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Ang Ladlad LGBT Party Vs. Commission on Elections (COMELEC) [CONCURRING OPINION, J. PUNO]

ANG LADLAD LGBT PARTY represented herein by its Chair, DANTON REMOTO, Petitioner, versus COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, Respondents. [CONCURRING OPINION, J. PUNO]

G.R. No. 190582 | 2010-04-08

SEPARATE CONCURRING OPINION


PUNO, C.J.:

I concur with the groundbreaking ponencia of my esteemed colleague, Mr. Justice Mariano C. del Castillo. Nonetheless, I respectfully submit this separate opinion to underscore some points that I deem significant.

FIRST. The assailed Resolutions of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) run afoul of the non-establishment clause[1] of the Constitution. There was cypher effort on the part of the COMELEC to couch its reasoning in legal - much less constitutional - terms, as it denied Ang Ladlad's petition for registration as a sectoral party principally on the ground that it "tolerates immorality...