of Atienza, et al. from the party; and 5. Whether or not respondents Roxas, et al. violated petitioners Atienza, et al.s constitutional right to due process by the latters expulsion from the party. The Courts Ruling One. Respondents Roxas, et al. assert that the Court should dismiss the petition for failure of petitioners Atienza, et al. to implead the LP as an indispensable party. Roxas, et al. point out that, since the petition seeks the issuance of a writ of mandatory injunction against the NECO, the controversy could not be adjudicated with finality without making the LP a party to the case.[7] But petitioners Atienza, et al.s causes of action in this case consist in respondents Roxas, et al.s disenfranchisement of Atienza, et al. from the election of party leaders and in the illegal election of Roxas as party president. Atienza, et al. were supposedly excluded from the elections by a series of despotic acts of Roxas, et al., who controlled the proceedings. Among these acts are Atienza, et al.s expulsion from the party, their exclusion from the NECO, and respondent Drilons railroading of election proceedings. Atienza, et al. attributed all these illegal and prejudicial acts to Roxas, et al. Since no wrong had been imputed to the LP nor had some affirmative relief been sought from it, the LP is not an indispensable party. Petitioners Atienza, et al.s prayer for the undoing of respondents Roxas, et al.s acts and the reconvening of the NECO are directed against Roxas, et al. Two. Respondents Roxas, et al. also claim that petitioners Atienza, et al. have no legal standing to question the election of Roxas as LP president because they are no longer LP members, having been validly expelled from the party or having joined other political parties.[8] As non-members, they have no stake in the outcome of the action. But, as the Court held in David v. Macapagal-Arroyo,[9] legal standing in suits is governed by the real parties-in-interest rule under Section 2, Rule 3 of the Rules of Court. This states that every action must be prosecuted or defended in the name of the real party-in-interest. And real party-in-interest is one who stands to be benefited or injured by the judgment in the suit or the party entitled to the avails of the suit. In other words, the plaintiffs standing is based on his own right to the relief sought. In raising petitioners Atienza, et al.s lack of standing as a threshold issue, respondents Roxas, et al. would have the Court hypothetically assume the truth of the allegations in the petition. Here, it is precisely petitioners Atienza, et al.s allegations that respondents Roxas, et al. deprived them of their rights as LP members by summarily excluding them from the LP roster and not allowing them to take part in the election of its officers and that not all who sat in the NECO were in the correct list of NECO members. If Atienza, et al.s allegations were correct, they would have been irregularly expelled from the party and the election of officers, void. Further, they would be entitled to recognition as members of good standing and to the holding of a new election of officers using the correct list of NECO members. To this extent, therefore, Atienza, et al. who want to take part in another election would stand to be benefited or prejudiced by the Courts decision in this case. Consequently, they have legal standing to pursue this petition. Three. In assailing respondent Roxas election as LP president, petitioners Atienza, et al. claim that the NECO members allowed to take part in that election should have been limited to those in the list of NECO members appearing in the partys 60th Anniversary Souvenir Program. Atienza, et al. allege that respondent Drilon, as holdover LP president, adopted that list in the earlier cases before the COMELEC and it should thus bind respondents Roxas, et al. The Courts decision in the earlier cases, said Atienza, et al., anointed that list for the next party election. Thus, Roxas, et al. in effect defied the Courts ruling when they removed Atienza as party chairman and changed the NECOs composition.[10] But the list of NECO members appearing in the partys 60th Anniversary Souvenir Program was drawn before the May 2007 elections. After the 2007 elections, changes in the NECO membership had to be redrawn to comply with what the amended LP Constitution required. Respondent Drilon adopted the souvenir program as common exhibit in the earlier cases only to prove that the NECO, which supposedly elected Atienza as new LP president on March 2, 2006, had been improperly convened. It cannot be regarded as an immutable list, given the nature and character of the NECO membership. Nothing in the Courts resolution in the earlier cases implies that the NECO membership should be pegged to the partys 60th Anniversary Souvenir Program. There would have been no basis for such a position. The amended LP Constitution did not intend the NECO membership to be permanent. Its Section 27[11] provides that the NECO shall include all incumbent senators, members of the House of Representatives, governors, and mayors who were LP members in good standing for at least six months. It follows from this that with the national and local elections taking place in May 2007, the number and composition of the NECO would have to yield to changes brought about by the elections. Former NECO members who lost the offices that entitled them to membership had to be dropped. Newly elected ones who gained the privilege because of their offices had to come in. Furthermore, former NECO members who passed away, resigned from the party, or went on leave could not be expected to remain part of the NECO that convened and held elections on November 26, 2007. In addition, Section 27 of the amended LP Constitution expressly authorized the party president to nominate persons of national stature to the NECO. Thus, petitioners Atienza, et al. cannot validly object to the admission of 12 NECO members nominated by respondent Drilon when he was LP president. Even if this move could be regarded as respondents Roxas, et al.s way of ensuring their election as party officers, there was certainly nothing irregular about the act under the amended LP Constitution. The NECO was validly convened in accordance with the amended LP Constitution. Respondents Roxas, et al. explained in details how they arrived at the NECO composition for the purpose of electing the party leaders.[12] The explanation is logical and consistent with party rules. Consequently, the COMELEC did not gravely abuse its discretion when it upheld the composition of the NECO that elected Roxas as LP president. Petitioner Atienza claims that the Courts resolution in the earlier cases recognized his right as party chairman with a term, like respondent Drilon, that would last up to November 30, 2007 and that, therefore, his ouster from that position violated the Courts resolution. But the Courts resolution in the earlier cases did not preclude the party from disciplining Atienza under Sections 29[13] and 46[14] of the amended LP Constitution. The party could very well remove him or any officer for cause as it saw fit. Four. Petitioners Atienza, et al. lament that the COMELEC selectively exercised its jurisdiction when it ruled on the composition of the NECO but refused to delve into the legality of their expulsion from the party. The two issues, they said, weigh heavily on the leadership controversy involved in the case. The previous rulings of the Court, they claim, categorically upheld the jurisdiction of the COMELEC over intra-party leadership disputes.[15] But, as respondents Roxas, et al. point out, the key issue in this case is not the validity of the expulsion of petitioners Atienza, et al. from the party, but the legitimacy of the NECO assembly that elected respondent Roxas as LP president. Given the COMELECs finding as upheld by this Court that the membership of the NECO in question complied with the LP Constitution, the resolution of the issue of whether or not the party validly expelled petitioners cannot affect the election of officers that the NECO held. While petitioners Atienza, et al. claim that the majority of LP members belong to their faction, they did not specify who these members were and how their numbers could possibly affect the composition of the NECO and the outcome of its election of party leaders. Atienza, et al. has not bothered to assail the individual qualifications of the NECO members who voted for Roxas. Nor did Atienza, et al. present proof that the NECO had no quorum when it then assembled. In other words, the claims of Atienza, et al. were totally unsupported by evidence. Consequently, petitioners Atienza, et al. cannot claim that their expulsion from the party impacts on the party leadership issue or on the election of respondent Roxas as president so that it was indispensable for the COMELEC to adjudicate such claim. Under the circumstances, the validity or invalidity of Atienza, et al.s expulsion was purely a membership issue that had to be settled within the party. It is an internal party matter over which the COMELEC has no jurisdiction. What is more, some of petitioner Atienzas allies raised objections before the NECO assembly regarding the status of members from their faction. Still, the NECO proceeded with the election, implying that its membership, whose composition has been upheld, voted out those objections. The COMELECs jurisdiction over intra-party disputes is limited. It does not have blanket authority to resolve any and all controversies involving political parties. Political parties are generally free to conduct their activities without interference from the state. The COMELEC may intervene in disputes internal to a party only when necessary to the discharge of its constitutional functions. The COMELECs jurisdiction over intra-party leadership disputes has already been settled by the Court. The Court ruled in Kalaw v. Commission on Elections[16] that the COMELECs powers and functions under Section 2, Article IX-C of the Constitution, include the ascertainment of the identity of the political party and its legitimate officers responsible for its acts. The Court also declared in another case[17] that the COMELECs power to register political parties necessarily involved the determination of the persons who must act on its behalf. Thus, the COMELEC may resolve an intra-party leadership dispute, in a proper case brought before it, as an incident of its power to register political parties. The validity of respondent Roxas election as LP president is a leadership issue that the COMELEC had to settle. Under the amended LP Constitution, the LP president is the issuing authority for certificates of nomination of party candidates for all national elective positions. It is also the LP president who can authorize other LP officers to issue certificates of nomination for candidates to local elective posts.[18] In simple terms, it is the LP president who certifies the official standard bearer of the party. The law also grants a registered political party certain rights and privileges that will redound to the benefit of its official candidates. It imposes, too, legal obligations upon registered political parties that have to be carried out through their leaders. The resolution of the leadership issue is thus particularly significant in ensuring the peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections.[19] Five. Petitioners Atienza, et al. argue that their expulsion from the party is not a simple issue of party membership or discipline; it involves a violation of their constitutionally-protected right to due process of law. They claim that the NAPOLCO and the NECO should have first summoned them to a hearing before summarily expelling them from the party. According to Atienza, et al., proceedings on party discipline are the equivalent of administrative proceedings[20] and are, therefore, covered by the due process requirements laid down in Ang Tibay v. Court of Industrial Relations.[21] But the requirements of administrative due process do not apply to the internal affairs of political parties. The due process standards set in Ang Tibay cover only administrative bodies created by the state and through which certain governmental acts or functions are performed. An administrative agency or instrumentality contemplates an authority to which the state delegates governmental power for the performance of a state function.[22] The constitutional limitations that generally apply to the exercise of the states powers thus, apply too, to administrative bodies. The constitutional limitations on the exercise of the states powers are found in Article III of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights, which guarantees against the taking of life, property, or liberty without due process under Section 1 is generally a limitation on the states powers in relation to the rights of its citizens. The right to due process is meant to protect ordinary citizens against arbitrary government action, but not from acts committed by private individuals or entities. In the latter case, the specific statutes that provide reliefs from such private acts apply. The right to due process guards against unwarranted encroachment by the state into the fundamental rights of its citizens and cannot be invoked in private controversies involving private parties.[23] Although political parties play an important role in our democratic set-up as an intermediary between the state and its citizens, it is still a private organization, not a state instrument. The discipline of members by a political party does not involve the right to life, liberty or property within the meaning of the due process clause. An individual has no vested right, as against the state, to be accepted or to prevent his removal by a political party. The only rights, if any, that party members may have, in relation to other party members, correspond to those that may have been freely agreed upon among themselves through their charter, which is a contract among the party members. Members whose rights under their charter may have been violated have recourse to courts of law for the enforcement of those rights, but not as a due process issue against the government or any of its agencies. But even when recourse to courts of law may be made, courts will ordinarily not interfere in membership and disciplinary matters within a political party. A political party is free to conduct its internal affairs, pursuant to its constitutionally-protected right to free association. In Sinaca v. Mula,[24] the Court said that judicial restraint in internal party matters serves the public interest by allowing the political processes to operate without undue interference. It is also consistent with the state policy of allowing a free and open party system to evolve, according to the free choice of the people.[25] To conclude, the COMELEC did not gravely abuse its discretion when it upheld Roxas election as LP president but refused to rule on the validity of Atienza, et al.s expulsion from the party. While the question of party leadership has implications on the COMELECs performance of its functions under Section 2, Article IX-C of the Constitution, the same cannot be said of the issue pertaining to Atienza, et al.s expulsion from the LP. Such expulsion is for the moment an issue of party membership and discipline, in which the COMELEC cannot intervene, given the limited scope of its power over political parties. WHEREFORE, the Court DISMISSES the petition and UPHOLDS the Resolution of the Commission on Elections dated June 18, 2009 in COMELEC Case SPP 08-001. SO ORDERED.

