SC upholds Comelec recognition of Partido Federal 2022 charter, by-laws

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the ruling of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that recognized the 2022 constitution and the by-laws of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), the political party of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. 

In a 19-page decision, the SC en Banc affirmed the poll body's ruling that the PFP's 2022 constitution and by-laws replaced the 2018 version.

The party's 2022 constitution and by-laws set a three-year term for its national officers.

"The Court finds the Comelec ruling that the 2022 Constitution and By-Laws are the prevailing authoritative documents governing the PFP, supported by substantial evidence," the SC said.

"The records of the Comelec reflect these documents as the most recent and officially-recorded governing documents of the PFP. In the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, the presumption of regularity in the conduct of an agency's official functions applies," it added.

The SC also adopted the Comelec's finding that the election conducted by former Catanduanes Governor Leandro Verceles Jr. and former Capas Mayor Antonio Rodriguez Jr. in December 2023 is invalid.

The SC said the case stemmed from a leadership dispute between the two groups led by Verceles and Reynaldo Tamayo Jr., respectively.

Tamayo and his group took their oath in September 2021, giving them a term of office until 2024 under the 2022 constitution and by-laws.

However, Verceles' group argued that their counterparts' terms ended in 2023, saying that the 2018 constitution and the by-laws provided only a two-year term. 

Verceles and Rodriguez were then elected as PFP president and secretary general during a meeting in December 2023.

The SC said this led Verceles and his group to file a petition with the Comelec. For its part, the poll body ruled in favor of Tamayo.

In affirming the Comelec's ruling, the SC said that the 2022 PFP constitution and the by-laws are the official controlling documents of the PFP.

The SC also noted that Verceles and Rodriguez were incumbent officers at the time that the 2022 documents were submitted, and they did not object to the submission or question the authority of Tamayo to file them.

The decision, penned by Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh, was promulgated in February and made public in August. — VDV, GMA Integrated News