Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party vs. COMELEC

In determining the 2% threshold for party-list elections, votes cast for disqualified party-list candidates must be deducted from the "total votes cast for the party-list system" pursuant to Section 10 of RA 7941, which provides that votes for parties "not entitled to be voted for shall not be counted."

The May 14, 2001 party-list elections involved 159+ participants. Following the SC's June 26, 2001 Decision establishing 8-point guidelines for qualification, Comelec conducted summary hearings and submitted compliance reports recommending qualifications and disqualifications. The central dispute involved whether votes for disqualified candidates should be deducted from the total votes cast to determine the 2% threshold, and whether certain parties (particularly BUHAY and COCOFED) satisfied the qualification requirements.

• June 26, 2001: SC promulgated Decision directing Comelec to conduct summary evidentiary hearings on party-list qualifications and submit compliance reports
• July 27, 2001: Comelec submitted First Partial Compliance Report recommending 7 qualified parties (BAYAN MUNA, AKBAYAN, BUTIL, AMIN, ABA, PM, SANLAKAS) and disqualifying others including BUHAY and COCOFED
• August 14 & 24, 2001: SC issued Resolutions partially lifting TRO to allow proclamation of BAYAN MUNA, AKBAYAN, and BUTIL
• January 29, 2002: SC Resolution qualified APEC and CIBAC (reversing Comelec's disqualification) and allowed their proclamation
• August 22, 2001 & September 27, 2001: Comelec submitted Second and Final Compliance Reports recommending additional qualified parties
• November 2002: OSG filed Comments recommending qualification of BUHAY and COCOFED and deduction of disqualified votes
• February 18, 2003: SC required position papers on whether Labo applies and whether disqualified votes should be deducted
• June 25, 2003: SC issued this Resolution

• Nature: Motions for proclamation in party-list elections; determination of winners and computation of seats
• Total Votes Cast: 15,118,815 (original canvass)
• Disqualified Parties: 116 groups (per Comelec Compliance Reports)
• Votes for Disqualified: 8,595,630
• Adjusted Total Valid Votes: 6,523,185 (after deduction)
• 2% Threshold: 130,464 votes (based on adjusted total)
• Qualified Parties: 46 total (including BUHAY and COCOFED which Comelec initially disqualified but SC reinstated)
• Parties Reaching 2%: 12 groups (BAYAN MUNA, APEC, AKBAYAN, BUTIL, CIBAC, BUHAY, AMIN, ABA, COCOFED, PM, SANLAKAS, ABANSE! PINAY)

• Bayan Muna: Argued that deducting votes of disqualified candidates would create system instability by encouraging qualified parties to seek disqualification of others merely to lower the threshold percentage
• Various Movants: Sought proclamation based on reaching the 2% threshold after deduction of disqualified votes

• OSG (representing Comelec):
  • Recommended reversal of Comelec's disqualification of BUHAY and COCOFED, arguing Comelec's findings were unsupported by substantial evidence and merely conjectural
  • Argued that votes for disqualified candidates must be deducted from total votes cast per Section 10, RA 7941
  • Contended that Labo and Grego (regular election cases) do not apply to party-list elections governed by the special law RA 7941

• Procedural Issues:

  • Whether Labo v. Comelec and Grego v. Comelec apply to the determination of winners in party-list elections
  • Whether votes cast for disqualified party-list candidates should be deducted from the "total votes cast for the party-list system"

• Substantive Issues:

  • Whether BUHAY and COCOFED are qualified party-list participants
  • Which qualified parties obtained at least 2% of the total valid votes cast
  • How many seats each winning party is entitled to under the Veterans formula

• Procedural:

  • Labo and Grego are inapplicable to party-list elections. These cases involved regular elections for single elective posts under RA 6646, whereas RA 7941 is a special statute governing party-list elections.
  • Section 10 of RA 7941 explicitly provides that votes for parties "not entitled to be voted for shall not be counted." The language is plain and unambiguous; no interpretation needed, only application.
  • Votes for disqualified candidates must be deducted from the total votes cast. The 2% threshold is computed based on the adjusted total of valid votes (6,523,185), not the original gross total.

