Comelec pares down number of party-list groups to 35

The number of accredited party-list groups has been trimmed down to 35 after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) lopped off 26 of them for failing to achieve a prime requirement to retain accreditation.

Comelec law department Director Ferdinand Rafanan said the number of accredited party-list organizations has been narrowed down after the poll body wrote off 26 groups for not being able to meet the required 2 percent votes during the last two national elections.

Rafanan, though, said the 26 de-listed party-list groups may file a motion for reconsideration with the Comelec en banc to challenge the decision.

He moreover said the number of accredited party-list groups may still increase after the first and second divisions of the poll body conclude their hearing of the petitions for accreditation filed by more than 260 sectoral organizations last August.

Early this week, the Comelec en banc issued out Resolution 8679, removing 26 party-list organizations from the list of accredited groups for failing to get 2 percent of the votes cast in the 2004 and 2007 elections.

“Whereas, a party registered for the two preceding elections shall be considered to have failed to obtain at least 2 percent of the votes cast under the party-list system if the latest “party-list canvass report” for the said elections show that the percentage obtained by the said party did not reach 2 percent of the votes cast therein,” the six-page resolution stated.

The Comelec en banc, however, further stressed that “this shall not apply if a party, although receiving less than 2 percent of the votes cast under the party-list system in the May 2007 national elections, was allocated a seat during the said election, pursuant to the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of the Barangay Association for National Advancement and Transparency (Banat) vs the Comelec…and Bayan Muna, A Teacher and Abono vs the Comelec…as well as, the resolutions of the Commission implementing the said decision.”

Stricken from the list are the groups Aging Pinoy, Ahon Bayan, Aksa, Akapin, Asap, A Smile, Assalam, BTM, Bahandi, Cocofed, Grecon, Nelffi, PMAP, SM, Sanlakas, SPI, Suara, Abanse Pinay, Migrante, AK, PCDO-ACTO, PGBI, Anak Mahirap, ABA and AKO.

The Comelec gave the de-listed party-list groups until Oct. 26 to file their opposition to the order and appeal.  –Marie A. Surbano, Daily Tribune