MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) resolved the years-long row between two factions of the party-list group Magsasaka, which had prevented either wing from assuming the congressional seat it had won in the 2022 elections.
In a ruling made public on Thursday, August 15, the High Court invalidated the certificate of proclamation awarded by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to the politician endorsed for the House of Representatives by Soliman Villamin Jr., Magsasaka national chairman and head of one of the two factions.
Magsasaka originally expelled Villamin from its set of officers in 2019 due to his alleged role in an investment scam, but Villamin elevated the matter to the Comelec, which later sided with him and recognized him as the representative authorized to file documents in behalf of Magsasaka for the 2022 polls.
The SC, however, insisted on the legality of Villamin’s removal from the party leadership.
The ruling refutes an earlier Comelec pronouncement that said the faction led by Argel Cabatbat violated Villamin’s right to due process under the group’s own constitution when it failed to notify Villamin about the agenda of the December 2019 meeting that expelled him, and when it failed to prove that a quorum was established.
“Prior notice is not a demandable right because it is not mandated in Magsasaka’s Saligang Batas. Neither do the rules require that a full-blown hearing must be conducted for the purpose,” the ruling read.
“The attendance of all the members is not required, but only that of its leaders, acting in a representative capacity. This method of establishing quorum is an internal party practice and has been observed in past general assemblies of the party. Worthy of note is that Villamin was elected as chairperson in 2018 in a general assembly conducted in the same manner — a fact which Villamin never refuted,” it added.
The SC also said the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion when it “focused on purely procedural matters” and disregarded the substantive grounds that Magsasaka invoked to remove Villamin from office.
“The Comelec confined itself to ascertaining the party’s compliance with procedural due process in removing Villamin as national chairperson, but paid no attention to the matter of compliance with substantive due process when it failed to consider the reason behind Villamin’s removal — his participation in the alleged illegal activities of DV Boer and its effects on the party as a whole,” the High Court added.
The SC ordered the Comelec to issue a certificate of proclamation “to the rightful nominee as the Magsasaka Party-list representative in the 19th Congress,” paving the way for Cabatbat — who represented the group in the 18th Congress — to reclaim his seat.
Originally, the Comelec awarded a certificate of proclamation to Villamin’s ally Robert Gerard Nazal Jr., but he was unable to formally assume the congressional seat after the SC issued a status quo ante order in favor of Cabatbat’s camp. – Rappler.com