SC bars Comelec-proclaimed Magsasaka party-list rep from assuming House post

The Supreme Court has issued an order stopping Magsasaka party-list Representative Roberto Gerard Nazal Jr. from assuming his post as a member of the House of Representatives.

“The Court resolves to… issue a status quo ante order effective immediately, and continuing until further orders from this Court, and order the petitioner, respondents, their agents, or person acting in their place or stead, to maintain the status quo prevailing prior to the promulgation of the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) Resolution,” the High Court said.

On October 10, the Commission on Elections issued a certificate of proclamation recognizing Nazal as a qualified nominee of the Magsasaka party-list.

Nazal took his oath of office the same day.

He was able to assume office four months after the party won the elections since the Comelec had to resolve the internal dispute between Magsasaka national chairperson Soliman Villamin Jr. and the faction led by former Magsasaka party-list representative Argel Joseph Cabatbat.

For his part, Cabatbat welcomed the Court’s decision and urged his supporters to remain vigilant.

"We may have won in the first step in the Supreme Court, but remember that our enemy is very powerful and capable. But the truth is the most powerful tool we can use to prevent a pretender from robbing us of our voice in Congress," he said.

Cabatbat previously said that Nazal is a founder and apparent nominee of Pasahero party-list which lost in the 2022 elections. He said Nazal is also a former nominee of the Bagong Henerasyon party-list back in 2019.

Meanwhile, the camp of Villamin slammed Cabatbat in a separate statement.

“To say that the SC favored Atty. Cabatbat as the legitimate representative of the organization is utterly false, entirely baseless, and completely misleading,” Magsasaka party-list group acting spokesperson John Paul Nabua said.

He also denied that Nazal was part of Pasahero or any other partylist.

“For the record, Mr. Nazal, who is a highly respected agricultural entrepreneur, has been an esteemed member of the rightful, Comelec-approved Magsasaka Party-List for quite some time,” Nabua said.

“This makes Cabatbat’s claim pitifully inaccurate and easy to debunk. A quick back-check of official Comelec records will show that Mr. Nazal was never a nominee of any other party-list,” he added.

However, a document from Comelec on certificates of nomination and acceptance of party-list groups  for the May 2019 polls showed Nazal to be among the nominees of Bagong Henerasyon.—AOL, GMA News