EN BANC[G.R. No. 147589. June 26, 2001]ANG BAGONG BAYANI-OFW LABOR PARTY, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS;

CITIZENS DRUG WATCH; MAMAMAYAN AYAW SA DROGA; GO! GO! PHILIPPINES; THE TRUE MARCOS LOYALIST ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES; PHILIPPINE LOCAL AUTONOMY; CITIZENS MOVEMENT FOR JUSTICE, ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT AND PEACE; CHAMBER OF REAL ESTATE BUILDERS ASSOCIATION; SPORTS & HEALTH ADVANCEMENT FOUNDATION, INC.; ANG LAKAS NG OVERSEAS CONTRACT WORKERS (OCW); BAGONG BAYANI ORGANIZATION and others under Organizations/Coalitions of Omnibus Resolution No. 3785; PARTIDO NG MASANG PILIPINO; LAKAS NUCD-UMDP; NATIONALIST PEOPLES COALITION; LABAN NG DEMOKRATIKONG PILIPINO; AKSYON DEMOKRATIKO; PDP-LABAN; LIBERAL PARTY; NACIONALISTA PARTY; ANG BUHAY HAYAANG YUMABONG; and others under Political Parties of Omnibus Resolution No. 3785. respondents.[G.R. No. 147613. June 26, 2001]

BAYAN MUNA, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS; NATIONALIST PEOPLES COALITION (NPC); LABAN NG DEMOKRATIKONG PILIPINO (LDP); PARTIDO NG MASANG PILIPINO (PMP); LAKAS-NUCD-UMDP; LIBERAL PARTY; MAMAMAYANG AYAW SA DROGA; CREBA; NATIONAL FEDERATION OF SUGARCANE PLANTERS; JEEP; and BAGONG BAYANI ORGANIZATION, respondents.D E C I S I O NPANGANIBAN, J.:

The party-list system is a social justice tool designed not only to give more law to the great masses of our people who have less in life, but also to enable them to become veritable lawmakers themselves, empowered to participate directly in the enactment of laws designed to benefit them. It intends to make the marginalized and the underrepresented not merely passive recipients of the States benevolence, but active participants in the mainstream of representative democracy. Thus, allowing all individuals and groups, including those which now dominate district elections, to have the same opportunity to participate in party-list elections would desecrate this lofty objective and mongrelize the social justice mechanism into an atrocious veneer for traditional politics.

