Aksyon Magsasaka- Partido Tinig ng Masa v.
COMELEC  Based on an incomplete canvass/consolidation of only
G.R. No. 207134 | June 16, 2015
Villarama, Jr., J.
Group 3, Arada
Petitioner: Aksyon Magsasaka- Partido Tinig ng Masa (AKMA-PMT)
Respondent: Commission on Elections
Petitioners-in-intervention: Abante Katutubo (ABANTE KA), Froilan Bacungan,
Hermenegildo Dumlao
Facts and Procedural History:
 Petitioner: accredited candidate for party-list representative for May 13,
2013 national and local elections
 May 24, 2013: Comelec as National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), in NBOC
Res. 0006-13, proclaimed 14 party-list groups which obtained at least 2%
of total votes for party-list system, thus entitled to one guaranteed seat
each – Sec. 11, RA 7941
 May 28, 2013: Comelec promulgated NBOC Res. 0008-13
o Proclaimed additional winning party-list groups (53 guaranteed
and/or additional seats in total)
o Cancellation of registration of 11 party-list groups
 Votes for abovementioned party-list groups are thus
considered “stray” -- not included in total votes for party-
list
 May 30, 2013: petition for certiorari and mandamus -- assailing Comelec
for grave abuse of discretion in prematurely and erroneously allocating
additional seats to certain party-list groups proclaimed as initial winners in
2013 automated elections
 Petitioner’s arguments:
o Proclamation of initial winners with additional seats on the
second round was hasty and premature
 There were still uncanvassed and untransmitted results
from Mindanao, uncanvassed overseas and local
absentee votes, and untransmitted results from special
elections
o Comelec’s projected figures for maximum total votes cast for
party-list are difficult and impractical
 There were untransmitted results due to breakdown,
malfunctioning or glitches of the Precinct Count Optical
Scan (PCOS) machines
o Proclamation of initial winners for party-list groups with
additional seats was invalid
110 Certificates of Canvass (COCs), some of which not
electronically transmitted -- violates Section 27, R.A. No.
8436
o Allocation of additional seats does not conform to Section 11,
R.A. No. 7941 and BANAT v. COMELEC ruling
 The product of the percentage of votes obtained by the
party-list group multiplied by the additional seats
available is not an integer (ex. figures for party-list
groups allocated with additional seats: 0.961, 0.932,
0.89, etc) thus invalid and unjust allocation of additional
seats to the two-percenters, to the prejudice of other
party-list groups such as petitioner
 Petitioners-in-intervention’s arguments:
o Incomplete canvass of votes is illegal and cannot be the basis of a
proclamation
 only 110 out of 301 COCs had been canvassed or
reported when COMELEC proclaimed party-list winners
o COMELEC'S lack of transparency in the factual basis of the party-
list election results
 Proclamation of initial winners despite the incomplete
canvass contravened Section 231 of the Omnibus
Election Code: COC prepared by the Board of Canvassers
"supported by a statement of the votes received by each
candidate in each polling place"
 Section 21 of R.A. No. 8436: completed canvass as a
condition sine qua non to the printing of COCs, and
therefore, proclamation of the elected officials
 Section 28 of the General Instructions for Special Board
of Canvassers in the May 13, 2013 elections (COMELEC
Resolution No. 9648): mandates the receipt and
consolidation of "all expected" results from the precincts,
municipalities, cities or provinces to generate and print
COCs
o There is no acceptable guarantee that the scanners or PCOS
machines read the votes in the ballots fed to them and that these
were counted properly
o Petitioners and petitioners-in-intervention wanted to know what
happened to their votes in relation to disqualification of party-list
candidates
 SolGen’s comment:
o COMELEC adhered to procedure prescribed in BANAT in allocation
of party-list seats: 14 guaranteed seats first allocated to those
 who obtained 2% of the total votes cast for party-list and
thereafter 44 additional seats were completely distributed
o Party-list groups with products of less than one were still
allocated seats depending on their rank and availability of seats
o As to the uncanvassed votes at the time: COMELEC reserved 5
"buffer" seats to accommodate possible changes in the ranking
o COMELEC's proclamation of initial winners under NBOC Res. No.
0008-13 is valid because the votes yet to be canvassed did not
materially affect the results of the election
Issue:
 W/N COMELEC gravely abused its discretion in allocating the additional
seats for the 38 party-list candidates proclaimed as winners in the May 13,
2013 elections -- NO.
Judgment:
The petition and petition-in-intervention are both DISMISSED for lack of merit.
Ratio:
 COMELEC is authorized by law to proclaim winning candidates if the
remaining uncanvassed election returns will not affect the result of the
elections
o Sec. 233, Omnibus Election Code: “The board of canvassers,
notwithstanding the fact that not all the election returns have
been received by it, may terminate the canvass and proclaim the
candidates elected on the basis of the available election returns if
the missing election returns will not affect the results of the
election.”
o Barbers v. Comelec: COMELEC did not commit grave abuse of
discretion since the uncanvassed returns and the results of the
special elections to be held would not materially affect the results
of the elections
o On the alleged irregularities and glitches in the PCOS machines
resulting in non-transmittal of election returns: petitioner did not
present competent evidence
o Factual question of the number of still uncanvassed votes at the
time of the proclamation of initial winners should have been
raised before the COMELEC because SC is not a trier of facts
 COMELEC's allocation of additional seats for party-list in accordance with
BANAT ruling
o Section 12 of R.A. No. 7941: “COMELEC shall tally all the votes for
the parties, organizations, or coalitions on a nationwide basis,
rank them according to the number of votes received and allocate
party-list representatives proportionately according to the
percentage of votes obtained by each party, organization, or
coalition as against the total nationwide votes cast for the party-
list system.”
o BANAT v. COMELEC: procedure in determining the allocation of
seats for party-list representatives:
1. “The parties, organizations, and coalitions shall be
ranked from the highest to the lowest based on the
number of votes they garnered during the elections.
2. The parties, organizations, and coalitions receiving at
least two percent (2%) of the total votes cast for the
party-list system shall be entitled to one guaranteed seat
each.
3. Those garnering sufficient number of votes, according to
the ranking in paragraph 1, shall be entitled to additional
seats in proportion to their total number of votes until all
the additional seats are allocated.
4. Each party, organization, or coalition shall be entitled to
not more than three (3) seats.”
o BANAT v. COMELEC: Two steps in the second round of seat
allocation
1. First, percentage is multiplied by the remaining available
seats, which is the difference between the maximum
seats reserved under the Party-List System and the
guaranteed seats of the two-percenters -- the whole
integer of the product of the percentage and of the
remaining available seats corresponds to a party's share
in the remaining available seats.
2. Second, one party-list seat is assigned to each of the
parties next in rank until all available seats are
completely distributed
o BANAT v. COMELEC: continued operation of the two-percent
threshold is unconstitutional
 Obstacle to full implementation of Section 5(2), Article
VI of the Constitution: the 20% share in representation
may never be filled up if the 2% threshold is maintained
 Prevents the attainment of the 'broadest possible
representation of party, sectoral or group interests in the
House of Representatives’
 Maximum representation will not be achieved if
party-list groups obtaining less than one
percentage are disqualified from even one
additional seat in the second round