G.R. Nos. 179431-32 and G.R. No. 180443, June 22, 2010
LUIS K. LOKIN, JR., vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, et al.

FACTS

Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) participated in the 2007 party-list elections, submitting a list of five nominees, with Luis K. Lokin, Jr. as its second nominee. Prior to the elections, CIBAC’s president, Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, filed a certificate withdrawing the nominations of Lokin and two others, substituting Armi Jane R. Borje. This amended list was later supported by petitions from over 81% of CIBAC members. After the elections, CIBAC was entitled to two seats. A dispute arose when a motion was filed to proclaim Lokin as the second nominee, while Villanueva sought confirmation of the substitution.
The COMELEC, in its Resolution, approved the withdrawal and substitution, citing its authority under its own implementing rules and regulations (IRRs). The COMELEC’s rules allowed the withdrawal of a nomination upon the filing of a sworn certification by the party president and supported by a majority of the party’s members. Lokin challenged this, arguing that R.A. No. 7941 (Party-List System Act) does not expressly provide for the withdrawal of a nominee, and thus the COMELEC could not create such a ground through its IRRs.

ISSUE

Whether the COMELEC can promulgate implementing rules and regulations that provide a ground for the substitution of a party-list nominee not expressly stated in the Party-List System Act ( R.A. No. 7941 ).

RULING

No. The Supreme Court ruled that the COMELEC exceeded its rule-making authority. The power to issue IRRs is not a power to legislate. IRRs must remain consistent with the law they intend to carry out; they cannot expand, alter, or restrict the law’s provisions. R.A. No. 7941 explicitly enumerates the grounds for substitution of a nominee: withdrawal of acceptance, incapacity, or death. The law is clear and does not include withdrawal of nomination by the party as a ground.
By creating an additional ground for substitution—the withdrawal of nomination based on a party resolution—the COMELEC’s IRRs effectively amended the law. This constitutes an invalid exercise of quasi-legislative power. An administrative agency cannot, under the guise of implementation, supply perceived omissions in a statute. Since the withdrawal of Lokin’s nomination was based on a ground not sanctioned by the law itself, the COMELEC’s approval of the substitution was void. Consequently, Lokin, as the second nominee on the original list, was entitled to the proclamation for CIBAC’s second seat.