THE Supreme Court has granted the petition of Magkakasama sa Sakahan, Kaunlaran (Magsasaka) party-list group to nullify a ruling issued by the Commission on Elections that recognized Soliman Villamin Jr. as the group’s national chair despite his removal from the party.
Villamin is former national chairperson of Magsasaka. He was voted out of its Council of Elders and expelled from the group for alleged involvement in anomalous activities.
In a decision promulgated on May 21 but made public only yesterday, the Court en banc held that the poll body “gravely abused its discretion” when it focused on determining whether Magsasaka complied with due process in removing Villamin from his post of national chairperson but disregarded the reason for his ouster — his alleged illegal activities — and its effect on the party as a whole.
“While the Comelec has limited jurisdiction over intra-party leadership disputes, it does not mean that Comelec can substitute its own judgment for that of the party,” the SC ruling penned by Associate Justice Jose Midas Marquez.
“The Comelec cannot disregard the Party’s actions simply because they do not appear to be in line with the Comelec’s interpretation of the party’s Saligang Batas or charter. A party must be allowed to interpret its own governing rules and remove officials from participating in its own affairs,” it added.
The SC stressed that by focusing on procedural concerns, the poll body disregarded Magsasaka’s substantive grounds for removing Villamin, grounds that it said caused the group to oust him from the organization, and grounds which the latter failed to sufficiently counter.
“In so doing, the Comelec failed to serve the public interest since it unduly interfered with the political process. The Court cannot allow the Comelec, on account of its perceived procedural deviations from Magsasaka’s Saligang Batas, to force the party to retain Villamin as national chairperson and reward him with such leadership position when the party itself had found him unfit not only as its leader, but also as a member as well. Clearly, the Comelec gravely abused its discretion,” the SC added.
The High Court also pointed out that since Villamin was “validly removed” by Magsasaka as national chair, he no longer had the authority to file before the poll body his manifestation of intent to participate in the 2022 party-list elections.
“Thus, his nominee, Roberto Gerard L. Nazal Jr. could not have been validly proclaimed as the Magsasaka party-list representative in the House of Representatives,” the SC further said.
In the ruling, the SC also lifted the status quo ante order it issued on Oct.18, 2022 and ordered the Comelec to issue a certificate of proclamation to the rightful nominee as Magsasaka party-list representative.
In October 2022, Nazal’s camp told the media that he has already taken oath as the newest member of the House of Representatives before Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 220 Judge Jose Paneda.
This after he claimed the poll body has issued a certificate of proclamation.
However, former Magsasaka Rep. Argel Joseph Cabatbat who is contesting Nazal’s claim said the party does not even know who Nazal is.
Cabatbat also claimed that Nazal is actually a nominee of the Pasahero party-list that participated but lost in the 2022 national elections.
Nazal, however, said the poll body has already resolved the internal dispute between Villamin and Cabatbat.
He claimed the Comelec upheld the bid of Villamin’s side to field candidates for the party-list race in the May elections.
Nazal said he was the third nominee of Villamin’s camp but that the first and second nominee had resigned, paving the way for his winning a seat in the House.