The Case

Before us are two Petitions under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court, challenging Omnibus Resolution No. 3785[1] issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on March 26, 2001. This Resolution approved the participation of 154 organizations and parties, including those herein impleaded, in the 2001 party-list elections. Petitioners seek the disqualification of private respondents, arguing mainly that the party-list system was intended to benefit the marginalized and underrepresented; not the mainstream political parties, the non-marginalized or overrepresented.

The Factual Antecedents

With the onset of the 2001 elections, the Comelec received several Petitions for registration filed by sectoral parties, organizations and political parties. According to the Comelec, [v]erifications were made as to the status and capacity of these parties and organizations and hearings were scheduled day and night until the last party w[as] heard. With the number of these petitions and the observance of the legal and procedural requirements, review of these petitions as well as deliberations takes a longer process in order to arrive at a decision and as a result the two (2) divisions promulgated a separate Omnibus Resolution and individual resolution on political parties. These numerous petitions and processes observed in the disposition of these petition[s] hinder the early release of the Omnibus Resolutions of the Divisions which were promulgated only on 10 February 2001.[2]

Thereafter, before the February 12, 2001 deadline prescribed under Comelec Resolution No. 3426 dated December 22, 2000, the registered parties and organizations filed their respective Manifestations, stating their intention to participate in the party-list elections. Other sectoral and political parties and organizations whose registrations were denied also filed Motions for Reconsideration, together with Manifestations of their intent to participate in the party-list elections. Still other registered parties filed their Manifestations beyond the deadline.

The Comelec gave due course or approved the Manifestations (or accreditations) of 154 parties and organizations, but denied those of several others in its assailed March 26, 2001 Omnibus Resolution No. 3785, which we quote:

We carefully deliberated the foregoing matters, having in mind that this system of proportional representation scheme will encourage multi-partisan [sic] and enhance the inability of small, new or sectoral parties or organization to directly participate in this electoral window.

It will be noted that as defined, the party-list system is a mechanism of proportional representation in the election of representatives to the House of Representatives from national, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations or coalitions thereof registered with the Commission on Elections.

However, in the course of our review of the matters at bar, we must recognize the fact that there is a need to keep the number of sectoral parties, organizations and coalitions, down to a manageable level, keeping only those who substantially comply with the rules and regulations and more importantly the sufficiency of the Manifestations or evidence on the Motions for Reconsiderations or Oppositions.[3]

On April 10, 2001, Akbayan Citizens Action Party filed before the Comelec a Petition praying that the names of [some of herein respondents] be deleted from the Certified List of Political Parties/Sectoral Parties/Organizations/Coalitions Participating in the Party List System for the May 14, 2001 Elections and that said certified list be accordingly amended. It also asked, as an alternative, that the votes cast for the said respondents not be counted or canvassed, and that the latters nominees not be proclaimed.[4] On April 11, 2001, Bayan Muna and Bayan Muna-Youth also filed a Petition for Cancellation of Registration and Nomination against some of herein respondents.[5]

On April 18, 2001, the Comelec required the respondents in the two disqualification cases to file Comments within three days from notice. It also set the date for hearing on April 26, 2001,[6] but subsequently reset it to May 3, 2001.[7] During the hearing, however, Commissioner Ralph C. Lantion merely directed the parties to submit their respective memoranda.[8]

Meanwhile, dissatisfied with the pace of the Comelec, Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party filed a Petition[9] before this Court on April 16, 2001. This Petition, docketed as GR No. 147589, assailed Comelec Omnibus Resolution No. 3785. In its Resolution dated April 17, 2001,[10] the Court directed respondents to comment on the Petition within a non-extendible period of five days from notice.[11]

On April 17, 2001, Petitioner Bayan Muna also filed before this Court a Petition,[12] docketed as GR No. 147613, also challenging Comelec Omnibus Resolution No. 3785. In its Resolution dated May 9, 2001,[13] the Court ordered the consolidation of the two Petitions before it; directed respondents named in the second Petition to file their respective Comments on or before noon of May 15, 2001; and called the parties to an Oral Argument on May 17, 2001. It added that the Comelec may proceed with the counting and canvassing of votes cast for the party-list elections, but barred the proclamation of any winner therein, until further orders of the Court.

Thereafter, Comments[14] on the second Petition were received by the Court and, on May 17, 2001, the Oral Argument was conducted as scheduled. In an Order given in open court, the parties were directed to submit their respective Memoranda simultaneously within a non-extendible period of five days.[15]

Issues:

During the hearing on May 17, 2001, the Court directed the parties to address the following issues:

1. Whether or not recourse under Rule 65 is proper under the premises. More specifically, is there no other plain, speedy or adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law?

2. Whether or not political parties may participate in the party-list elections.

3. Whether or not the party-list system is exclusive to marginalized and underrepresented sectors and organizations.

4. Whether or not the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in promulgating Omnibus Resolution No. 3785.[16]

The Courts Ruling

The Petitions are partly meritorious. These cases should be remanded to the Comelec which will determine, after summary evidentiary hearings, whether the 154 parties and organizations enumerated in the assailed Omnibus Resolution satisfy the requirements of the Constitution and RA 7941, as specified in this Decision.

First Issue:Recourse Under Rule 65

Respondents contend that the recourse of both petitioners under Rule 65 is improper because there are other plain, speedy and adequate remedies in the ordinary course of law.[17] The Office of the Solicitor General argues that petitioners should have filed before the Comelec a petition either for disqualification or for cancellation of registration, pursuant to Sections 19, 20, 21 and 22 of Comelec Resolution No. 3307-A[18]dated November 9, 2000.[19]

We disagree. At bottom, petitioners attack the validity of Comelec Omnibus Resolution 3785 for having been issued with grave abuse of discretion, insofar as it allowed respondents to participate in the party-list elections of 2001. Indeed, under both the Constitution[20] and the Rules of Court, such challenge may be brought before this Court in a verified petition for certiorari under Rule 65.

Moreover, the assailed Omnibus Resolution was promulgated by Respondent Commission en banc; hence, no motion for reconsideration was possible, it being a prohibited pleading under Section 1 (d), Rule 13 of the Comelec Rules of Procedure.[21]

The Court also notes that Petitioner Bayan Muna had filed before the Comelec a Petition for Cancellation of Registration and Nomination against some of herein respondents.[22] The Comelec, however, did not act on that Petition. In view of the pendency of the elections, Petitioner Bayan Muna sought succor from this Court, for there was no other adequate recourse at the time. Subsequent events have proven the urgency of petitioners action; to this date, the Comelec has not yet formally resolved the Petition before it. But a resolution may just be a formality because the Comelec, through the Office of the Solicitor General, has made its position on the matter quite clear.

In any event, this case presents an exception to the rule that certiorari shall lie only in the absence of any other plain, speedy and adequate remedy.[23] It has been held that certiorari is available, notwithstanding the presence of other remedies, where the issue raised is one purely of law, where public interest is involved, and in case of urgency.[24] Indeed, the instant case is indubitably imbued with public interest and with extreme urgency, for it potentially involves the composition of 20 percent of the House of Representatives.

