BANAT v COMELEC

Issues

BANAT brought the following issues before this Court:

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?

The Ruling of the Court

The petitions have partial merit. We maintain that a Philippine-style party-list

election has at least four
inviolable parameters as clearly stated in Veterans. For easy reference, these are:

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;

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.
However, because the formula in Veterans has flaws in its mathematical
interpretation of the term
proportional representation, this Court is compelled to revisit the formula for the
allocation of additional seats
to party-list organizations.

Definition of Terms. (a) 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 (COMELEC). Component
parties or
organizations of a coalition may participate independently provided the coalition
of which they form part does
not participate in the party-list system.
(b) A party means either a political party or a sectoral party or a coalition of
parties.

(c) A political party refers to 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.

It is a national party when its constituency is spread over the geographical

territory of at least a majority of
the regions. It is a regional party when its constituency is spread over the
geographical territory of at least a
majority of the cities and provinces comprising the region.

(d) A sectoral party refers to an organized group of citizens belonging to any of

the sectors enumerated in
Section 5 hereof whose principal advocacy pertains to the special interests and
concerns of their sector,

(e) A sectoral organization refers to a group of citizens or a coalition of groups

of citizens who share similar
physical attributes or characteristics, employment, interests or concerns.

(f) A coalition refers to an aggrupation of duly registered national, regional,

sectoral parties or organizations
for political and/or election purposes.

xxxxx

Neither the Constitution nor R.A. No. 7941 mandates the filling-up of the entire
20% allocation of party-list
representatives found in the Constitution. The Constitution, in paragraph 1,
Section 5 of Article VI, left the
determination of the number of the members of the House of Representatives to
Congress: The House of
Representatives shall be composed of not more than two hundred and fifty members,
unless otherwise fixed
by law, x x x. The 20% allocation of party-list representatives is merely a
ceiling; party-list representatives
cannot be more than 20% of the members of the House of Representatives. However, we
cannot allow the
continued existence of a provision in the law which will systematically prevent the
constitutionally allocated
20% party-list representatives from being filled. The three-seat cap, as a
limitation to the number of seats that
a qualified party-list organization may occupy, remains a valid statutory device
that prevents any party from
dominating the party-list elections. Seats for party-list representatives shall
thus be allocated in accordance
with the procedure used in Table 3 above.

However, by a vote of 8-7, the Court decided to continue the ruling in Veterans
disallowing major political
parties from participating in the party-list elections, directly or indirectly.
Those who voted to continue
disallowing major political parties from the party-list elections joined Chief
Justice Reynato S. Puno in his
separate opinion. On the formula to allocate party-list seats, the Court is
unanimous in concurring with this
ponencia.

WHEREFORE, we PARTIALLY GRANT the petition. We SET ASIDE the Resolution of the
COMELEC
dated 3 August 2007 in NBC No. 07-041 (PL) as well as the Resolution dated 9 July
2007 in NBC No. 07-60.
We declare unconstitutional the two percent threshold in the distribution of
additional party-list seats. The
allocation of additional seats under the Party-List System shall be in accordance
with the procedure used in
Table 3 of this Decision. Major political parties are disallowed from participating
in party-list elections. This
Decision is immediately executory. No pronouncement as to costs.