Supreme Court upholds Roxas election as Liberal Party president

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the election of Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II as head of the Liberal Party after the Court junked a petition filed by the party’s breakaway group led by former Environment secretary Lito Atienza.

In an 18-page decision penned by Associate Justice Roberto Abad, the Court affirmed the ruling of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) issued on June 18, 2009 that upheld the election of Roxas on Nov. 26, 2007 during the LP’s National Executive Council (NECO) meeting held at the Manila Hotel.

The SC ruled that Comelec “did not gravely abuse its discretion” in favoring Roxas and was also correct in not touching the issue of the expulsion of Atienza and his supporters from the LP simply because the poll body “cannot intervene on party membership and discipline.”

In a 69-page petition for review, Atienza argued that Roxas’ election is null and void due to the expulsion of key LP members, including the petitioners, prior to the NECO meeting without giving them an opportunity to contest the decision.

He insisted that the NECO members allowed to take part in the election should have been limited to those in the list of NECO members appearing in the party’s 60th anniversary souvenir program.

Atienza, an ally of President Arroyo who is currently running for mayor of Manila against incumbent Mayor Alfredo Lim, alleged that former Sen. Franklin Drilon, as holdover LP president, adopted the list in the earlier cases before the Comelec, and thus should bind Roxas’ wing.

However, the Court explained that NECO members listed in the 60th anniversary souvenir program were drawn before the May 2007 elections and changes in the NECO membership had to be redrawn to comply with what the amended LP constitution required after the polls.

It stressed that Drilon adopted the souvenir program to serve as common exhibit in the earlier cases only to prove that the NECO, which supposedly elected Atienza as LP president on March 2, 2006, had been improperly convened.

“Nothing in the Court’s resolution in the earlier cases implies that the NECO membership should be pegged to the party’s 60th anniversary souvenir program. There would have been no basis for such a position. The amended LP constitution did not intend the NECO membership to be permanent,” the SC ruled.

The Court also held that the Comelec did not err when it refused to rule on the validity of the expulsion from the party of Atienza as party chairman, and his allies Reps. Matias Defensor of Quezon City, Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro, Danilo Suarez of Quezon, Solomon Chuanglao of Ifugao, former congressmen Harlin Cast-Abayon of Northern Samar, Melvin Macusi of La Union and environment undersecretary Eleazar Quinto, director general of the LP Atienza wing.

The SC said questions involving expulsion of members of a political party are not for the Comelec to resolve, given its limited power over political parties.

“The Comelec’s jurisdiction over intra-party disputes is limited. It does not have blanket authority to resolve any and all controversies involving political parties. Political parties are generally free to conduct their activities without interference from the State. The Comelec may intervene in disputes to a party only when necessary to the discharge of its constitutional functions,” the Court added.

Prior to their removal as party members, Atienza and his allies called a meeting on March 2, 2006 to reorganize the party following the sudden withdrawal of support for President Arroyo by then party leader Drilon at the height of the “Hello, Garci” election fraud scandal.

During the meeting attended by a majority of LP congressmen and local executives, Atienza was elected as the new LP chair.

Drilon contested the legality of Atienza’s election before the Comelec, which later issued a resolution nullifying the latter’s assumption as LP chairman.