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Amores Vs Hret and Villanueva

The Supreme Court ruled that Sections 9 and 15 of the Party-List System Act (RA 7941) apply to the respondent, Joel Villanueva. Villanueva was nominated as the youth sector representative by CIBAC in the 2007 elections, but was 31 years old at the time of filing his nomination beyond the 30 year age limit for youth sector under RA 7941. Additionally, Villanueva did not change his sectoral affiliation from youth to OFWs within CIBAC at least 6 months prior to the election as required by Section 15. Therefore, the Court found Villanueva was not qualified to be nominated for either youth or OFW sector.

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120 views1 page

Amores Vs Hret and Villanueva

The Supreme Court ruled that Sections 9 and 15 of the Party-List System Act (RA 7941) apply to the respondent, Joel Villanueva. Villanueva was nominated as the youth sector representative by CIBAC in the 2007 elections, but was 31 years old at the time of filing his nomination beyond the 30 year age limit for youth sector under RA 7941. Additionally, Villanueva did not change his sectoral affiliation from youth to OFWs within CIBAC at least 6 months prior to the election as required by Section 15. Therefore, the Court found Villanueva was not qualified to be nominated for either youth or OFW sector.

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Mary Joyce Lacambra Aquino
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AMORES V.

HRET & VILLANUEVA


G.R. No. 189600 June 29, 2010

FACTS:
There was a Petition for certiorari challenging the assumption of office of Emmanuel Joel
Villanueva (Joel Villanueva) as the youth sector Representative of Citizens’ Battle Against
Corruption (CIBAC) in the House of Representatives.

Petitioner, Milagros Amores, argues that Villanueva was already 31 years old at the time of filing
of nomination, thus, beyond the age limit of 30 years which was the imposed by RA 7941 or the
Party-List System Act, for "youth sector" representatives. Villanueva's change of affiliation from
Youth Sector to OFWs and their families was also not effected during the six months prior to
elections. Respondent HRET counters that RA 7941 age requirement only applied only to those
nominated as such during the first three congressional terms after the ratification of the
Constitution or until 1998, unless a sectoral party is thereafter registered exclusively as
representing the youth sector, which CIBAC, a multi-sectoral organization, is not.

ISSUE: Whether Sections 9 and 15 of RA No. 7941 apply to private respondent.

RULING:
Yes, Sections 9 and 15 of RA 7941 apply Villanueva.

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
records disclose that private respondent was already more than 30 years of age in May, 2007, it
being stipulated that he was born in August, 1975. Moreover, he did not change his sectoral
affiliation at least six months before May, 2007, public respondent itself having found that he
shifted to CIBAC’s overseas Filipino workers and their families sector only on March 17, 2007.

As the law states in unequivocal terms that a nominee of the youth sector must at least be
twenty-five (25) but not more than thirty (30) years of age on the day of the election, so
it must be that a candidate who is more than 30 on election day is not qualified to be a youth sector
nominee. Since this mandate is contained in RA No. 7941, the Party-List System Act, it covers
ALL youth sector nominees vying for party-list representative seats.

Moreover, it is clear is that the wording of Section 15 covers changes in both political party and
sectoral affiliation. And the latter may occur within the same party since multi-sectoral party-list
organizations are qualified to participate in the Philippine party-list system. Hence, a nominee
who changes his sectoral affiliation within the same party will only be eligible for nomination
under the new sectoral affiliation if the change has been effected at least six months before the
elections. Again, since the statute is clear and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal
meaning and applied without attempted interpretation. This is the plain meaning rule or verba
legis, as expressed in the maxim index animi sermo or speech is the index of intention.

That private respondent is the first nominee of CIBAC, whose victory was later upheld, is of no
moment. A party-list organization’s ranking of its nominees is a mere indication of preference,
their qualifications according to law are a different matter.

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