SC: Senior Citizens qualified for party-list

MANILA, Philippines - The Senior Citizens party-list may now assume its two seats in the House of Representatives.

The Supreme Court (SC) unanimously ruled yesterday that the group was qualified to join the elections last May 13.

The high court decided to reverse the resolution of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last May 10 disqualifying the group after its factions supposedly forged a term-sharing agreement for the two seats they won in the 2010 poll.

In the decision penned by Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, the SC held that the deal between the factions led by Godofredo Arquiza and Francisco Datol Jr. allowing one nominee to replace another midway in the three-year term never implemented.

The high court ruled that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in penalizing Senior Citizens party-list group with disqualification.

It granted separate petitions filed by the groups of Arquiza and Datol but did not rule on which of them should be the legitimate group. This means the issue on who will assume the group’s two seats remains unresolved.

Senior Citizens, officially registered as Coalition of Associations of Senior Citizens in the Philippines Inc., garnered 677,642 votes in the polls or2.38 percent of total party-list votes and ranked 10th overall. It will get two seats in the House.

Comelec considers filing motion

The Comelec, meanwhile, is not discounting the possibility of filing a motion for reconsideration (MR) to question the high court’s decision.

“I have not read the decision but chances are, we will file an MR. We’ll talk about this,” said Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr

Brillantes added that the 15-0 ruling of the high tribunal “does not prevent the Comelec” from pursuing this legal option.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., on the other hand, welcomed the decision of the high court, saying the Senior Citizens party-list deserves to be represented in Congress.

‘13 justices are seniors’

Thirteen of the 15 current magistrates in the SC are senior citizens.

Associate Justice Roberto Abad is the most senior at 69. He is retiring from the judiciary on May 22 next year.

Next most senior is Associate Justice Martin Villarama at 67, while Associate Justices Arturo Brion and Jose Perez are both 66.

Associate Justices Jose Mendoza and Bienvenido Reyes are 65, while Associate Justices De Castro and Presbitero Velasco Jr. are 64.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, the most senior in appointment to the high court, is 63, the same age as Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin and Mariano del Castillo. – With Sheila Crisostomo, Paolo Romero