State workers, military groups seek high court’s help in party-list bid

Two groups have asked the Supreme Court (SC) to step in in their cases and direct the Commission on elections (Comelec) to overturn its decision to remove them from its official list of accredited party-list organizations that are allowed to run in the congressional elections in May.

In separate petitions, the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage) and the Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc. (PGBI), a group composed of military and civilian members, have sought the SC’s help to stop the Comelec from implementing its resolution taking them out of the list of party-list groups that the body has accredited.

In a statement, Courage described the Comelec’s move as politically-motivated.

Courage is affiliated with the activist groups Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or Bayan; the Coalition of Progressive and Patriotic Workers, the Wage Increase Solidarity, the Junk the Visiting Forces Agreement Movement, or Junk VFA; the People’s Network for the Environment, or Kalikasan-PNE; and the Public Services International.

“Perhaps, the Arroyo government considers us a threat. They have witnessed our capacity and strength to mount a national campaign. They know that we can win a seat in Congress, that is why they are trying to eliminate us as early as possible,” the group said.

PGBI, for its part, has also asked the SC to immediately issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the Comelec from implementing its resolution removing it from the list of accredited party-list groups.

In a seven-page petition, PGBI, represented by its secretary general, retired Army Master Sergeant George Duldulao, argued that the Comelec violated Section 6 (8) of Republic Act 7941, or the Partylist System Act, when it deleted the group and 25 other sectoral organizations from its list of accredited party-list groups without affording them the required notice and the opportunity to be heard.

Under Section 6 (8) of RA 7941, the Comelec “may, motu propio or upon verified complaint of

any interested party, refuse or cancel, after due notice and hearing, the registration of any national, regional or sectoral party, organization or coalition if “it fails to participate in the last two preceding elections or fails to obtain at least two percent of the votes cast under the party-list system in the two preceding elections for the constituency in which it has registered.”

PGBI urged the high court to immediately issue out a TRO to head off the scheduled printing of the ballots for the synchronized national and local elections in May before the end of the month.

“In view of the urgency of the prevailing circumstances in the present case and to prevent miscarriage of justice, the Honorable Supreme Court is humbly asked to heed to the prayer of the petitioner for a TRO so as not to prejudice the petitioner’s right to participate in the May 10, 2010 elections,” PGBI said in its petition.

The Comelec issued out Resolution 8679 on Oct. 13 last year where PGBI was shown to have been de-listed for having failed to get the required two percent votes cast in the 2004 elections and did not participate in the 2007 elections.

Aside from PGBI, the Comelec also removed from its list of accredited party-list 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, Anak Mahirap, ABA and AKO.

“The assailed resolution was hastily promulgated and disseminated by the Comelec without taking into account the requirements set forth by law prior to the issuance of the same,” PGBI lawyer George Erwin Garcia said.

The group noted that unlike other sectoral organizations, it submitted a manifestation on Feb. 28, 2007 before the poll body to defer participation in the May 2007 elections in order to participate in the May 2010 elections.

Earlier, the SC issued out a TRO enjoining the Comelec from implementing its resolution denying the application of gay rights group Ang Ladlad for accreditation as a party-list group.

Meanwhile, the nominees of party-list organizations that are associated with Malacañang may now have been given easier access to Congress as the Comelec yesterday said it will not need to know the party affiliation of the nominees of party-list groups and will only look into their basic qualifications in its screening of those nominees.

“What we will screen is if they have the basic qualifications, like citizenship, age, residence, among others,” Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said.

Section 9 of the Party List System Act provides for the qualifications of a party-list nominee. It states that “no person shall be nominated as party-list representative unless he is a natural born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, a resident of the Philippines for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the elections, able to read and write, a bona fide member of the party or organization which he seeks to represent for at least 90 days preceding the day of the election, and is at least 25 years old on the day of the elections.”

Bur in its General Resolution 147589 which it issued out in 2001, the SC emphasized that “a party or an organization (seeking to be elected in Congress as a party-list group) must not be adjunct of, or a project organized or an entity funded or assisted by the government.”

In the party-list elections in 2007, Akbayan party-list Rep. Etta Rosales sought the disqualification of 12 party-list organizations which she said were merely being used as “dummies” by the Arroyo administration.

Notably, the nominee of party-list group Ang Kasangga at present is Rep. Lourdes Arroyo, sister of First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, while the representative of Bantay is retired Army commander, Gen. Jovito Palparan, who gained prominence for his controversial anti-insurgency campaign.

At the same time, Melo told the party-list groups to submit the names of their nominees before the deadline on March 26. He said the Comelec will have the names of the party-list groups’ nominees published in newspapers to give voters easy reference while choosing the groups to elect in Congress.

Last Friday, the Comelec issued out a resolution baring the list of 144 party-list organizations that it has accredited and will be running in the elections, which surprisingly included Ang Ladlad, a gay rights group it had earlier rejected for being “immoral.”  –Benjamin B. Pulta and Marie A. Surbano, Daily Tribune