CARMELINDA C. BARRO, Petitioner, vs. THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS (FIRST DIVISION); HON. DELIA P.

NOELBERTULFO, in her capacity as Presiding Judge of the Municipal Trial Court, Palompon, Leyte; and ELPEDIO P. CONTINEDAS, JR., Respondents. G.R. No. 186201. October 9, 2009 EN BANC, PERALTA, J. Facts: Petitioner Carmelinda C. Barro and private respondent Elpedio P. Continedas, Jr. were candidates for Punong Barangay of Barangay Plaridel, Palompon, Leyte during the October 29, 2007 synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections. Petitioner garnered 150 votes, while respondent garnered 149 votes. The Barangay Board of Canvassers proclaimed petitioner as the duly elected Punong Barangay, by a margin of only one vote. On November 5, 2007, private respondent filed an election protest before the Municipal Trial Court of Palompon, Leyte impugning the result of the canvass. After the revision of ballots, the trial court found that petitioner and respondent both garnered 151 votes. On May 13, 2008, petitioner filed a Notice of Appeal with the trial court and she stated in her petition that she also paid the appeal fee required under Section 9, Rule 14 of the Rules of Procedure in Election Contests Before the Courts Involving Elective Municipal and Barangay Officials. However on November 25, 2008, the First Division of the COMELEC issued an Order dismissing petitioners appeal for failure to pay the appeal fee of P3,200. On December 15, 2008, petitioner filed a Motion for Reconsideration and on the same date, she also posted Postal Money Order Nos. A0820039317; B0810040373 and J1350301774 in the total sum of P3,200.00 payable to the Cash Division of the COMELEC to cover the appeal fee. Petitioners motion for reconsideration was denied by the First Division of the COMELEC. Issues: 1. Did the First Division of the COMELEC gravely abused its discretion in dismissing petitioners appeal? 2. Was there grave abuse of discretion in denying the motion for reconsideration and not elevating it to the En Banc? Ruling: 1. Yes. The appeal to the COMELEC was perfected when petitioner filed her Notice of Appeal and paid the original appeal fee of P1,000.00 on May 13, 2008, which was two months before the COMELEC issued Resolution No. 8486,20 on July 15, 2008 clarifying the rule on the payment of appeal fees which is P3,200. The First Division of the COMELEC should have first directed petitioner to pay the additional appeal fee in accordance with the clarificatory resolution; and if petitioner refused to comply, only then should the appeal be dismissed. Also, the First Division should have been more cautious in dismissing petitioners appeal on the mere technicality of non-payment of the additional appeal fee of P3,200.00 given the public interest involved in election cases. 2. Yes. Section 3, Article IX-C of the Constitution provides for the procedure for the resolution of election cases by the COMELEC, thus: Sec. 3. The Commission on Elections may sit en banc or in two divisions, and shall promulgate its rules of procedure in order to expedite disposition of election cases, including pre-proclamation controversies. All such election cases shall be heard and decided in division, provided that motions for reconsideration of decisions shall be decided by the Commission en banc. In this case, the First Division of the COMELEC violated the law when it resolved petitioner's motion for reconsideration of its final Order dated November 25, 2008, which dismissed petitioners appeal. It arrogated unto itself a power constitutionally lodged in the Commission en banc. WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED.

BARANGAY ASSOCIATION FOR NATIONAL ADVANCEMENT AND TRANSPARENCY (BANAT), Petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS (sitting as the National Board of Canvassers), Respondent. G.R. No. 179271. April 21, 2009 BAYAN MUNA, ADVOCACY FOR TEACHER EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ACTION, COOPERATION AND HARMONY TOWARDS EDUCATIONAL REFORMS, INC., and ABONO, Petitioners, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, Respondent. G.R. No. 179295. April 21, 2009 EN BANC, CARPIO, J. Facts: In G.R. No. 179271 Barangay Association for National Advancement and Transparency (BANAT) filed a Petition to Proclaim the Full Number of Party-List Representatives Provided by the Constitution assailing the Resolution promulgated on 3 August 2007 by the COMELEC because "[t]he Chairman and the Members of the [COMELEC] have recently been quoted in the national papers that the [COMELEC] is duty bound to and shall implement the Veterans ruling, that is, would apply the Panganiban formula in allocating party-list seats. Petitioners in G.R. No. 179295 Bayan Muna, Abono, and Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through assails NBC Resolution No. 07-604 promulgated on 9 July 2007. NBC No. 07-60 made a partial proclamation of parties, organizations and coalitions that obtained at least two percent of the total votes cast under the Party-List System and that the Veterans formula is violative of the Constitution and of Republic Act No. 7941. Their petitions came from the 03 July 2007 canvassing and proclamation of the COMELEC as follows: Projected/Maximum Party-List Votes for May 2007 Elections i. ii. Total party-list votes already canvassed/tabulated Total party-list votes remaining uncanvassed/ untabulated (i.e. canvass deferred) Maximum party-list votes (based on 100% outcome) from areas not yet submitted for canvass (Bogo, Cebu; Bais City; Pantar, Lanao del Norte; and Pagalungan, Maguindanao) Maximum Total Party-List Votes 15,283,659 1,337,032

iii.

