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Dante Liban, et al. v. Richard Gordon, G.R. No.

175352, January 18,2011

RESOLUTION

LEONARDO-DE CASTRO,

J.

I.

THE FACTS

Petitioners Liban, et al., who were officers of the Board of Directors of the Quezon City RedCross
Chapter, filed with the Supreme Court what they styled as

“Petition to Declare Richard J.Gordon as Having Forfeited His Seat in the Senate”

against respondent Gordon, who was elected Chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC)
Board of Governors during his incumbencyas Senator.Petitioners alleged that by accepting the
chairmanship of the PNRC Board of Governors, respondent Gordon ceased to be a member of the
Senate pursuant to Sec. 13, Article VI of the Constitution, which provides that

“[n]o Senator . . . 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.”

Petitioners cited the case of Camporedondo vs. NLRC

G.R. No. 129049, decided August 6, 1999,

Which held that the PNRC is a GOCC, in supporting their argument that respondent Gordon
automatically forfeited his seat in the Senate when he accepted and held the position of Chairman of
the PNRC Board of Governors. Formerly, in its Decision dated July 15, 2009, the Court, voting 7-5,

[1]

held that the office of the PNRC Chairman is NOT a government office or an office in a GOCC for
purposes of the prohibition in Sec. 13, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution. The PNRC Chairman is elected
by the PNRC Board of Governors; he is not appointed by the President or by any subordinate
government official. Moreover, the PNRC is NOT a GOCC because it is a privately-owned, privately-
funded, and privately-run charitable organization and because it is controlled by a Board of Governors
four-fifths of which are private sector individuals. Therefore, respondent Gordon did not forfeit his
legislative seat when he was elected as PNRC Chairman during his incumbency as Senator. The Court
however held further that the PNRC Charter, R.A. 95, as amended by PD 1264and 1643, is void insofar as
it creates the PNRC as a private corporation since Section 7, Article XIV of the 1935 Constitution states
that

“[t]he

Congress shall not, except by general law, provide for the information, organization, or regulation of
private corporations, unless such corporations are owned or

controlled by the Government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof.”

The Court thus directed the PNRC to incorporate under the Corporation Code and register with the
Securities and Exchange Commission if it wants to be a private corporation. The fallo of the Decision
read:

WHEREFORE, 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.

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