Some 200 party-list groups vie for Comelec OK

Nearly 200 party-list groups are now seeking accreditation to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the coming May 2010 polls.

Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said at present 184 groups have applications for party-list accreditation pending with the commission.

He said including the 36 already accredited party-list organizations, they expect the number to further go up with the deadline being set tomorrow.

“We expect it to increase with the coming deadline on…it could go more than 200,” Sarmiento said in a telephone interview with reporters.

Of the figure, about 143 are new applicants while the other 41 are that of political parties, including the political coalition Makabayan formed by Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro “Teddy” Casiño and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza.

Sarmiento said the Comelec is targeting to complete its review of the applications by next month, in time for the filing of the certificates of candidacy of those seeking to run in the elections next year in the national level, whose deadline has been set on Nov. 20 to 30.

“Definitely, by September we hope to resolve all these pending applications,” he said.

He said the Comelec will be very strict in scrutinizing and screening the applicants to ensure that they belong and truly represent the marginalized and underprivileged sector of society.

“We will check their track record and constituency,” he said.

Apart from track record and constituency, Sarmiento said the Comelec will also check the previous “activities or projects” of the party-list applicants.

He said applicants that are found to be affiliated or are being directly funded by the government or any religious organization will be rejected.

In the 2007 mid-term elections there was a total of 93 party-list candidates, but only 36 of them won seats in the House of Representatives. –Marie A. Surbano, Daily Tribune