G.R. No.

203766
April 2, 2013

ATONG PAGLAUM, INC, ET.AL

petitioners
Vs.
COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
Respondents

Prepared by:
JAIM MARIANT M. JUCOM
FACTS
▫ Petitioners (52 party-list groups and organizations, including Atong
Paglaom, Inc) were disqualified by the Commission on Elections in
the May 2013 party-list elections, either by:
▫ denial of their petitions for registration under the
party-list system,
▫ cancellation of their registration and accreditation
as party-list organizations
▫ Reasons for their disqualification were primarily for not being
qualified as representatives for marginalized or underrepresented
sectors

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FACTS
▫ Atong Paglaum, et. al. then filed a petition for certiorari against
COMELEC, assailing the Resolutions issued by the Commission on
Elections (COMELEC) and alleging grave abuse of discretion on the
part of COMELEC in disqualifying them.

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ISSUE
1. Whether the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdiction in disqualifying petitioners from participating in
the 13 May 2013 party-list elections,

2. Whether the criteria for participating in the party-list system laid down in
Ang Bagong Bayani and Barangay Association for National Advancement and
Transparency v. Commission on Elections (BANAT) should be applied by the
COMELEC in the coming 13 May 2013 party-list elections.

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RULING
NO. The COMELEC did not commit grave abuse of discretion in following
prevailing decisions of this Court in disqualifying petitioners from
participating in the coming 13 May 2013 party-list elections.

However, since the Court adopts in this Decision new parameters in the
qualification of national, regional, and sectoral parties under the party-list system,
thereby abandoning the rulings in the decisions applied by the COMELEC in
disqualifying petitioners, we remand to the COMELEC all the present
petitions for the COMELEC to determine who are qualified to register under
the party-list system, and to participate in the coming 13 May 2013
party-list elections, under the new parameters prescribed in this Decision.

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RULING
We cannot, …, fault the COMELEC for following prevailing jurisprudence in
disqualifying petitioners. In following prevailing jurisprudence, the
COMELEC could not have committed grave abuse of discretion.

…,we declare that it would not be in accord with the 1987 Constitution and R.A.
No. 7941 to apply the criteria in Ang Bagong Bayani and BANAT in
determining who are qualified to participate in the coming 13 May 2013
party-list elections.

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In the assailed resolutions, COMELEC excluded from participating in the 13
May 2013 party-list elections those that did not satisfy these two criteria:

1. all national, regional, and sectoral groups or organizations must represent

the "marginalized and underrepresented" sectors

2. all nominees must belong to the "marginalized and underrepresented"

sector they represent.

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Petitioners may have been disqualified by the COMELEC because:

● as political or regional parties they are not organized along sectoral lines and do
not represent the "marginalized and underrepresented."
● petitioners' nominees who do not belong to the sectors they represent may have
been disqualified, although they may have a track record of advocacy for their
sectors
● nominees of non-sectoral parties may have been disqualified because they do not
belong to any sector
● a party may have been disqualified because one or more of its nominees failed to
qualify, even if the party has at least one remaining qualified nominee

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In determining who may participate in the coming 13 May 2013 and
subsequent party-list elections, the COMELEC shall adhere to the following
parameters:

1. Three different groups may participate in the party-list system: (1)

national parties or organizations, (2) regional parties or organizations,
and (3) sectoral parties or organizations.

2. National parties or organizations and regional parties or organizations

do not need to organize along sectoral lines and do not need to
represent any "marginalized and underrepresented" sector.

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R.A. No. 7941 does not require national and regional parties or organizations
to represent the "marginalized and underrepresented" sectors.

Under the party-list system, an ideology-based or cause-oriented political

party is clearly different from a sectoral party. A political party need not be
organized as a sectoral party and need not represent any particular sector.
There is no requirement in R.A. No. 7941 that a national or regional
political party must represent a "marginalized and underrepresented"
sector. It is sufficient that the political party consists of citizens who
advocate the same ideology or platform, or the same governance principles
and policies, regardless of their economic status as citizens.

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In determining who may participate in the coming 13 May 2013 and
subsequent party-list elections, the COMELEC shall adhere to the following
parameters:

3. Political parties can participate in party-list elections provided they

register under the party-list system and do not field candidates in
legislative district elections. A political party, whether major or not, that
fields candidates in legislative district elections can participate in
party-list elections only through its sectoral wing that can separately
register under the party-list system. The sectoral wing is by itself an
independent sectoral party, and is linked to a political party through a
coalition.

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In determining who may participate in the coming 13 May 2013 and
subsequent party-list elections, the COMELEC shall adhere to the following
parameters:
4. Sectoral parties or organizations may either be "marginalized and
underrepresented" or lacking in "well defined political constituencies."
▫ It is enough that their principal advocacy pertains to the special interest
and concerns of their sector.
▫ The sectors that are "marginalized and underrepresented" include labor,
peasant, fisherfolk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities,
handicapped, veterans, and overseas workers.
▫ The sectors that lack "well-defined political constituencies" include
professionals, the elderly, women, and the youth.

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In determining who may participate in the coming 13 May 2013 and
subsequent party-list elections, the COMELEC shall adhere to the following
parameters:
5. A majority of the members of sectoral parties or organizations that
represent the "marginalized and underrepresented" must belong to the
"marginalized and underrepresented" sector they represent. Similarly, a
majority of the members of sectoral parties or organizations that lack
"well-defined political constituencies" must belong to the sector they
represent. The nominees of sectoral parties or organizations that represent
the "marginalized and underrepresented," or that represent those who lack
"well-defined political constituencies," either must belong to their
respective sectors, or must have a track record of advocacy for their
respective sectors. The nominees of national and regional parties or
organizations must be bona-fide members of such parties or organizations.
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In determining who may participate in the coming 13 May 2013 and
subsequent party-list elections, the COMELEC shall adhere to the following
parameters:

6. National, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations shall not be

disqualified if some of their nominees are disqualified, provided that they
have at least one nominee who remains qualified.

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