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One Filipinos Worldwide (OFW) Partylist Rep. Marissa Del Mar Magsino holds up a copy of the party's petition as they are about to file the plea at the Supreme Court on Monday, May 26, 2025.
The STAR / Edd Gumban
MANILA, Philippines — The One Filipinos Worldwide (OFW) party-list has filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking to halt the proclamation of party-list winners in the upcoming 2025 elections.
In its 28-page petition, the group asked the high court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from implementing National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) Resolution 14-25.
Issued on May 18, the resolution allocates 63 seats in the House of Representatives to party-list winners for the 20th Congress. The OFW party-list alleged that Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in doing so.
The group argued that based on the current structure of the House, 64 party-list seats should have been allocated—not 63. They explained that with 318 total representatives, multiplying by 20% yields 63.6, and that the fraction should be rounded up in favor of marginalized and underrepresented sectors.
They also challenged the prevailing formula for determining party-list seats, which was anchored on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Banat vs. Comelec, saying it should be modified or abandoned for failing to reflect the true intent of the Constitution.
The group said the Banat ruling resulted in double counting of votes during seat allocation.
“This is where the problem lies. In the second round of the allocation, the parties that garnered 2% or 4% get 'an additional seat.' Effectively, a 2% vote does not only get 1 seat but 2 seats. A 4% vote, on the other hand, gets 3 seats,” the group said.
“Nowhere from the text of the law was it stated that the 2% shall be used for the purpose of determining the number of guaranteed seats. The 2% threshold already provides an equivalent seat that must be definitively allocated,” they added.
'Banat' formula. Under Banat vs. Comelec, any party securing at least 2% of total party-list votes is entitled to one congressional seat. Additional seats may be awarded proportionally based on excess votes, but no party may receive more than three seats.
The OFW party-list claimed it deserves to be proclaimed a winner and receive one seat in the House. The group garnered 245,819 votes, or 0.59%, and argued that if the Banat formula were abandoned, they could qualify for a seat.
Comelec response. In response, the Comelec said it welcomed developments that could enrich jurisprudence on the party-list system.
“The latest pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the issue, laid down in Banat vs. Comelec, had provided the basis not just for the computation of the allocation and distribution of available party-list seats but also operationalized the Constitutional precepts on the composition of the House of Representatives,” said Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco in a statement.
