Atong Paglaum, Inc. v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No.

203766, April 2, 2013

Doctrine:
Registration and Cancellation of Party Lists (54 petitions) for not being marginalized or
underrepresented sector within the ‘letter of the law’

Facts:
The Comelec disqualified 52 party-list groups and organizations from participating in the
13 May 2013 party-list elections, particularly those that did not satisfy these two
criteria: (1) all national, regional, and sectoral groups or organizations must represent
the “marginalized and underrepresented” sectors; AND (2) all nominees must belong to
the “marginalized and underrepresented” sector they represent.

Aggrieved by the disqualification, said party-list groups via Petitions for Certiorari and
Petitions for Certiorari and Prohibition, alleging grave abuse of discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of the Comelec.

Issue:
Whether or not the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion in disqualifying the
said party-lists

Ratio/Held:
No. The SC held that 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, the Court adopted new parameters in this decision, so the petitions were
remanded to COMELEC to determine who are qualified to register under the party-list
system, under the new parameters.

One parameter set is that 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;

The decision of the majority in the SC is that the indisputable intent of the framers of
the 1987 Constitution to include in the party-list system both sectoral and non-sectoral
parties, which is clearly written in Section 5(1), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution

Section 5.(1) The House of Representatives shall be

composed of not more that two hundred and fifty
members, unless otherwise fixed by law, who shall be
elected from legislative districts apportioned among the
provinces, cities, and the Metropolitan Manila area in
accordance with the number of their respective
inhabitants, and on the basis of a uniform and
 progressive ratio, and those who, as provided by
law, shall be elected through a party-list system
of registered national, regional, and sectoral
parties or organizations.

What the framers intended, and what they expressly wrote in Section 5 (1), could not be
any clearer: the party-list system is composed of three different groups, and the sectoral
parties belong to only one of the three groups. The text of Section 5 (1) leaves no room
for any doubt that national and regional parties are separate from sectoral parties.

Hence, the clear intent, express wording, and party-list structure ordained in Section 5
(1) and (2), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution cannot be disputed: the party-list system
is not for sectoral parties only, but also for non-sectoral parties.