Section 17. The Senate and The House of Representatives Shall Each Have An Electoral Tribunal

FINALS:
E. Discipline of Members ART. VI SECTION 3

3. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly
behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members, suspend or expel a
Member. A penalty of suspension, when imposed, shall not exceed sixty days.
F. Electoral Tribunals and the Commission on Appointments.

1. Electoral Tribunal Art. VI Section 17
Section 17. The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an Electoral Tribunal
which shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications
of their respective Members.
a. Composition: Each Electoral Tribunal shall be composed of nine Members, three
of whom shall be Justices of the Supreme Court to be designated by the Chief
Justice, and the remaining six shall be Members of the Senate or the House of
Representatives, as the case may be, who shall be chosen on the basis of
proportional representation from the political parties and the parties or
organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein. The senior
Justice in the Electoral Tribunal shall be its Chairman.
b. INDEPENDENCE: (e) That the Electoral Commission is an independent
constitutional creation with specific powers and functions to execute and
perform, closer for purposes of classification to the legislative than to any of
the other two departments of the governments.
( j) That the avowed purpose in creating the Electoral Commission was to have
an independent constitutional organ pass upon all contests relating to the
election, returns and qualifications of members of the National Assembly,
devoid of partisan influence or consideration, which object would be frustrated
if the National Assembly were to retain the power to prescribe rules and
regulations regarding the manner of conducting said contests.
In sum, this Court's jurisdiction to review decisions and orders of electoral tribunals
operates only upon a showing of grave abuse of discretion on the part of the tribunal.
Only where such grave abuse of discretion is clearly shown shall the Court interfere
with the electoral tribunal's judgment. There is no such showing in the present petition.
c. JURISDICTION: The Court has invariably held that once a winning candidate
has been proclaimed, taken his oath, and assumed office as a Member of the
House of Representatives, the COMELEC's jurisdiction over election
contests relating to his election, returns, and qualifications ends, and the
HRET's own jurisdiction begins.61 It follows then that the proclamation of a
winning candidate divests the COMELEC of its jurisdiction over matters
pending before it at the time of the proclamation. The party questioning his
qualification should now present his case in a proper proceeding before the
HRET, the constitutionally mandated tribunal to hear and decide a case
involving a Member of the House of Representatives with respect to the latter's
election, returns and qualifications. The use of the word "sole" in Section 17,
Article VI of the Constitution and in Section 25062 of the OEC underscores the
exclusivity of the Electoral Tribunals' jurisdiction over election contests
relating to its members.63
Corollary thereto is Rule 14 of the 1998 Rules of the HRET, as amended,
which states:
RULE 14. Jurisdiction. - The Tribunal is the sole judge of all contests relating
to the election, returns, and qualifications of the Members of the House of
Representatives.lavvphil.zw+
What is inevitable is that Section 17, Article VI of the Constitution9 provides

that the HRET shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to, among other
things, the qualifications of the members of the House of Representatives.
Since, as pointed out above, party-list nominees are "elected members" of the
House of Representatives no less than the district representatives are, the HRET
has jurisdiction to hear and pass upon their qualifications. By analogy with the
cases of district representatives, once the party or organization of the party-list
nominee has been proclaimed and the nominee has taken his oath and assumed
office as member of the House of Representatives, the COMELEC’s
jurisdiction over election contests relating to his qualifications ends and the
HRET’s own jurisdiction begins.10
The Court holds that respondent HRET did not gravely abuse its discretion
when it dismissed the petitions for quo warranto against Aangat Tayo party-list
and Bantay party-list but upheld its jurisdiction over the question of the
qualifications of petitioners Abayon and Palparan.
WHEREFORE, the Court DISMISSES the consolidated petitions and

AFFIRMS the Order dated July 16, 2009 and Resolution 09-183 dated
September 17, 2009 in HRET Case 07-041 of the House of Representatives
Electoral Tribunal as well as its Order dated July 23, 2009 and Resolution 09-
178 dated September 10, 2009 in HRET Case
2. Commission on Appointments (section 18, art. VI, Constitution)

Section 18. There shall be a Commission on Appointments consisting of the President of
the Senate, as ex officio Chairman, twelve Senators, and twelve Members of the House
of Representatives, elected by each House on the basis of proportional representation
from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list
system represented therein. The chairman of the Commission shall not vote, except in
case of a tie. The Commission shall act on all appointments submitted to it within thirty
session days of the Congress from their submission. The Commission shall rule by a
majority vote of all the Members.
a. Composition: Commission on Appointments consisting of the President of the
Senate, as ex officio Chairman, twelve Senators, and twelve Members of the
House of Representatives, elected by each House on the basis of proportional
representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered
under the party-list system represented therein.
b. Voting: The chairman of the Commission shall not vote, except in case of a tie. The
Commission shall act on all appointments submitted to it within thirty session
days of the Congress from their submission. The Commission shall rule by a
majority vote of all the Members.
c. Meeting: The Commission shall act on all appointments submitted to it within
thirty session days of the Congress from their submission
d. Independence: The respondent's contention that the use of the word "shall" in
Section 18 indicating the composition of the Commission on Appointments makes the
election of the Senators mandatory, omitting that part of Section 18 which provides
that (they shall be) elected by each house on the basis of proportional representation.
This interpretation finds support in the case of Tañada vs. Cuenco, 13 where this Court
held that the constitutional provision makes mandatory the election of the specified
number of Senators to the Commission on Appointments but also ruled that they
should be elected on the basis of proportional representation of the political parties.
In case of conflict in interpretation, the latter mandate requiring proportional
representation must prevail. Such interpretation is the only correct and rational
interpretation which the court can adopt in consonance with its solemn duty to
uphold the Constitution and give effect the meaning intended by its framers to every
clause and word thereof.
e. The Constitution does not require the election and presence of twelve Senators
and twelve Representatives in order that the Commission may function. Article
VI, Section 18 which deals with the Commission on Appointments, provides
that "the Commission shall rule by majority vote of all the members", and in
Section 19 of the same Article, it is provided that the Commission "shall meet
only while Congress is in session, at the call of its Chairman or a majority of all
its Members, to discharge such powers and functions as are herein conferred
upon it". In implementing these provisions, the Rules of the Commission on
Appointments provide that the presence of at least thirteen (13) members is
necessary to constitute a quorum, "Provided however, that at least four (4) of
the members constituting the quorum should come from either house". 14 Even
if the composition of the Commission is fixed by the Constitution, it can
perform its functions even if not fully constituted, so long as it has the required
quorum, which is less than the full complement fixed by the Constitution. And
the Commission can validly perform its functions and transact its business even
if only ten (10) Senators are elected thereto. Even if respondent Senator Tañada
is excluded from the Commission on Appointments for violation of the rule on
proportional representation, the party he represents still has representation in
the Commission in the presence of house members from the LP-LDP-LABAN
such as Congressman Juan Ponce Enrile.
.
Powers of Congress
1. Legislative
a. Legislative inquiries
i.

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FINALS:

E. Discipline of Members ART. VI SECTION 3

F. Electoral Tribunals and the Commission on Appointments.

What is inevitable is that Section 17, Article VI of the Constitution9 provides

WHEREFORE, the Court DISMISSES the consolidated petitions and

2. Commission on Appointments (section 18, art. VI, Constitution)

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