Philippine Supreme Court Nullifies Comelec’s Substitution of P3PWD Nominees

Supreme Court Rules Against Guanzon’s Substitution in P3PWD Party List

Date: November 20, 2024 | 8:44 PM

The Supreme Court of the Philippines has ruled against the substitution of former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia Guanzon as the first nominee of the Komunidad ng Pamilya, Pasyente at Persons with Disabilities (P3PWD) party list. In a decision issued on August 20, the court declared a Comelec resolution allowing her substitution null and void.

The ruling states that the Comelec acted with grave abuse of discretion by permitting the substitution after its deadline. The court criticized the Comelec’s actions as arbitrary and whimsical, emphasizing that they undermined the integrity of the electoral process.

The Supreme Court has mandated P3PWD to submit a new nominee list for the 19th Congress, excluding those whose nominations were invalidated, including Guanzon, Rosalie Garcia, Cherie Belmonte-Lim, Donnabel Tenorio, and Rodolfo Villar.

The court also dismissed contempt charges filed by Guanzon and the DUTERTE Youth party list, citing lack of merit.

Background

According to party list law, substitutions for nominees are only allowed before elections. When P3PWD won a seat in the House of Representatives, its first nominee, Grace Yeneza, resigned. The party then sought to substitute nominees, including Guanzon. The Comelec initially approved this substitution, leading to the contested resolution.

This case was brought forth by the DUTERTE Youth party list, represented by Ronald Cardema. Notably, Cardema had faced rejection in a similar substitution attempt in 2019 under Guanzon’s oversight.

As of now, Guanzon has not commented on the court’s decision.