Moreover, this case raises transcendental constitutional issues on the party-list system, which this Court must urgently resolve, consistent with its duty to formulate guiding and controlling constitutional principles, precepts, doctrines, or rules.[25]

Finally, procedural requirements may be glossed over to prevent a miscarriage of justice, when the issue involves the principle of social justice x x x when the decision sought to be set aside is a nullity, or when the need for relief is extremely urgent and certiorari is the only adequate and speedy remedy available.[26]

Second Issue:Participation of Political Parties

In its Petition, Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party contends that the inclusion of political parties in the party-list system is the most objectionable portion of the questioned Resolution.[27] For its part, Petitioner Bayan Muna objects to the participation of major political parties.[28] On the other hand, the Office of the Solicitor General, like the impleaded political parties, submits that the Constitution and RA No. 7941 allow political parties to participate in the party-list elections. It argues that the party-list system is, in fact, open to all registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations.[29]

We now rule on this issue. Under the Constitution and RA 7941, private respondents cannot be disqualified from the party-list elections, merely on the ground that they are political parties. Section 5, Article VI of the Constitution provides that members of the House of Representatives may be elected through a party-list system of registered national, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations.

Furthermore, under Sections 7 and 8, Article IX (C) of the Constitution, political parties may be registered under the party-list system.

Sec. 7. No votes cast in favor of a political party, organization, or coalition shall be valid, except for those registered under the party-list system as provided in this Constitution.

Sec. 8. Political parties, or organizations or coalitions registered under the party-list system, shall not be represented in the voters' registration boards, boards of election inspectors, boards of canvassers, or other similar bodies. However, they shall be entitled to appoint poll watchers in accordance with law.[30]

During the deliberations in the Constitutional Commission, Comm. Christian S. Monsod pointed out that the participants in the party-list system may be a regional party, a sectoral party, a national party, UNIDO,[31] Magsasaka, or a regional party in Mindanao."[32] This was also clear from the following exchange between Comms. Jaime Tadeo and Blas Ople:[33]

MR. TADEO. Naniniwala ba kayo na ang party list ay pwedeng paghati-hatian ng UNIDO, PDP-Laban, PNP, Liberal at Nacionalista?

MR. OPLE. Maaari yan sapagkat bukas ang party list system sa lahat ng mga partido.

Indeed, Commissioner Monsod stated that the purpose of the party-list provision was to open up the system, in order to give a chance to parties that consistently place third or fourth in congressional district elections to win a seat in Congress.[34] He explained: The purpose of this is to open the system. In the past elections, we found out that there were certain groups or parties that, if we count their votes nationwide, have about 1,000,000 or 1,500,000 votes. But they were always third or fourth place in each of the districts. So, they have no voice in the Assembly. But this way, they would have five or six representatives in the Assembly even if they would not win individually in legislative districts. So, that is essentially the mechanics, the purpose and objectives of the party-list system.

For its part, Section 2 of RA 7941 also provides for a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations or coalitions thereof, x x x. Section 3 expressly states that a party is either a political party or a sectoral party or a coalition of parties. More to the point, the law defines political party as an organized group of citizens advocating an ideology or platform, principles and policies for the general conduct of government and which, as the most immediate means of securing their adoption, regularly nominates and supports certain of its leaders and members as candidates for public office.

Furthermore, Section 11 of RA 7941 leaves no doubt as to the participation of political parties in the party-list system. We quote the pertinent provision below:

x x x x x x x x x

For purposes of the May 1998 elections, the first five (5) major political parties on the basis of party representation in the House of Representatives at the start of the Tenth Congress of the Philippines shall not be entitled to participate in the party-list system.

x x x x x x x x x

Indubitably, therefore, political parties even the major ones -- may participate in the party-list elections.

Third Issue:Marginalized and Underrepresented

That political parties may participate in the party-list elections does not mean, however, that any political party -- or any organization or group for that matter -- may do so. The requisite character of these parties or organizations must be consistent with the purpose of the party-list system, as laid down in the Constitution and RA 7941. Section 5, Article VI of the Constitution, provides as follows:

(1) The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than two hundred and fifty members, unless otherwise fixed by law, who shall be elected from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces, cities, and the Metropolitan Manila area in accordance with the number of their respective inhabitants, and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio, and those who, as provided by law, shall be elected through a party-list system of registered national, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations.

(2) The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum of the total number of representatives including those under the party list. For three consecutive terms after the ratification of this Constitution, one-half of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as provided by law, by selection or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by law, except the religious sector. (Emphasis supplied.)

Notwithstanding the sparse language of the provision, a distinguished member of the Constitutional Commission declared that the purpose of the party-list provision was to give genuine power to our people in Congress. Hence, when the provision was discussed, he exultantly announced: On this first day of August 1986, we shall, hopefully, usher in a new chapter to our national history, by giving genuine power to our people in the legislature.[35]

The foregoing provision on the party-list system is not self-executory. It is, in fact, interspersed with phrases like in accordance with law or as may be provided by law; it was thus up to Congress to sculpt in granite the lofty objective of the Constitution. Hence, RA 7941 was enacted. It laid out the statutory policy in this wise:

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. -- The State shall promote proportional representation in the election of representatives to the House of Representatives through a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations or coalitions thereof, which will enable Filipino citizens belonging to marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties, and who lack well-defined political constituencies but who could contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole, to become members of the House of Representatives. Towards this end, the State shall develop and guarantee a full, free and open party system in order to attain the broadest possible representation of party, sectoral or group interests in the House of Representatives by enhancing their chances to compete for and win seats in the legislature, and shall provide the simplest scheme possible.

The Marginalized and Underrepresented to Become Lawmakers Themselves

The foregoing provision mandates a state policy of promoting proportional representation by means of the Filipino-style party-list system, which will enable the election to the House of Representatives of Filipino citizens,

1. who belong to marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties; and

2. who lack well-defined constituencies; but

3. who could contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole.

The key words in this policy are proportional representation, marginalized and underrepresented, and lack [of] well-defined constituencies.

Proportional representation here does not refer to the number of people in a particular district, because the party-list election is national in scope. Neither does it allude to numerical strength in a distressed or oppressed group. Rather, it refers to the representation of the marginalized and underrepresented as exemplified by the enumeration in Section 5 of the law; namely, labor, peasant, fisherfolk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, veterans, overseas workers, and professionals.

However, it is not enough for the candidate to claim representation of the marginalized and underrepresented, because representation is easy to claim and to feign. The party-list organization or party must factually and truly represent the marginalized and underrepresented constituencies mentioned in Section 5.[36] Concurrently, the persons nominated by the party-list candidate-organization must be Filipino citizens belonging to marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties.

Finally, lack of well-defined constituenc[y] refers to the absence of a traditionally identifiable electoral group, like voters of a congressional district or territorial unit of government. Rather, it points again to those with disparate interests identified with the marginalized or underrepresented.

In the end, the role of the Comelec is to see to it that only those Filipinos who are marginalized and underrepresented become members of Congress under the party-list system, Filipino-style.

