Veterans Federation Party V COMELEC
G.R. No. 136781, 10/06/2000
Note: Reason as to why our Party-list numbers,
seats is always changing
“To determine the winners in a Philippine-
style party-list election, the Constitution and
Republic Act (RA) No. 7941 mandate at least
four inviolable parameters. These are:
First, the twenty percent allocation - the
combined number of all party-list
congressmen shall not exceed twenty percent
of the total membership of the House of
Representatives, including those elected
under the party list.
Second, the two percent threshold - only
those parties garnering a minimum of two
percent of the total valid votes cast for the
party-list system are "qualified" to have a seat
in the House of Representatives;
Third, the three-seat limit - each qualified
party, regardless of the number of votes it
actually obtained, is entitled to a maximum of
three seats; that is, one "qualifying" and two
additional seats.
Fourth, proportional representation - the
additional seats which a qualified party is
entitled to shall be computed "in proportion to
their total number of votes."
Because the Comelec violated these legal
parameters, the assailed Resolutions must be
struck down for having been issued in grave
abuse of discretion. The poll body is
mandated to enforce and administer election-
related laws. It has no power to contravene or
amend them. Neither does it have authority to
decide the wisdom, propriety or rationality of
the acts of Congress.
Its bounden duty is to craft rules, regulations,
methods and formulas to implement election
laws -- not to reject, ignore, defeat, obstruct or
circumvent them.
In fine, the constitutional introduction of the
party-list system - a normal feature of
parliamentary democracies - into our
presidential form of government, modified by
unique Filipino statutory parameters, presents
new paradigms and novel questions, which
demand innovative legal solutions convertible
into mathematical formulations which are, in
turn, anchored on time-tested jurisprudence.”
Facts:
● 1987 PH Constitution introduced the
party-list system of representation:
o Sec 5 Art 5 PH Consti
● In compliance of such provision,
Congress enacted RA 7941 (POLICY: to
promote proportional representation in
the election of representatives of the
House thru a party-list system)
o Sec 11 of RA 7941 states that
party-list members should be
20% of the House
o For May 1998 Elecs, first 5
major political parties shall not
be entitled tto participate in the
system
o Shall be ranked from highest to
lowest and parties having 2%
below is only one seat, 2%
above is 2 or 3 seats depends
on percentage.
● May 11, 1998 party-list elections was
held together with Nationals for the
first time
● 123 parties and orgs participated
o 13 party list representatives and
12 parties won
o Most of which garnered extra
seats in the 2% req.
● PAG-ASA (People’s Progressive
Alliance for Peace and Good
Government Towards Alleviation of
Poverty and Social Advancement)
filed with the Comelec a "Petition to
Proclaim the Full Number of Party-List
Representatives provided by the
Constitution." It alleged that the filling
up of the twenty percent membership
of party-list representatives in the
House of Representatives, as
provided under the Constitution, was
mandatory. It further claimed that the
literal application of the two percent
vote requirement and the three-seat
limit under RA 7941 would defeat this
constitutional provision, for only 25
nominees would be declared winners,
short of the 52 party-list
representatives who should actually sit
in the House.
● After this, 9 other party-list filed their
motion for intervention requesting the
same
● By October 15. COMELEC released 38
other party-list names that should
qualify and complete the 52
requirement
o Omnibus Election Code (B.P.
881)
● People noticed the inconsistency of
COMELEC towards their self-enacted
Rules and Regulations Governing the
Election of Party-List Representatives
thru the Party List System.
ISSUES:
● WON the computation was done right
● WON the 2% requirement is the
threshold votes for a seat or just for a
guarantee for extra seats.
● “Should the remaining 38 unfilled seats
be allocated to party-list solons be given
to the 13 qualified parties that had
each garnered at least 2% of the votes
or to the 38 even if they had not passed
the 2% threshold
o (Trip to Jerusalem man diay
ning Party-list uie)
o In summation: The parties were
arguing as to how the 52
member requirement and with
the stipulation of 2% extra
chairs should go about
RULING OF COMELEC:
● All parties had agreed that the need for
the 20% membership should be filled
up
● Poll body saying that: if the seats are
given to those parties who qualified and
reached the 2 percent, there would be a
concentration of representation and
would defeat the purpose of the
Constitution
● COMELEC EN BANC affirmed the
inclusion of the 38
o Making it seem that the
comelec circumvented its own
rules
● SUPREME COURT comes into play:
o Cease and Desist Order from
making Comelec as a self-
instituted National Board of
Canvassers
o And had to review the orders
done by COMELEC
ISSUES BY SC:
1.) Is the 20% allocation mandatory or
a ceiling? Should the 20% allocation
for solons be filled up completely
and all the time?
2.) Are the 2% threshold and 3 seat
limit constitutional?
3.) If it is, how should it be
determined?
HELD:
● SC believes that it is partly meritous.
That the assailed Resolutions should be
nullified, but disagrees that they should
all be given seats
1.) Determination of the Total Number of
Party-List Lawmakers
Clearly, the Constitution makes the number of
district representatives the determinant in
arriving at the number of seats allocated for
party-list lawmakers, who shall comprise
"twenty per centum of the total number of
representatives including those under the
party-list." We thus translate this legal
provision into a mathematical formula, as
follows:
No. of district
representatives x .20 = No. of party-
list representatives
.80
This formulation means that any increase in
16 
the number of district representatives, as may
be provided by law, will necessarily result in a
corresponding increase in the number of
party-list seats. To illustrate, considering that
there were 208 district representatives to be
elected during the 1998 national elections, the
number of party-list seats would be 52,
computed as follows:
208 x .20 = 52
 .80
● On the second question of number 1:
● The Constitution merely states that
“Party-list representatives shall
constitute 20% of the total number of
representatives including those under
the party-list
● A careful review on RA7941 emphasizes
that the appropriation should be
proportional
● Thus, it is not mandatory
2.) In rem 2% : SC checked on the deliberations
and found the following
* A party must obtain at least 2% of the
total votes, 5% or 10% of the votes cast.
Otherwise, this will proliferate political party
groups and those who have not really been
given by the people sufficient basis for them to
represent their constituents.
* The 2% threshold is consistent not only with
the intent of the framers of the Constitution but
with the very essence of representation.
On the 3-seat per party limit Applied in foreign states but What resulted was
● ConCom deliberation: “… That is why not the desired result.
one of the ways to do that is to put a HENCE: Refer to the Prologue
ceiling on the number of Step One: Rank all the participating parties, get
representatives from any single party the Ratio from the total votes
that can sit within the 50 allocated. This Step Two: Determine the number of seats a
way we will open it up and enable party is entitled to. Basing on proportional
sectoral groups….” representation.
3. How to compute the extra party list chairs Note: other qualified parties will be
lesser because
Computation 1: 1.) Ratio is less than 1:1
2.) The formula does not admit
2% = 1 seat; 4%= 2 seats; 6%= 3 seats rounding off
FORMULA FOR DETERMINING ADDITIONAL
Advantage of simplicity and ease but was not a SEATS FOR THE FIRST PARTY
proper system for proportional representation Applies only to the #1
so was discarded.
Computation 2:
 fourteen (14) sitting party-list representatives -
two for APEC and one each for the remaining
twelve (12) qualified parties - are AFFIRMED.

Number of
votes
of first party Proportion of votes of
first party relative to
=
Total votes total votes for party-
for list system
party-list
system

Comelec was not right in its application of the

Fair representation clause.

WHEREFORE, the Petitions are hereby

partially GRANTED. The assailed Resolutions
of the Comelec are SET ASIDE and
NULLIFIED. The proclamations of the