G.R. No. 257610, January 24, 2023
GLEN QUINTOS ALBANO, PETITIONER, VS. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, RESPONDENT. [Consolidated with UDK No. 17230: CATALINA G. LEONEN-PIZARRO, PETITIONER, VS. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, RESPONDENT.]

FACTS

Before the Court are two consolidated Petitions for Certiorari and Prohibition assailing Section 8 of Republic Act No. 7941 (R.A. No. 7941) and Sections 5(d) and 10 of COMELEC Resolution No. 10717 as unconstitutional. Petitioner Glen Quintos Albano was the second nominee of the Talino at Galing ng Pinoy Party-List (TGP) for the May 9, 2022 elections. He lost his bid for city councilor of Taguig in the 2019 elections. Petitioner Catalina G. Leonen-Pizarro was the president and first nominee of the Arts Business and Science Professionals (ABS) for the 2022 elections. She had served as ABS representative from 2007 to 2016 and subsequently lost her bids for mayor of Sudipen, La Union in the 2016 and 2019 elections. Their nominations were barred by Section 8 of R.A. No. 7941, which states that the party-list “shall not include any candidate for any elective office or a person who has lost his bid for elective office in the immediately preceding election,” a provision adopted in Sections 5(d) and 10 of COMELEC Resolution No. 10717.

ISSUE

1. Whether Congress may prescribe additional qualifications for party-list representatives other than those provided in Section 6, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution.
2. Whether Section 8 of R.A. No. 7941 and Sections 5(d) and 10 of COMELEC Resolution No. 10717 are unconstitutional for violating the equal protection clause.

RULING

The petitions are partly meritorious.
1. On Congress’s Power to Prescribe Qualifications: Congress is empowered to determine, by law, who shall be elected through the party-list system and to prescribe the qualifications of party-list representatives. This power is derived from Section 5(1), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, which states that members of the House of Representatives shall include those “who, as provided by law, shall be elected through a party-list system.” The Constitution grants the Legislature wide discretion in formulating the mechanics of the party-list system, including the qualifications of nominees. The party-list system is a distinct mode of representation designed to empower marginalized and underrepresented sectors. Therefore, Congress can validly enact R.A. No. 7941 to prescribe qualifications for party-list nominees beyond those in Section 6, Article VI for district representatives.
2. On the Constitutionality of the Challenged Provisions: Section 8 of R.A. No. 7941 and its implementing COMELEC resolution provisions violate the equal protection clause. The equal protection clause requires that all persons similarly situated be treated alike. The provision creates an invalid classification by disqualifying individuals who lost in the immediately preceding election from being party-list nominees, while imposing no similar disqualification on candidates for district representative positions. This classification is not germane to the purpose of the party-list system, which is to enhance representation of marginalized sectors. The restriction does not address the nominee’s ability to represent the sector, nor does it prevent traditional politicians from infiltrating the system, as losing candidates from marginalized sectors are also barred. The provision is an overbroad and unreasonable restriction that unduly limits the party-list organization’s freedom to choose its nominees and the electorate’s right to vote. Consequently, Section 8 of R.A. No. 7941 and Sections 5(d) and 10 of COMELEC Resolution No. 10717 are declared UNCONSTITUTIONAL.