• Substantive:

  • BUHAY and COCOFED are qualified. Comelec's finding that BUHAY was merely an extension of El Shaddai was speculative. COCOFED's bylaw making the Philippine Coconut Authority chairman an automatic board member had been deleted since 1988, and seeking government assistance does not make it a government adjunct.
  • Twelve (12) winners declared: Only parties garnering at least 130,464 votes (2% of 6,523,185) are entitled to seats.
• Seat Allocation:
  • BAYAN MUNA: 3 seats (one qualifying + two additional; obtained 26.19% of votes)
  • APEC, AKBAYAN, BUTIL, CIBAC: At least 1 seat each (additional seats pending resolution of separate motion)
  • BUHAY, AMIN, ABA, COCOFED, PM, SANLAKAS, ABANSE! PINAY: 1 seat each (qualifying seats only; no additional seats as their proportional votes relative to first party yielded less than 1.0)

• Four Unique Parameters of Philippine Party-List System (from Veterans Federation Party v. Comelec):

  1. 20% allocation — combined party-list congressmen shall not exceed 20% of total House membership
  2. 2% threshold — only parties garnering minimum 2% of total valid votes are qualified to have a seat
  3. Three-seat limit — each qualified party entitled to maximum 3 seats (one qualifying + two additional)
  4. Proportional representation — additional seats computed in proportion to total number of votes

• Veterans Formula for Seat Allocation:

  • First Party: If proportion of votes is ≥6% = 3 seats total; if ≥4% but <6% = 2 seats total; if <4% = 1 seat only

  • Other Qualified Parties: Additional seats = (Votes of Qualified Party / Votes of First Party) × Allotted Seats for First Party. No rounding off; must yield at least 1.0 to get an additional seat.

  • Plain Meaning Rule / Verba Legis: When the language of the statute is clear and unambiguous (as in Section 10, RA 7941), there is no room for interpretation, only application. No recourse to extrinsic aids is warranted.

  • Inapplicability of Labo Doctrine: In regular elections, votes for disqualified candidates are not deducted unless the disqualification was "notorious" (voters fully aware). In party-list elections, RA 7941 mandates automatic exclusion of votes for disqualified parties from the total votes cast.

• "The language of the law is clear; hence, there is room, not for interpretation, but merely for application." (regarding Section 10, RA 7941)
• "Subtracting the votes garnered by these disqualified party-list groups from the total votes cast under the party-list system will reduce the base figure to 6,523,185. This means that the two-percent threshold can be more easily attained by the qualified marginalized and under-represented groups."
• "It takes patience and perseverance to have the marginalized and under-represented sectors ably represented in Congress."

• Veterans Federation Party v. Comelec (G.R. Nos. 136781, 136786, 136795, October 6, 2000) — Controlling precedent establishing the four parameters of the party-list system and the mathematical formulas for computing seat allocation; followed for determining number of nominees.
• Labo v. Comelec (G.R. Nos. 105111 & 105384, 211 SCRA 297, July 3, 1992) — Distinguished; held inapplicable to party-list elections. Established that votes for ineligible candidates in regular elections are not stray unless disqualification was notorious.
• Grego v. Comelec (340 Phil. 591, June 19, 1997) — Distinguished; reiterated Labo exception requiring "notorious" disqualification in regular elections, inapplicable to party-list system governed by RA 7941.

• RA 7941 (Party-List System Act), Section 2 — Declaration of Policy promoting proportional representation for marginalized and underrepresented sectors.
• RA 7941, Section 10 — Manner of voting; "a vote cast for a party, sectoral organization, or coalition not entitled to be voted for shall not be counted" (basis for deducting disqualified votes).
• RA 7941, Section 11(b) — 2% threshold for qualification; entitlement to one seat for reaching threshold; additional seats in proportion to votes; three-seat limit.
• RA 6646, Section 6 — Distinguished (effect of disqualification in regular elections where votes remain unless candidate is notoriously disqualified).

• Justice Vitug — Reiterated dissent from the June 26, 2001 Decision (no separate opinion text provided in this Resolution).