Concepts/ Keywords: Petition of Quo Warranto for Gordon for being have been created or the emoluments thereof
ments thereof increased during the term
both a Senator and Chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross
(PNRC) is dismissed.
PNRC Privately owned, funded, and run charitable organization. Sen.
Gordon did not forfeited his seat. Must be Read with the 1/18/2011
ruling LibanVGordon for the Motion for Reconsideration
LIBAN vs. GORDON
[G.R. No. 175352. July 15, 2009.] CARPIO, J p:
FACTS
Petition to declare Senator Richard J. Gordon (respondent) as having
forfeited his seat in the Senate. Petitioners are officers of the Board of
Directors of the Quezon City Red Cross Chapter while respondent is
Chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) Board of
Governors.
During respondent's incumbency as a Senate member, he was elected
Chairman of the PNRC.
Petitioners contends that by accepting the chairmanship of the PNRC
Board of Governors, respondent has ceased to be a member of the Senate
as provided in Section 13, Article VI of the Constitution, which reads: SEC.
13. No Senator or Member of the House of Representatives may hold any
other office or employment in the Government, or any subdivision,
agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or
controlled corporations or their subsidiaries, during his term without
forfeiting his seat. Neither shall he be appointed to any office which may
for which he was elected.
MAIN ISSUE
Whether the office of the PNRC Chairman is a government office or an
office in a government-owned or controlled corporation for purposes of
the prohibition in Section 13, Article VI of the Constitution.
HELD
We declare that the office of the Chairman of the Philippine National
Red Cross is not a government office or an office in a government-
owned or controlled corporation for purposes of the prohibition in
Section 13, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution. We also declare that
Sections 1, 2, 3, 4 (a), 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of the Charter of the
Philippine National Red Cross, or Republic Act No. 95, as amended by
Presidential Decree Nos. 1264 and 1643, are VOID because they create
the PNRC as a private corporation or grant it corporate powers.
Petitioners filed an action for usurpation of public office against
respondent, a public officer who allegedly committed an act which
constitutes a ground for the forfeiture of his public office. Clearly, such
an action is for quo warranto, specifically under Section 1 (b),Rule 66 of
the Rules of Court.Quo warranto is generally commenced by the
Government as the proper party plaintiff. However, under Section 5, Rule
66 of the Rules of Court, an individual may commence such an action if
he claims to be entitled to the public office allegedly usurped by another,
in which case he can bring the action in his own name. The person
instituting quo warranto proceedings in his own behalf must claim and
be able to show that he is entitled to the office in dispute, otherwise the
action may be dismissed at any stage. In the present case, petitioners do
not claim to be entitled to the Senate office of respondent. Clearly,
petitioners have no standing to file the present petition.
PNRC is a privately owned, privately funded, and privately run
charitable organization. The PNRC is not a government-owned or
controlled corporation.
An overwhelming four-fifths majority of the PNRC Board are private
sector individuals elected to the PNRC Board by the private sector
members of the PNRC. The PNRC Board exercises all corporate powers
of the PNRC. The PNRC is controlled by private sector individuals.
Decisions or actions of the PNRC Board are not reviewable by the
President. The President cannot reverse or modify the decisions or
actions of the PNRC Board. Neither can the President reverse or
modify the decisions or actions of the PNRC Chairman. It is the PNRC
Board that can review, reverse or modify the decisions or actions of the
PNRC Chairman. This proves again that the office of the PNRC Chairman
is a private office, not a government office.
A government-owned or controlled corporation must be owned by the
government, and in the case of a stock corporation, at least a majority of
its capital stock must be owned by the government. In the case of a non-
stock corporation, by analogy at least a majority of the members must be
government officials holding such membership by appointment or
designation by the government. Under this criterion, and as discussed
earlier, the government does not own or control PNRC.
Although the PNRC is created by a special charter, it cannot be
considered a government-owned or controlled corporation in the
absence of the essential elements of ownership and control by the
government. In creating the PNRC as a corporate entity, Congress was in
fact creating a private corporation. However, the constitutional
prohibition against the creation of private corporations by special
charters provides no exception even for non-profit or charitable
corporations. Consequently, the PNRC Charter, insofar as it creates the
PNRC as a private corporation and grants it corporate powers, is void
for being unconstitutional. Thus, Sections 1, 2, 3, 4 (a), 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of the PNRC Charter, as amended, are void.
The other provisions of the PNRC Charter remain valid as they can be
considered as a recognition by the State that the unincorporated PNRC
is the local National Society of the International Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement, and thus entitled to the benefits, exemptions and
privileges set forth in the PNRC Charter. The other provisions of the
PNRC Charter implement the Philippine Government's treaty obligations
under Article 4 (5) of the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement, which provides that to be recognized as a National
Society, the Society must be "duly recognized by the legal government of
its country on the basis of the Geneva Conventions and of the national
legislation as a voluntary aid society, auxiliary to the public authorities
in the humanitarian field."
In sum, we hold that the office of the PNRC Chairman is not a government
office or an office in a government-owned or controlled corporation for
purposes of the prohibition in Section 13, Article VI of the 1987
Constitution. However, since the PNRC Charter is void insofar as it
creates the PNRC as a private corporation, the PNRC should incorporate
under the Corporation Code and register with the Securities and
Exchange Commission if it wants to be a private corporation.