The Supreme Court (SC) has granted the request of the Magsasaka party-list to quash the decisions of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) recognizing Soliman Villamin Jr. as national chairman despite his expulsion from the party.

At a press conference on Thursday, Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Sue May Ting said the court ruled that the Comelec “seriously abused its discretion when it focused on determining whether Magsasaka followed due process in removing Villamins as national chairman, but ignored the reason for his removal – his alleged illegal activities and their impact on the party as a whole.”

“Although the Comelec has limited jurisdiction in intra-party leadership disputes, this does not mean that the Comelec can substitute its own judgment for that of the party,” the May 21, 2024 decision states.

“The Comelec cannot ignore the party’s actions simply because they do not appear to be consistent with the Comelec’s interpretation of the party’s Saligang Batas. A party must be allowed to interpret its own rules of governance and exclude officials from participating in its own affairs,” it added.

Since Villamin was legally disqualified as Magsasaka national chairman, Ting said he was no longer authorized to file a declaration of intent to run in the 2022 elections.

“Therefore, his candidate, Roberto Gerard L. Nazal Jr., could not have been validly appointed as Magsasaka’s party-list representative in the House of Representatives,” she said.

The decision directed the Comelec to “duly act upon the nominations of Magsasaka and issue to the lawful candidate a certificate of proclamation as representative of Magsasaka’s party-list in the 19th Congress in accordance with the tenor of this decision.”

The Supreme Court’s decision stressed that “the Court does not decide Nazal’s qualifications as a representative or candidate. Nazal’s inability to sit in the House of Representatives as the party’s representative is merely a consequence of the finding that Villamin was validly removed as national chairman and no longer had the authority to file the MIP.”

On October 10, 2022, the Comelec issued a proclamation recognizing Nazal as a qualified candidate for Magsasaka’s party-list.

On the same day, Nazal took the oath of office.

He took office four months after the party’s election victory because the Comelec had to settle the internal dispute between Villamin and the faction of former Magsasaka party-list representative Argel Joseph Cabatbat.

The Supreme Court’s decision would pave the way for Cabatbat to regain his seat in Congress.

“The new Magsasaka party-list is the Philippine government, and the Supreme Court’s decision has made the government’s decision,” Cabatbat said in a statement.
(Since Magsasaka’s party list is owned by Filipino farmers, the Supreme Court’s decision represents a victory for all farmers.) —VBL, GMA Integrated News