Coseteng vs. Mitra, Jr.

(proportional representation)
Facts:
The congressional elections of May 1987 resulted in the
election to the House of Rep. of the candidates of diverse
political parties such as PDP-Laban, Lakas ng Bansa (LB),
Liberal Party (LP), NP-Unido, Kilusan ng Bagong Lipunan
(KBL), Kababaihan Para sa Inang Bayan (KAIBA), etc.
Petitioner Anna Dominique Coseteng was the only candidate
elected under the banner of KAIBA.
August 26, 1987 the House of Rep. upon nomination by the
Majority floor leader Francisco Sumulong, elected from the
Coalesced majority 11 out of 12 congressmen to represent the
House in the Commission on Appointments.
September 22, 1987 upon nomination of the Minority floor
leader, the House elected Honorable Ablan Jr., as the 12th
member of the Commission on Appointments, representing the
Coalesced minority in the House.
September 16, 1988 Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino
(LDP) was organized as a political party. 158 out of 202
members of the House formally affiliated with the LDP.
Consequently, the House representation in Commission on
Appointments had to be reorganized.
October 8, 1988 Coseteng wrote a letter to Speaker Mitra
requesting that as representative of KAIBA, she be appointed
as a member of the Commission on Appointments and House
Electoral Tribunal.
December 5, 1988 House membership in the Commission on
Appointments was revised. Coseteng was still not included.
February 1, 1989 Coseteng and her party filed a petition to
declare null and void the election of members of the
Commission on Appointments on the theory that their election

to that Commission violated the constitutional mandate of

proportional representation.
Issue:
Were the members of the House in the Commission on
Appointments chosen on the basis of proportional
representation?
Held:
Yes!
There are 160 members of the LDP in the House. They
represent 79% of the House membership (w/c may be rounded
out to 80%). 80% of 12 members in the Commission on
Appointments would equal 9.6 members, w/c may be rounded
out to 10 members from the LDP.
The remaining 2 seats were apportioned to the LP as the next
largest party in the Coalesced Majority and the KBL as the
principal opposition party in the House.
There is no doubt that this apportionment of the House
membership was done on the basis of proportional
representation of the political parties therein.
The other political parties or groups in the House, such as
petitioners KAIBA (w/c is presumably a member also of the
Coalesced Majority), are bound by the majoritys choices. Even
if KAIBA was to be considered as an opposition party, its lone
member Coseteng represents only .4% or less than 1% of
the House membership, hence, she is not entitled to one of the
12 House seats in the Commission on Appointments.
To be able to claim proportional membership in the
Commission on Appointments, a political party should
represent at least 8.4% of the House membership or it should
have been able to elect at least 17 congressmen/women.