CASE DIGEST: VETERANS FEDERATION PARTY vs.

COMELEC

342 SCRA 247, October 6, 2000

FACTS:

Petitioner assailed public respondent COMELEC resolutions ordering the proclamation

of 38 additional party-list representatives to complete the 52 seats in the House of
Representatives as provided by Sec 5, Art VI of the 1987 Constitution and RA 7941.

On the other hand, Public Respondent, together with the respondent parties, avers that
the filling up of the twenty percent membership of party-list representatives in the House
of Representatives, as provided under the Constitution, was mandatory, wherein the
twenty (20%) percent congressional seats for party-list representatives is filled up at all
times.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the twenty percent allocation for party-list lawmakers is mandatory.

HELD:

No, it is merely a ceiling for the party-list seats in Congress. The same declared therein a
policy to promote “proportional representation” in the election of party-list representatives
in order to enable Filipinos belonging to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors
to contribute legislation that would benefit them.

It however deemed it necessary to require parties, organizations and coalitions

participating in the system to obtain at least two percent of the total votes cast for the
party-list system in order to be entitled to a party-list seat. Those garnering more than
this percentage could have “additional seats in proportion to their total number of votes.”

Furthermore, no winning party, organization or coalition can have more than three seats
in the House of Representatives (sec 11(b) RA 7941)