SC defers ruling on party-list cases

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday failed to rule on legal questions raised by party-list groups earlier disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to participate in the May 13 polls.

This came as the magistrates of the high court went into a deadlock while ruling on a manifestation seeking to remand the consolidated cases to the Comelec for resolution.

A member of the court revealed to The STAR that 14 justices present during regular session voted 7-7 on this issue, which prompted them to reset deliberations to next Tuesday, March 19.

Associate Justice Jose Perez was not present during the deliberations since he is in Thailand on official business.

“We will take another vote and hopefully come up with a ruling next week,” the insider said.

The main issue in the case is whether a party-list group must belong to the marginalized group it represents or a mere advocacy may qualify it for election.

The case was submitted for voting of the justices after the member-in-charge, Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes, submitted his draft of the guidelines on how to consider a party-list’s accreditation.