The intent of the Constitution is clear: to give genuine power to the people, not only by giving more law to those who have less in life, but more so by enabling them to become veritable lawmakers themselves. Consistent with this intent, the policy of the implementing law, we repeat, is likewise clear: to enable Filipino citizens belonging to marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties, x x x, to become members of the House of Representatives. Where the language of the law is clear, it must be applied according to its express terms.[37]

The marginalized and underrepresented sectors to be represented under the party-list system are enumerated in Section 5 of RA 7941, which states:

SEC. 5. Registration. -- Any organized group of persons may register as a party, organization or coalition for purposes of the party-list system by filing with the COMELEC not later than ninety (90) days before the election a petition verified by its president or secretary stating its desire to participate in the party-list system as a national, regional or sectoral party or organization or a coalition of such parties or organizations, attaching thereto its constitution, by-laws, platform or program of government, list of officers, coalition agreement and other relevant information as the COMELEC may require: Provided, that the sector shall include labor, peasant, fisherfolk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, veterans, overseas workers, and professionals.

While the enumeration of marginalized and underrepresented sectors is not exclusive, it demonstrates the clear intent of the law that not all sectors can be represented under the party-list system. It is a fundamental principle of statutory construction that words employed in a statute are interpreted in connection with, and their meaning is ascertained by reference to, the words and the phrases with which they are associated or related. Thus, the meaning of a term in a statute may be limited, qualified or specialized by those in immediate association.[38]

The Party-List System Desecrated by the OSG Contentions

Notwithstanding the unmistakable statutory policy, the Office of the Solicitor General submits that RA No. 7941 does not limit the participation in the party-list system to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of society.[39] In fact, it contends that any party or group that is not disqualified under Section 6[40]of RA 7941 may participate in the elections. Hence, it admitted during the Oral Argument that even an organization representing the super rich of Forbes Park or Dasmarias Village could participate in the party-list elections.[41]

The declared policy of RA 7941 contravenes the position of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG). We stress that the party-list system seeks to enable certain Filipino citizens specifically those belonging to marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties to be elected to the House of Representatives. The assertion of the OSG that the party-list system is not exclusive to the marginalized and underrepresented disregards the clear statutory policy. Its claim that even the super-rich and overrepresented can participate desecrates the spirit of the party-list system.

Indeed, the law crafted to address the peculiar disadvantages of Payatas hovel dwellers cannot be appropriated by the mansion owners of Forbes Park. The interests of these two sectors are manifestly disparate; hence, the OSGs position to treat them similarly defies reason and common sense. In contrast, and with admirable candor, Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan[42] admitted during the Oral Argument that a group of bankers, industrialists and sugar planters could not join the party-list system as representatives of their respective sectors.[43]

While the business moguls and the mega-rich are, numerically speaking, a tiny minority, they are neither marginalized nor underrepresented, for the stark reality is that their economic clout engenders political power more awesome than their numerical limitation. Traditionally, political power does not necessarily emanate from the size of ones constituency; indeed, it is likely to arise more directly from the number and amount of ones bank accounts.

It is ironic, therefore, that the marginalized and underrepresented in our midst are the majority who wallow in poverty, destitution and infirmity. It was for them that the party-list system was enacted -- to give them not only genuine hope, but genuine power; to give them the opportunity to be elected and to represent the specific concerns of their constituencies; and simply to give them a direct voice in Congress and in the larger affairs of the State. In its noblest sense, the party-list system truly empowers the masses and ushers a new hope for genuine change. Verily, it invites those marginalized and underrepresented in the past the farm hands, the fisher folk, the urban poor, even those in the underground movement to come out and participate, as indeed many of them came out and participated during the last elections. The State cannot now disappoint and frustrate them by disabling and desecrating this social justice vehicle.

Because the marginalized and underrepresented had not been able to win in the congressional district elections normally dominated by traditional politicians and vested groups, 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives were set aside for the party-list system. In arguing that even those sectors who normally controlled 80 percent of the seats in the House could participate in the party-list elections for the remaining 20 percent, the OSG and the Comelec disregard the fundamental difference between the congressional district elections and the party-list elections.

As earlier noted, the purpose of the party-list provision was to open up the system,[44] in order to enhance the chance of sectoral groups and organizations to gain representation in the House of Representatives through the simplest scheme possible.[45] Logic shows that the system has been opened to those who have never gotten a foothold within it -- those who cannot otherwise win in regular elections and who therefore need the simplest scheme possible to do so. Conversely, it would be illogical to open the system to those who have long been within it -- those privileged sectors that have long dominated the congressional district elections.

The import of the open party-list system may be more vividly understood when compared to a student dormitory open house, which by its nature allows outsiders to enter the facilities. Obviously, the open house is for the benefit of outsiders only, not the dormers themselves who can enter the dormitory even without such special privilege. In the same vein, the open party-list system is only for the outsiders who cannot get elected through regular elections otherwise; it is not for the non-marginalized or overrepresented who already fill the ranks of Congress.

Verily, allowing the non-marginalized and overrepresented to vie for the remaining seats under the party-list system would not only dilute, but also prejudice the chance of the marginalized and underrepresented, contrary to the intention of the law to enhance it. The party-list system is a tool for the benefit of the underprivileged; the law could not have given the same tool to others, to the prejudice of the intended beneficiaries.

This Court, therefore, cannot allow the party-list system to be sullied and prostituted by those who are neither marginalized nor underrepresented. It cannot let that flicker of hope be snuffed out. The clear state policy must permeate every discussion of the qualification of political parties and other organizations under the party-list system.

Refutation of the Separate Opinions

The Separate Opinions of our distinguished colleagues, Justices Jose C. Vitug and Vicente V. Mendoza, are anchored mainly on the supposed intent of the framers of the Constitution as culled from their deliberations.

The fundamental principle in constitutional construction, however, is that the primary source from which to ascertain constitutional intent or purpose is the language of the provision itself. The presumption is that the words in which the constitutional provisions are couched express the objective sought to be attained.[46] In other words, verba legis still prevails. Only when the meaning of the words used is unclear and equivocal should resort be made to extraneous aids of construction and interpretation, such as the proceedings of the Constitutional Commission or Convention, in order to shed light on and ascertain the true intent or purpose of the provision being construed.[47]

Indeed, as cited in the Separate Opinion of Justice Mendoza, this Court stated in Civil Liberties Union v. Executive Secretary[48] that the debates and proceedings of the constitutional convention [may be consulted] in order to arrive at the reason and purpose of the resulting Constitution x x x only when other guides fail as said proceedings are powerless to vary the terms of the Constitution when the meaning is clear. Debates in the constitutional convention are of value as showing the views of the individual members, and as indicating the reason for their votes, but they give us no light as to the views of the large majority who did not talk, much less of the mass or our fellow citizens whose votes at the polls gave that instrument the force of fundamental law. We think it safer to construe the constitution from what appears upon its face. The proper interpretation therefore depends more on how it was understood by the people adopting it than in the framers understanding thereof.

Section 5, Article VI of the Constitution, relative to the party-list system, is couched in clear terms: the mechanics of the system shall be provided by law. Pursuant thereto, Congress enacted RA 7941. In understanding and implementing party-list representation, we should therefore look at the law first. Only when we find its provisions ambiguous should the use of extraneous aids of construction be resorted to.

