Comelec told to proclaim winning party-list group

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to proclaim Abang Lingkod as among the winning party-list groups in the May 2013 elections.

In a vote of 10-4, the SC ordered Comelec to proclaim Abang Lingkod and allow it the number of seats it may be entitled to, based on the total number of votes it garnered during the elections.

Abang Lingkod reportedly garnered 260,215 votes, thus entitling the group to get one seat in the House of Representatives.

The SC said Comelec committed an error when it insisted on requiring Abang Lingkod to prove its track record even if this is not required.

The SC cited the Atong Paglaum case, where the high court ruled that for purposes of registration under the party-list system, it is enough that the principal advocacy of sectoral organization pertains to the sector they represent.

Even if two of the party-list nominees do not actually belong to the sector that it is supposed to represent, this should not be used as a ground to cancel its registration, the court said. –Evelyn Macairan (The Philippine Star)