102,430

16,723,121

The presumptive two percent (2%) threshold can be pegged at three hundred thirty four thousand four hundred sixtytwo (334,462) and the parties, organizations, and coalitions that have thus far garnered at least three hundred thirty four thousand four hundred sixty-two (334,462) votes are as follows: RANK PARTY/ORGANIZATION/ COALITION BUHAY - Buhay Hayaan Yumabong Bayan Muna CIBAC - Citizens Battle Against Corruption VOTES RECEIVED 1,163,218 972,730 760,260

1 2 3

4 5 6

GABRIELA - Gabriela Womens Party APEC - Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives A TEACHER - Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action, Cooperation and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms, Inc. AKBAYAN - Akbayan! Citizens Action Party ALAGAD - Alagad BUTIL - Luzon Farmers Party COOP-NATCO - Cooperative-Natco Network Party BATAS (proclamation of Bagong Alyansang Tagapagtaguyod ng Adhikaing Sambayanan is hereby deferred until final resolution of SPC No. 07-250, in order not to render the proceedings therein moot and academic) ANAK PAWIS ARC - Alliance of Rural Concerns ABONO

610,451 538,971 476,036 470,872 423,076 405,052 390,029

7 8 9 10 11

386,361

12 13 14

376,036 338,194 337,046

The COMELEC en banc as the National Board of Canvassers proclaimed thirteen (13) qualified parties, organization[s] and coalitions based on the presumptive two percent (2%) threshold of 334,462 votes from the projected maximum total number of party-list votes of 16,723,121, and were thus given one (1) guaranteed party-list seat each. In determining the additional seats for the "first party", the correct formula as expressed in Veterans, is: Proportion of votes of first = party relative to total votes for party-list system Total votes for party-list system Wherein the proportion of votes received by the first party (without rounding off) shall entitle it to additional seats: Proportion of votes received by the first party Equal to or at least 6% Equal to or greater than 4% but less than 6% Less than 4% Additional seats Number of votes of first party

Two (2) additional seats One (1) additional seat No additional seat

Applying the above formula, Buhay obtained the following percentage: 1,178,747 = 0.07248 or 7.2%

16,261,369

In determining the additional seats for the other qualified parties, organizations and coalitions, the correct formula as expressed in Veterans and reiterated in CIBAC is, as follows: No. of votes of concerned party Additional seats for = a concerned party No. of votes of first party

No. of additional x seats allocated to first party

Applying the above formula, the results are as follows: Party List BAYAN MUNA CIBAC GABRIELA APEC A TEACHER AKBAYAN ALAGAD BUTIL COOP-NATCO ANAKPAWIS ARC ABONO Issues: 1. Is the twenty percent allocation for party-list representatives provided in Section 5(2), Article VI of the Constitution mandatory or is it merely a ceiling? 2. Is the three-seat limit provided in Section 11(b) of RA 7941 constitutional? 3. Is the two percent threshold and "qualifier" votes prescribed by the same Section 11(b) of RA 7941 constitutional? 4. How shall the party-list representatives be allocated? Ruling: Percentage 1.65 1.28 1.05 1.05 0.83 0.78 0.71 0.69 0.69 0.62 0.63 0.57 Additional Seat 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

First, the twenty percent allocation the combined number of all party-list congressmen shall not exceed twenty percent of the total membership of the House of Representatives, including those elected under the party list; Section 5, Article VI of the Constitution provides: Section 5. (1) The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than two hundred and fifty members, unless otherwise fixed by law (blah blah blah, not important) (2) The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum of the total number of representatives including those under the party-list. first paragraph of Section 11 of R.A. No. 7941 Section 11. Number of Party-List Representatives. The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum (20%) of the total number of the members of the House of Representatives including those under the party-list. The formula in Veterans: Number of seats available to legislative districts .80 Since the 14th Congress of the Philippines has 220 district representatives, there are 55 seats available to party-list representatives. 220 x .20 = 55 .80 After prescribing the ratio of the number of party-list representatives to the total number of representatives, the Constitution left the manner of allocating the seats available to party-list representatives to the wisdom of the legislature. Second, the two percent threshold only those parties garnering a minimum of two percent of the total valid votes cast for the party-list system are "qualified" to have a seat in the House of Representatives; Third, the three-seat limit each qualified party, regardless of the number of votes it actually obtained, is entitled to a maximum of three seats; that is, one "qualifying" and two additional seats; Fourth, proportional representation the additional seats which a qualified party is entitled to shall be computed "in proportion to their total number of votes." (ALL ANSWERED IN THE PROCEEDING DISCUSSION) The Constitution left to Congress the determination of the manner of allocating the seats for party-list representatives. Congress enacted R.A. No. 7941, paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 11 and Section 12 of which provide: Section 11. Number of Party-List Representatives. In determining the allocation of seats for the second vote,22 the following procedure shall be observed: (a) The parties, organizations, and coalitions shall be ranked from the highest to the lowest based on the number of votes they garnered during the elections. (b) The parties, organizations, and coalitions receiving at least two percent (2%) of the total votes cast for the party-list system shall be entitled to one seat each: Provided, That those garnering more than two percent (2%) of the votes shall be entitled to additional seats in proportion to their total number of votes: Provided, finally, That each party, organization, or coalition shall be entitled to not more than three (3) seats. Section 12. Procedure in Allocating Seats for Party-List Representatives. The COMELEC shall tally all the votes for the parties, organizations, or coalitions on a nationwide basis, rank them according to the number of votes received and

