Comelec stopped from proclaiming party-lists

MANILA -- Five remaining seats in the party-list race will not be allocated yet after the Supreme Court issued a stay order on Wednesday in favor of disqualified group Senior Citizens, whose accreditation was cancelled because of an alleged term-sharing agreement for its two sets of nominees. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno issued the temporary restraining order (TRO) on behalf of the Court, whose sessions will resume next week following a monthlong decision writing break.

“A temporary restraining order is issued effective immediately and continuing until further orders from this court, ordering you, respondent Comelec, your agents, representatives or persons acting in your place or stead, to cease and desist from further proclaiming winners among party-list candidates,” the SC said.

Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), was given 10 days to comment on the petition.

The group was not among the 38 party-list groups that were proclaimed by the Comelec despite placing 10th in a partial tally with nearly 672,000 votes. Senior Citizens may get three seats since a group only needs more than 200,000 votes to meet the minimum two percent of the total votes cast.

Before the SC action,

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said five of the 58 party-list seats will be allocated once the estimated 36,000 votes coming from areas conducting special elections such as Lanao del Norte are tallied.

Last Friday, the Comelec ruled the disqualification of the Senior Citizens is final and executory due to the lack of action by the SC on its petition then.

Brillantes said the TRO should not be seen by the Senior Citizens as a victory already since it does not mean that the poll body was wrong in disqualifying them.

“Well, wala pa namang resolution ang SC on the merits, so they can still lose. The SC can still sustain us and say tama kami. Illegal yang term-sharing and, therefore, valid ang cancellation namin,” he said.

Senior Citizens was disqualified last year due to its alleged violation of the term-sharing rule.

Last December 31, 2011, Senior Citizens party-list Representative David Kho resigned as member of the House of Representatives to give way for the assumption of the same seat by the group’s fourth nominee, Remedios Arquiza.

Section 7 of Comelec Resolution 9366 provides that “filing of vacancy as a result of term-sharing agreement among nominees of winning party-list groups/organizations shall not be allowed.”

Brillantes meanwhile hopes that the SC will resolve the Senior Citizen petition before June 30, the day the new sets of party-list representatives and other newly elected officials will assume their post.