G.R. No. 189600 - Amores vs. House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal

Case Summary (G.R. No. 189600)

Key Dates

May 14, 2007 – General elections and alleged date for nomination qualifications
July 9, 2007 – NBC Resolution No. 07-60 partially proclaimed CIBAC as entitled to a seat
October 17, 2007 – Filing of petition for quo warranto
May 14, 2009 – HRET decision dismissing petition as late and interpreting RA 7941
August 6, 2009 – HRET resolution denying motion for reconsideration
June 29, 2010 – Supreme Court decision

Applicable Law

1987 Constitution of the Philippines
Republic Act No. 7941 (Party-List System Act)
Section 9 – Age qualifications for party-list nominees, including youth sector
Section 13 – Proclamation of party-list representatives by COMELEC
Section 15 – Effect of change in political party or sectoral affiliation
HRET 2004 Rules, Rule 17 – Ten-day reglementary period for quo warranto

Background Facts

Amores alleged that Villanueva assumed office without a formal COMELEC proclamation, was over 30 on election day (thus ineligible under Sec. 9 RA 7941 for youth sector nominees), and shifted sectoral affiliation within six months before the election (violating Sec. 15 RA 7941).
Villanueva failed to file an answer and was deemed to have denied all allegations.
HRET dismissed the petition as filed out of the ten-day period counted from July 9, 2007, and held that (a) Sec. 9’s age limit applied only to the first three post-1987 terms unless a party is exclusively youth-sector, and (b) Sec. 15 did not apply because no change in party-list affiliation occurred.
Motion for reconsideration was denied, prompting the certiorari petition before the Supreme Court.

Issues

Was the quo warranto petition time-barred under HRET rules?
Do Sections 9 and 15 of RA 7941 apply to Villanueva’s nomination and assumption of office?

Timeliness of the Petition

– The ten-day period under Rule 17 of HRET’s rules must run from the individual’s proclamation as required by Sec. 13 of RA 7941, not from the party’s partial proclamation in NBC Res. 07-60.
– NBC Res. 07-60 did not proclaim any individual nominee; it only acknowledged CIBAC’s entitlement to one seat.
– The exact date of Villanueva’s personal proclamation is not in the record; the Court excused the technical delay because qualifications may be challenged at any time during the term as continuing requirements.

Application of Section 9 (Age Requirement)

– The text unequivocally requires youth sector nominees to be between 25 and 30 years old on election day.
– There is no statutory limitation confining this requirement to the first three congressional terms post-1987.
– RA 7941 was enacted in March 1995; its provisions apply to all subsequent elections without temporal exception.
– Villanueva, born August 1975, was over 30 on May 14, 2007, and thus ineligible as a youth sector nominee.

Application of Section 15 (Change of Affiliation)

– Section 15 covers any change of political party or sectoral affiliation during the term of office and prescribes forfeiture if the change occurs within six months before an election, rendering the nominee ine