Number of seats available to x .20 = party-list representatives

allocate party-list representatives proportionately according to the percentage of votes obtained by each party, organization, or coalition as against the total nationwide votes cast for the party-list system. The second clause of Section 11(b) of R.A. No. 7941 provides that "those garnering more than two percent (2%) of the votes shall be entitled to additional seats in proportion to their total number of votes." This is where petitioners and intervenors problem with the formula in Veterans lies. Veterans interprets the clause "in proportion to their total number of votes" to be in proportion to the votes of the first party. This interpretation is contrary to the express language of R.A. No. 7941. Thus, the SC ruled that in computing the allocation of additional seats, the continued operation of the two percent threshold for the distribution of the additional seats as found in the second clause of Section 11(b) of R.A. No. 7941 is unconstitutional. The Court finds that the two percent threshold makes it mathematically impossible to achieve the maximum number of available party list seats when the number of available party list seats exceeds 50.The two percent threshold presents an unwarranted obstacle to the full implementation of Section 5(2), Article VI of the Constitution and prevents the attainment of "the broadest possible representation of party, sectoral or group interests in the House of Representatives." In determining the allocation of seats for party-list representatives under Section 11 of R.A. No. 7941, the following procedure shall be observed: 1. The parties, organizations, and coalitions shall be ranked from the highest to the lowest based on the number of votes they garnered during the elections. 2. The parties, organizations, and coalitions receiving at least two percent (2%) of the total votes cast for the party-list system shall be entitled to one guaranteed seat each. 3. Those garnering sufficient number of votes, according to the ranking in paragraph 1, shall be entitled to additional seats in proportion to their total number of votes until all the additional seats are allocated. 4. Each party, organization, or coalition shall be entitled to not more than three (3) seats. In computing the additional seats, the guaranteed seats shall no longer be included because they have already been allocated, at one seat each, to every two-percenter. There are two steps in the second round of seat allocation. First, the percentage is multiplied by the remaining available seats, 38, which is the difference between the 55 maximum seats reserved under the Party-List System and the 17 guaranteed seats of the two-percenters. Second, we assign one party-list seat to each of the parties next in rank until all available seats are completely distributed. Thus: Distribution of Available Party-List Seats Votes Garnered over Total Votes for Party List, in % (A) 7.33% 6.14% 4.74% 3.89% 3.88% 3.07%

Rank

Party

Votes Garnered

Guaranteed Seat (First Round) (B)

Additional Seats (Second Round) (C)

(B) plus (C), in whole integers (D)

Applying the three seat cap (E)

1 2 3 4 5 6

BUHAY BAYAN MUNA CIBAC GABRIELA APEC A Teacher

1,169,234 979,039 755,686 621,171 619,657 490,379

1 1 1 1 1 1

2.79 2.33 1.80 1.48 1.48 1.17

3 3 2 2 2 2

N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.

7 8 931 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

AKBAYAN ALAGAD COOPNATCCO BUTIL BATAS ARC

466,112 423,149 409,883 409,160 385,810 374,288

2.92% 2.65% 2.57% 2.57% 2.42% 2.35% 2.32% 2.13% 2.12% 2.06% 2.02% 1.95% 1.89% 1.54% 1.47% 1.44% 1.43% 1.37% 1.37% 1.34% 1.24% 1.23% 1.18% 1.11% 1.07% 1.06% 1.05% 1.03% 1.02%

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (1st ROUND TO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1.11 1.01 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.

ANAKPAWIS 370,261 ABONO AMIN AGAP AN WARAY YACAP FPJPM UNI-MAD ABS KAKUSA KABATAAN ABA-AKO ALIF SENIOR CITIZENS AT VFP ANAD BANAT ANG KASANGGA BANTAY ABAKADA 1-UTAK TUCP 339,990 338,185 328,724 321,503 310,889 300,923 245,382 235,086 228,999 228,637 218,818 217,822 213,058 197,872 196,266 188,521 177,028 170,531 169,801 166,747 164,980 162,647

36 Total

COCOFED

155,920

0.98%

0 17

1 55

N.A.

WHEREFORE, we PARTIALLY GRANT the petition. (sorry guys.. I tried my best na paliitin, ang haba kasi ng case, I think maiintindihan nyo naman dito sa digest ng to. If ever basahin nyo nalang yung buong case para mas clear). :D