LIBAN v.

GORDON | 76
EN BANC
DANTE V. LIBAN, REYNALDO M. BERNARDO, and SALVADOR M. VIARI, Petitioners
vs. RICHARD J. GORDON, Respondent
G.R. NO. 175352, July 15, 2009
CARPIO, J.

FACTS:
 The petitioners, filed with this Court a Petition to Declare Richard J. Gordon as having forfeited his
seat in the Senate for being elected Chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC)
during the 23 February 2006 meeting of the PNRC Board of Governors while still an incumbent
member of the Senate of the Philippines.
 Petitioners also cited Camporedondo vs. NLRC, which held that the PNRC is a government-
owned or controlled corporation.
 The respondent asserts that petitioners have no standing to file this petition which appears to be
an action for quo warranto and further insists that the PNRC is not a government-owned or
controlled corporation and that the prohibition under Section 13, Article VI of the Constitution does
not apply in the present case since volunteer service to the PNRC is neither an office nor an
employment.

ISSUE:
Whether the Office of the Philippine National Red Cross Chairman is a government office or an
office in a government-owned or controlled corporation.

RULING:
No. The Court held that the office of the PNRC Chairman is not a government office or an
office in a government-owned or controlled corporation for purposes of the prohibition in Section 13,
Article VI of the 1987 Constitution. However, since the PNRC Charter is void insofar as it creates the
PNRC as a private corporation, the PNRC should incorporate under the Corporation Code and
register with the Securities and Exchange Commission if it wants to be a private corporation.

PNRC is a Private Organization Performing Public Functions. The Republic of the

Philippines, adhering to the Geneva Conventions, established the PNRC as a voluntary organization
for the purpose contemplated in the Geneva Convention of 27 July 1929.

On 22 March 1947, President Manuel A. Roxas signed Republic Act No. 95 otherwise known
as the pNrc Charter. The PNRC is a non-profit, donor-funded, voluntary, humanitarian organization,
whose mission is to bring timely, effective, and compassionate humanitarian assistance for the mose
vulnerable without consideration of nationality, race, religion, gender, social status, or political
affiliation. The PNRC provides six major services: Blood Services, Disaster management, Safety
Services, Community health and Nursing, Social Services and Voluntary Service.

To ensure and maintain its autonomy, neutrality, and independence, the PNRC cannot be
owned or controlled by the government. Indeed, the Philippine government does not own the PNRC.
The PNRC does not have government assets and does not receive any appropriation from the
Philippine Congress. The PNRC is financed primarily by contributions from private individuals and
private entities obtained through solicitation campaigns organized by its Board of Governors, as
provided under Section 11 of the PNRC Chapter:

Section 11. As a national voluntary organization, the Philippine national Red Cross shall be
financed primarily by contributions obtained through solicitations campaigns throughout the year
which shall be organized by the Board of Governors and conducted by the Chapters in their
respective jurisdictions. These fund raising campaigns shall be conducted independently of other fund
drives by other organizations. (Emphasis supplied)

Wherefore, the Court declare that the Office of the Chairman of the Philippine National Red
Cross is not a government office or an office in a government-owned or controlled corporation for
purposes of the prohibition in Section 13, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution. The Court also declare
that Sections 1,2,3,4(a),5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12, and 13 of the Charter of the Philippine National Red
Cross, or Republic Act No. 95, as amended by Presidential Decree Nos. 1264 and 1263, are void
because they create the PNRC as a private corporation or grant it corporate powers.
 LIBAN v. GORDON | 76
The Court finds the petition without merit. Petitioners have no standing to file this petition.