Coseteng v Mitra Facts: Petitioner Anna Coseteng, the lone candidate elected to the House of Representatives under KAIBA,

wrote to Speaker Ramon Mitra to appoint her as a member of the Commission on Appointments (CA) and House Tribunal a request backed by nine congressmen. Previously, the House elected from the Coalesced Majority parties 11 out 12 congressmen to the CA and later on, added Roque Ablan, Jr. as the twelfth member, representing the Coalesced Minority. Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) was also organized as a party, prompting the revision of the House majority membership in CA due to political realignments and the replacement of Rep. Daza (LP) with Rep. Singson (LDP). Congresswoman Anna Coseteng and her party KAIBA filed a Petition for Extraordinary Legal Writs (considered as petition for quo warranto and injunction) praying that the Court declare the election of respondent Ablan, Singson and the rest of the CA members null and void on the theory that their election violated the constitutional mandate of proportional representation because the New Majority (LDP) is entitled to only 9 seats and members must be nominated and elected by their parties. She further alleged that she is qualified to sit in the CA because of the support of 9 other congressmen from the Minority. The respondent contends that the issue of CA reorganization was a political question, hence outside the jurisdiction of the Court, was in consonance with the proportional representation clause in Art VI of the Constitution and that petitioner was bound by the Majority decision since KAIBA was part of the Coalesced Majority. Issue: W/N the members of the CA were chosen on basis of proportional representation. Held: Yes. Petition was dismissed for lack of merit , not because issue raised was a political question but because revision in House representation in CA wasbased on proportional representation. The composition of the House membership shows that there are 160 LDP members in the House, comprising 79% of the House membership. This granted them a rounded-up 10 seats in the CA and left the remaining two to LP and KBL as the next largest parties. KAIBA, being a member of the Coalesced Majority, is bound by the majority choices. Even if KAIBA were an opposition party, its lone member Coseteng represents less than 1% of the House membership and, hence, does not entitle her a seat in the 12 House seats in CA. Her endorsements from 9 other congressmen are inconsequential because they are not members of her party and they signed identical endorsements for her rival, Cong. Verano-Yap. There is no merit in petitioners contention that CA members should have been nominated and elected by their parties because of members were nominated by their floor leaders and elected by the House. Jurisdiction issue over political question was also settled in Daza vs Singson in that the Constitution

conferred the Court with expanded jurisdiction to determine whether grave abuse of discretion amounting to excess or lack of jurisdiction has been committed by the other government branches.