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COCOFED v. COMELEC
Class Consti 1

Area Constitutional Law

W/N Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in cancelling

Issue COCOFED’s registration and denying their manifestation of intent to
Raised participate

No; Sec. 8 of RA 7941 is mandatory in nature. COCOFED’s failure to

submit a list of not less than five nominees warrants the cancellation of
Ruling their registration. (COMELEC publishes this list to fulfill people’s right to
information on matters of natl concern.)

Each group desiring to register or maintain registration as a partylist

Doctrine must submit a list of not less than five nominees (Sec. 8, RA 7941).

Date
@October 24, 2022
read

Topic Legislature Partylist System

Full
text?

Case
89
No.

CASE DIGEST
DATE: August 6, 2013
CASE NO.: GR No. 207026

Legal Basis

COCOFED v. COMELEC 1
 Section 8. Nomination of Party-List Representatives. — Each
registered party, organization or coalition shall submit to the
COMELEC not later than forty-five (45) days before the election
a list of names, not less than five (5), from which party-list
representatives shall be chosen in case it obtains the required
number of votes.

Action Before the SC

Petition for certiorari assailing COMELEC resolution

🗣 Petitioner(s): COCOFED-Phil Coconut Producers Federation, Inc.

👤 Respondent(s): COMELEC

Summary
Comelec denied COCOFED’s manifestation of intent to participate and cancelled
COCOFED’s registration for failure to comply with RA 7941, Sec. 8 which
requires the party to submit a list of not less than five nominees. (They only
submitted two nominees—later replacing 2nd nominee and adding a third one.)

No grave abuse of discretion by Comelec; Cancellation is warranted b/c Sec. 8

of RA 7941 is mandatory in nature. COCOFED’s failure to submit a list of not
less than five nominees warrants the cancellation of their registration.

List of nominees is important b/c it is to be published by COMELEC in two

national newspapers of general circulation. This satisfies the people’s
constitutional right to be informed regarding matters of national concern (so that
the people can know who they’re voting for).

Issue

COCOFED v. COMELEC 2
 W/N Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in cancelling COCOFED’s
registration and denying their manifestation of intent to participate

Ruling
Court dismissed the petition, finding no grave abuse of discretion by Comelec.
Ct held that the cancellation was warranted b/c Sec. 8 of RA 7941 is mandatory
in nature. COCOFED’s failure to submit a list of not less than five nominees
warrants the cancellation of their registration.

List of nominees is important b/c it is to be published by COMELEC in two

national newspapers of general circulation. This satisfies the people’s
constitutional right to be informed regarding matters of national concern (so that
the people can know who they’re voting for).

*Addtl note: Section 6 (5) of RA No. 7941 state sthat violation of or failure to comply
with laws, rules or regulations relating to elections is a ground for the cancellation of
registration. However, to warrant cancellation, the violation must be one that is
primarily imputable to the party itself and not one that is chiefly confined to an
individual member or its nominee. (In present case, violation is indeed imputable to
the party itself.)

COCOFED v. COMELEC 3