But, as discussed earlier, the intent of the law is obvious and clear from its plain words. Section 2 thereof unequivocally states that the party-list system of electing congressional representatives was designed to enable underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties, and who lack well-defined political constituencies but who could contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole x x x. The criteria for participation is well defined. Thus, there is no need for recourse to constitutional deliberations, not even to the proceedings of Congress. In any event, the framers deliberations merely express their individual opinions and are, at best, only persuasive in construing the meaning and purpose of the constitution or statute.

Be it remembered that the constitutionality or validity of Sections 2 and 5 of RA 7941 is not an issue here. Hence, they remain parts of the law, which must be applied plainly and simply.

Fourth Issue:Grave Abuse of Discretion

From its assailed Omnibus Resolution, it is manifest that the Comelec failed to appreciate fully the clear policy of the law and the Constitution. On the contrary, it seems to have ignored the facet of the party-list system discussed above. The OSG as its counsel admitted before the Court that any group, even the non-marginalized and overrepresented, could field candidates in the party-list elections.

When a lower court, or a quasi-judicial agency like the Commission on Elections, violates or ignores the Constitution or the law, its action can be struck down by this Court on the ground of grave abuse of discretion.[49] Indeed, the function of all judicial and quasi-judicial instrumentalities is to apply the law as they find it, not to reinvent or second-guess it.[50]

In its Memorandum, Petitioner Bayan Muna passionately pleads for the outright disqualification of the major political parties Respondents Lakas-NUCD, LDP, NPC, LP and PMP on the ground that under Comelec Resolution No. 4073, they have been accredited as the five (six, including PDP-Laban) major political parties in the May 14, 2001 elections. It argues that because of this, they have the advantage of getting official Comelec Election Returns, Certificates of Canvass, preferred poll watchers x x x. We note, however, that this accreditation does not refer to the party-list election, but, inter alia, to the election of district representatives for the purpose of determining which parties would be entitled to watchers under Section 26 of Republic Act No. 7166.

What is needed under the present circumstances, however, is a factual determination of whether respondents herein and, for that matter, all the 154 previously approved groups, have the necessary qualifications to participate in the party-list elections, pursuant to the Constitution and the law.

Bayan Muna also urges us to immediately rule out Respondent Mamamayan Ayaw sa Droga (MAD), because it is a government entity using government resources and privileges. This Court, however, is not a trier of facts.

EN BANC[G.R. No. 152163. November 18, 2002]

SABDULLAH T. MACABAGO, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and JAMAEL M. SALACOP, respondents.

D E C I S I O N

CALLEJO, SR., J.:

On May 22, 2001, petitioner Sabdullah T. Macabago was proclaimed by the Municipal Board of Canvassers as the winning candidate for the position of Municipal Mayor of Saguiran, Lanao del Sur. Petitioner had a lead of 198 votes over his adversary, private respondent Jamael M. Salacop.

On June 1, 2001, private respondent filed a petition with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) against petitioner and the proclaimed Vice-Mayor and Municipal Councilors, as well as the members of the Municipal Board of Canvassers, docketed as SPC-01-234, to annul the elections and the proclamation of candidates in the Municipality of Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur. Private respondent alleged that there was a massive substitution of voters, rampant and pervasive irregularities in voting procedures in Precincts Nos. 19, 20, 28 and 29, and a failure of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) to comply with Sections 28 and 29 of Comelec Resolution No. 3743 and Section 193 of the Omnibus Election Code, thus rendering the election process in those precincts a sham and a mockery and the proclamation of the winning candidates a nullity. Private respondent further averred that if his petition were to be given due course, he would win by a margin of one hundred ninety-four (194) votes over the votes of petitioner. He thus prayed:

WHEREFORE, foregoing premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Commission that the election results in Precincts 19, 20, 28 and 29 be ordered set aside and considered excluded and the proclamation of the winning candidates in the said municipality be ANNULLED to reflect the genuine desire of the majority of the people.

All other reliefs, deemed just and equitable under the circumstances are likewise prayed for.[1]

In support of his petition, private respondent appended thereto photocopies of random Voters Registration Records (VRRs) evidencing the fraud and deceit that allegedly permeated the electoral process, as well as affidavits tending to prove that serious irregularities were committed in the conduct of the elections in the subject precincts.[2]

In his answer, petitioner denied the truth of the material allegations in the petition and averred that it raised a pre-proclamation controversy. He further alleged that the grounds relied upon by private respondent would be proper in an election protest but not in a pre-proclamation controversy.[3]

The COMELEC En Banc took cognizance of the petition and on February 11, 2002, issued an order directing the Election Officer of Saguiran, Lanao del Sur, to bring to and produce before the COMELEC Office in Manila the original VRRs of the questioned precincts for technical examination:

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Commission hereby RESOLVES to direct Mr. Ibrahim M. Macadato, the Election Officer of Saguiran, Lanao del Sur to produce the subject original VRRs of the questioned precincts here in Manila for the appertaining technical examination.

SO ORDERED.[4]

In the same order, the COMELEC declared that contrary to petitioners claims, the petition did not allege a pre-proclamation controversy. The Commission characterized the petition as one for the annulment of the election or declaration of failure of election in the municipality, a special action covered by Rule 26 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure. Accordingly, the COMELEC set aside the docketing of the petition as a Special Case (SPC) and ordered the redocketing thereof as a Special Action (SPA). After its examination of the evidence submitted by petitioner, the COMELEC concluded that there was convincing proof of massive fraud in the conduct of the elections in the four (4) precincts that necessitated a technical examination of the original copies of the VRRs and their comparison with the voters signatures and fingerprints. The COMELEC further noted that since the lead of Macabago was only 124 votes vis--vis the 474 voters of the contested precincts, the outcome of the petition would adversely affect the result of the elections in the Municipality. In issuing said Order, the COMELEC relied on its broad powers under the 1987 Constitution and the pronouncement of this Court in Pantaleon Pacis vs. Commission on Elections,[5] and Tupay Loong vs. Commission on Elections, et al.[6]

Forthwith, petitioner filed with this Court the instant special civil action for certiorari under Rule 65 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended, praying for the reversal of the February 11, 2002 order of the COMELEC En Banc. Petitioner alleged that:

6.1.

PUBLIC RESPONDENT COMELEC EN BANC COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO LACK OF OR IN EXCESS OF JURISDICTION WHEN IT TOOK COGNIZANCE OF AND PASSED UPON THE PETITION IN SPC NO. 01-234 IN VIOLATION OF SECTION 3, RULE 3 OF THE COMELEC RULES OF PROCEDURE.

6.2.

PUBLIC RESPONDENT COMELEC EN BANC COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO LACK OF OR IN EXCESS OF JURISDICTION WHEN IT ISSUED ITS ORDER ON FEBRUARY 11, 2002 FOR THE TECHNICAL EXAMINATION OF THE VOTERS REGISTRATION RECORDS OF THE REGISTERED VOTERS OF PRECINCT NOS. 19, 20, 28 & 29 OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF SAGUIARAN, LANAO DEL SUR.[7]

The kernel issues posed in the case at bar are (a) whether petitioners recourse to this Court under Rule 65 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended, is in order; and (b) whether the COMELEC acted without jurisdiction or committed a grave abuse of its discretion amounting to excess or lack of jurisdiction in taking cognizance of the petition of private respondent and in issuing the assailed Order.

