SC declares party-list lawmaker 'ineligible'

The Supreme Court has ruled that Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Party-list Rep. Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva should not have been a member of the 14th Congress. In a 10-page decision penned by Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, the high court overturned a May 14, 2009 ruling by the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) that dismissed a petition filed by Milagros E. Amores, questioning Villanueva's election as congressman. "Villanueva is declared ineligible to hold office as a member of the House of Representatives representing the party-list organization CIBAC," the court said. In her petition, Amores said Villanueva could not have been a nominee of CIBAC's youth sector because he was already 31 years old when he ran for office, a year beyond the set age limit. She also argued that Villanueva could not have been allowed to run as nominee of the party-list's overseas Filipino workers and families sectors, saying Villanueva's change in affiliation from the youth sector to the OFW group on March 17, 2007 disqualified him from being the group’s nominee for the May 2007 polls. Section 15 of Republic Act 7941 or the Party-list System Act states that "if he changes his political party or sectoral affiliation within six (6) months before an election, he shall not be eligible for nomination as party-list representative under his new party or organization." “The Court finds that private respondent was not qualified to be a nominee of either the youth sector or the overseas Filipino workers and their families sector in the May, 2007 elections," the Supreme Court said. Calls made by GMANews.TV to get a reaction from Villanueva have yet to be returned. In its earlier ruling, the HRET dismissed Amores' October 17, 2007 quo warranto petition because it was filed out of time. But in its decision, the high court said the HRET committed grave abuse of discretion when it "erroneously" applied the 10-day reglementary period to Amores' petition. The reglementary period covers the 10 days from the proclamation of an elected official within which electoral protests could be filed. Villanueva, son of twice defeated presidential aspirant Eddie Villanueva, ended his nine-year term as a party-list congressman in 2010. He has recently accepted an offer to be chief of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. "While the petition has, thus, become moot and academic, rendering of a decision on the merits in this case would still be of practical value," the high court said. — Mark D. Merueñas / LBG, GMANews.TV