DANTE V. LIBAN, REYNALDO M. BERNARDO, and SALVADOR M. VIARI v.

RICHARD J. GORDON G.R. No. 175352, July 15, 2009

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.

FACTS: On February 23, 2006, Senator Richard Gordon was elected as Chairman of the
Philippine National Red Cross during his incumbency as a member of the Senate. Petitioners
then filed a petition to declare Senator Gordon as having forfeited his seat in the Senate. They
allege that by accepting the chairmanship of the PNRC Board of Governors, he has ceased to be
a member of the Senate as provided in Sec. 13, Art. VI of the Constitution. In his Comment,
Senator Gordon asserted that petitioners have no standing to file this petition which appears to be
an action for quo warranto and that it was already barred by prescription. He further insisted that
the PNRC is not a governmentowned or controlled corporation and that the prohibition under
Sec. 13, Art. 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 PNRC Chairman is a government office or an office in a government-
owned or controlled corporation for purposes of the prohibition in Sec. 13, Art.VI of the
Constitution.

RULING:
NO. 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.
The PNRC is not government-owned but privately owned. The vast majority of the thousands of
PNRC members are private individuals, including students. Under the PNRC Charter, those who
contribute to the annual fund campaign of the PNRC are entitled to membership in the PNRC for
one year. Thus, any one between 6 and 65 years of age can be a PNRC member for one year
upon contributing P35, P100, P300, P500 or P1,000 for the year. Even foreigners, whether
residents or not, can be members of the PNRC. Sec. 5 of the PNRC Charter, as amended by P.D.
No. 1264, provides that membership in the PNRC shall be open to the entire population in the
Philippines regardless of citizenship. Thus, the PNRC is a privately owned, privately funded, and
privately run charitable organization. The PNRC is not a government-owned or controlled
corporation