On the first issue, petitioner avers that he was impelled to file the instant petition without first filing with the COMELEC a motion for a reconsideration of its order because under the COMELEC Rules of Procedure, a motion for a reconsideration of an interlocutory order of the COMELEC En Banc is a prohibited pleading, and that the COMELEC acted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to excess or lack of jurisdiction in issuing the assailed order. Private respondent on the other hand insists that under Rule 64 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, a special civil action for certiorari filed with this Court is proper only for the nullification of a final order or resolution of the COMELEC and not of its interlocutory order or resolution such as the assailed order in this case.

Section 1, Rule 64, as amended, reads:

SECTION 1. Scope. This Rule shall govern the review of judgments and final orders or resolutions of the Commission on Elections and the Commission on Audit.[8]

Under Section 2 of the same Rule, a judgment or final order or resolution of the COMELEC may be brought by the aggrieved party to this Court on certiorari under Rule 65, as amended, except as therein provided. We ruled in Elpidio M. Salva, et al. vs. Hon. Roberto L. Makalintal, et al.[9] that Rule 64 of the Rules applies only to judgments or final orders of the COMELEC in the exercise of its quasi-judicial functions. The rule does not apply to interlocutory orders of the COMELEC in the exercise of its quasi-judicial functions or to its administrative orders. In this case, the assailed order of the COMELEC declaring private respondents petition to be one for annulment of the elections or for a declaration of a failure of elections in the municipality and ordering the production of the original copies of the VRRs for the technical examination is administrative in nature.[10] Rule 64, a procedural device for the review of final orders, resolutions or decision of the COMELEC, does not foreclose recourse to this Court under Rule 65 from administrative orders of said Commission issued in the exercise of its administrative function.[11]

It bears stressing that under Article VIII, Section 1 of the Constitution, judicial power is vested in the courts. Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government. Judicial power is an antidote to and a safety net against whimsical, despotic and oppressive exercise of governmental power. The aggrieved party may seek redress therefrom through the appropriate special civil action provided by the Rules of Court. As to acts of the COMELEC, the special civil action may be one for certiorari pursuant to Article IX(A), Section 7 of the Constitution.

As a general rule, an administrative order of the COMELEC is not a proper subject of a special civil action for certiorari.[12] But when the COMELEC acts capriciously or whimsically, with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in issuing such an order, the aggrieved party may seek redress from this Court via a special civil action for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules.[13]

Private respondent cannot find solace in the pronouncement in Ruperto Ambil, Jr. vs. Commission on Elections, et al.[14] because the subject matter of the petition therein was an interlocutory order of a Division of the COMELEC. This Court held that the remedy of the aggrieved party was first to file a motion for a reconsideration of the order with the COMELEC En Banc. The raison detre therefor is that under Rule 3, Section 6(c) of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure, any motion for a reconsideration of a decision, resolution, order or ruling of a Division of the COMELEC has to be referred to and resolved by the Commission sitting En Banc. A motion for reconsideration filed with the COMELEC En Banc of an order, ruling or resolution of a Division thereof is a plain, speedy and adequate remedy therefrom.

We now resolve the second issue. Irrefragably, the petition before the COMELEC does not pose a pre-proclamation controversy as defined in Article XX, Section 241 of Republic Act No. 7166, thus:

SEC. 241. Definition. A pre-proclamation controversy refers to any question pertaining to or affecting the proceedings of the board of canvassers which may be raised by any candidate or by any registered political party or coalition of political parties before the board or directly with the Commission.[15]

Pre-proclamation controversies are properly limited to challenges directed against the Board of Canvassers and proceedings before said Board relating to particular election returns to which private respondent should have made specific verbal objections subsequently reduced to writing. The proceedings are summary in nature; thus, the reception of evidence aliunde, e.g. the original copies of the VRRs, is proscribed. In fine, in pre-proclamation proceedings, the COMELEC is not to look beyond or behind election returns which are on their face regular and authentic returns.[16] Issues such as fraud or terrorism attendant to the election process, the resolution of which would compel or necessitate the COMELEC to pierce the veil of election returns which appear to be prima facie regular, on their face, are anathema to a pre-proclamation controversy. Such issues should be posed and resolved in a regular election protest.[17]

In his petition with the COMELEC, private respondent alleged that fraud and irregularities allegedly perpetrated by unscrupulous individuals who substituted for the registered voters and voted for the latter in the subject precincts, in conspiracy with the Board of Election Inspectors, or abetted by the members thereof, attended the electoral process in the subject precincts. The fraud and the irregularities catalogued by private respondent required the reception of evidence aliunde. As stated earlier, such grounds are not proper bases for a pre-proclamation controversy but are appropriate for a regular election contest within the original jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court. Indeed, the Court held in Dimangadap Dipatuan vs. Commission on Elections, et al.:[18]

That the padding of the List of Voters may constitute fraud, or that the Board of Election Inspectors may have fraudulently conspired in its preparation, would not be a valid basis for a pre-proclamation controversy either. For, whenever irregularities, such as fraud, are asserted, the proper course of action is an election protest.

Such irregularities as fraud, vote-buying and terrorism are proper grounds in an election contest but may not as a rule be invoked to declare a failure of election and to disenfranchise the greater number of the electorate through the misdeeds, precisely, of only a relative few. Otherwise, elections will never be carried out with the resultant disenfranchisement of the innocent voters, for the losers will always cry fraud and terrorism (GAD vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 78302, May 26, 1987, 150 SCRA 665).

Neither is private respondents petition before the COMELEC one for declaration of a failure of elections in Saguiran, Lanao del Sur. Section 6, Article 1 of R.A. No. 7166 provides when a failure of election occurs

SEC. 6. Failure of election. If, on account of force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous causes the election in any polling place has not been held on the date fixed, or had been suspended before the hour fixed by the law for the closing of the voting, or after the voting and during the preparation and the transmission of the election returns or in the custody or canvass thereof, such election results in a failure to elect, and in any of such cases the failure or suspension of election would affect the result of the election, the Commission shall, on the basis of verified petition by any interested party and after due notice and hearing, call for the holding or continuation of the election not held, suspended or which resulted in a failure to elect on a date reasonably close to the date of the election not held, suspended or which resulted in a failure to elect but not later than thirty days after the cessation of the cause of such postponement or suspension of the election or failure to elect (Sec. 7, 1978 EC).[19]

Under Section 5, Article 1 of the aforementioned law, the matter of the postponement or declaration of failure of election and the calling of a special election as provided for in Section 6, shall be decided by the COMELEC sitting En Banc by a majority of its members:

SEC. 5. Postponement of election. The postponement, declaration of failure of election and the calling of special elections as provided in Sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Omnibus Election Code shall be decided by the Commission sitting en banc by a majority vote of its members. The causes for the declaration of a failure of election may occur before or after the casting of votes or on the day of the election. (Sec. 4, p. 1, RA 7166).[20]

