SC urged to reconsider ruling on party-list seats

The Supreme Court has been urged to reconsider the ruling it handed down last April 10 denying the administration Lakas-NUCD and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) representation in the House of Representatives.

In a joint motion, the country’s two biggest political parties said the high tribunal, in making the April 10 decision, was "perhaps unaware" of a resolution the Commission on Elections promulgated the day before finding them and two other groups qualified for party-list seats in the House.

They said they and their primary nominees were found qualified based on Republic Act 7941, the law governing party-list elections, and the guidelines set by the Supreme Court.

The Comelec in fact recommended that the tribunal allow the proclamation of the nominees, they added.

The nominees are former Justice Secretary Silvestre Bello III for Lakas and former Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III for NPC.

In its April 9 resolution, the Comelec also found that the opposition Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and the Probinsiya Muna Development Initiative or Promdi, a Cebu-based political group, were entitled to seats in the House.

Actually, Promdi had Augustus Joy Young as its representative in the last Congress. He is also its nominee for the 12th Congress.

However, LDP and Promdi are not covered by the Supreme Court’s April 10 decision because they had not petitioned the tribunal for the proclamation of their nominees.

The ruling was prompted by a petition for proclamation filed by Lakas and NPC.