Before the COMELEC can grant a verified petition seeking to declare a failure of election, the concurrence of two (2) conditions must be established, namely: (a) no voting has taken place in the precincts concerned on the date fixed by law or, even if there was voting, the election nevertheless resulted in a failure to elect; (b) the votes cast would affect the result of the election. The Court declared in Ricardo Canicosa vs. Commission on Elections, et al.,[21] that there are only three (3) instances where a failure of election may be declared, namely:

x x x (a) the election in any polling place has not been held on the date fixed on account of force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous causes; (b) the election in any polling place had been suspended before the hour fixed by law for the closing of the voting on account of force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous causes; (c) after the voting and during the preparation and transmission of the election returns or in the custody or canvass thereof, such election results in a failure to elect on account of force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous causes.[22]

While fraud is a ground to declare a failure of election, such fraud must be one that prevents or suspends the holding of an election, including the preparation and transmission of the election returns. Failure to elect must be understood in its literal sensewhich is, nobody emerges as a winner.[23] The barefaced fact that a candidate has been proclaimed and has assumed office does not deprive the COMELEC of its authority to annul any canvass and illegal proclamation.[24] A petition for the annulment of election is not the same as one involving a pre-proclamation controversy. In the fairly recent case of Tomas T. Banaga, Jr. vs. Commission on Elections, et al.[25] with a factual backdrop similar to this case, the Court held:

We have painstakingly examined the petition filed by petitioner Banaga before the COMELEC. But we found that petitioner did not allege at all that elections were either not held or suspended. Neither did he aver that although there was voting, nobody was elected. On the contrary, he conceded that an election took place for the office of vice-mayor of Paraaque City, and that private respondent was, in fact, proclaimed elected to that post. While petitioner contends that the election was tainted with widespread anomalies, it must be noted that to warrant a declaration of failure of election the commission of fraud must be such that it prevented or suspended the holding of an election, or marred fatally the preparation and transmission, custody and canvass of the election returns. These essential facts ought to have been alleged clearly by the petitioner below, but he did not.

Private respondent alleged in his petition with the COMELEC En Banc that the elections ensued in the subject precincts and that petitioner herein emerged as the winner and was in fact proclaimed as such by the Board of Election Inspectors.

In sum then, the grounds alleged by private respondent in his petition before the COMELEC are those for a regular election protest and are not proper in a pre-proclamation controversy; nor is such petition one for annulment of the elections or for a declaration of failure of elections in the municipality of Saguiran, Lanao del Sur. The COMELEC should have ordered the dismissal of the petition instead of issuing the assailed order. The COMELEC thus committed a grave abuse of its discretion amounting to excess or lack of jurisdiction in issuing the same. The error is correctible by the special civil action for certiorari.

PREMISES CONSIDERED, the petition is GRANTED. The assailed order is SET ASIDE. The petition of herein private respondent with the public respondent is DISMISSED, without prejudice to the filing of a regular election protest, the period for the filing of which is deemed suspended by the filing of the petition before the Commission on Elections which gave rise to the petition at bar.

SO ORDERED.

EN BANC[G.R. No. 160428. July 21, 2004]

HADJI RASUL BATABOR, petitioner, vs. COMISSION ON ELECTIONS, BARANGAY BOARD OF CANVASSERS, BOARD OF ELECTION INSPECTORS OF PRECINCTS NOS. 3A, 4A and 5A, BARANGAY MAIDAN, TUGAYA, LANAO DEL SUR, and MOCASIM ABANGON BATONDIANG, respondents.

D E C I S I O NSANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, J.:

The power to declare a failure of elections should be exercised with utmost care and only under circumstances which demonstrate beyond doubt that the disregard of the law has been so fundamental or so persistent and continuous that it is impossible to distinguish what votes are lawful and what are unlawful, or to arrive at any certain result whatsoever; or that the great body of voters have been prevented by violence, intimidation and threats from exercising their franchise. There is failure of elections only when the will of the electorate has been muted and cannot be ascertained. If the will of the people is determinable, the same must as far as possible be respected.[1]

Before us is a petition for certiorari[2] with application for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction, assailing the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) En Bancs Resolution dated October 9, 2003 in SPA No. 02-295 (Brgy.). In this Resolution, the COMELEC denied Hadji Rasul Batabors petition seeking: (a) the declaration of failure of election in Precincts 3A, 4A and 5A of Barangay Maidan, Tugaya, Lanao del Sur; (b) the annulment of the proclamation that Mocasin Abangon Batondiang is the duly elected Punong Barangay of Barangay Maidan; and (c) the holding of a special election in the questioned precincts.

In the synchronized July 15, 2002 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, Hadji Rasul Batabor, petitioner, and Mocasim Abangon Batondiang, private respondent, ran as opposing candidates for the position of Punong Barangay in Barangay Maidan, Tugaya, Lanao del Sur. It was petitioners re-election bid being then the incumbent Punong Barangay.

The result of the election shows that private respondent won as Punong Barangay, garnering 123 votes, as against petitioners 94 votes, or a difference of 29 votes.

In due time, private respondent was proclaimed the duly elected Punong Barangay of Barangay Maidan.

Bewailing the outcome of the election, petitioner filed with the COMELEC a petition to declare a failure of election in Precincts 3A, 4A and 5A of Barangay Maidan, docketed as SPA No. 02-295 (Brgy.). The petition alleges that during the election, the voting started at around 8:30 oclock in the morning. It was temporarily suspended during the lunch break and was to resume at 1:00 oclock in the afternoon of that day. But after lunch, the Chairwoman of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) of Precincts 3A, 4A and 5A suddenly tore all the unused official ballots. Thus, the voting was not continued. The BEI then padlocked the ballot boxes. At that time, petitioner was not present. Despite the note of Election Officer Taha Casidar directing the BEI to resume the voting, the latter did not allow the remaining voters to vote. Thus, petitioners relatives and followers, numbering more than 100, were not able to cast their votes.

In his comment, private respondent averred that petitioners allegations are not supported by substantial evidence. It was petitioner who padlocked the ballot boxes as shown by the affidavit of Comini Manalastas. During the counting of votes, petitioners wife, daughter and son actually witnessed the same. Besides, petitioners allegations can be properly ventilated in an election protest because the issues raised are not grounds for declaration of a failure of election.

On October 9, 2003, the COMELEC En Banc issued the assailed Resolution[3] denying the petition.

Petitioner now contends in his petition for certiorari before us that the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in denying his petition in SPA No. 02-295 (BRGY.). He reiterates his allegations in his petition filed with the COMELEC showing there was failure of election.

The Solicitor General, in his comment on the instant petition, vehemently disputes petitioners allegations and prays that the petition be dismissed for lack of merit.

We dismiss the petition.

The power to declare a failure of election is vested exclusively upon the COMELEC.[4] Section 6 of the Omnibus Election Code[5] provides:

Section 6. Failure of Election. If, on account of force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous causes, the election in any polling place has not been held on the date fixed, or had been suspended before the hour fixed by law for the closing of the voting, or after the voting and during the preparation and the transmission of the election returns or in the custody or canvass thereof, such election results in a failure to elect, and in any such cases the failure or suspension of election would affect the result of the election, the Commission shall, on the basis of a verified petition by any interested party and after due notice and hearing, call for the holding or continuation of the election not held, suspended or which resulted in a failure to elect on a date reasonably close to the date of the election not held, suspended or which resulted in a failure to elect but not later than thirty days