Party-list nominees to undergo scrutiny

Poll officials have begun screening the nominees of 144 party-list groups that will vie for at least 55 seats in the House of Representatives.

The party-list organizations have until March 26 to submit the names of their nominees, whom the Commission on Elections will place under public scrutiny to determine if they are fit for the job. To qualify for a congressional seat, a group has to obtain at least two percent of the votes cast in the party-list system.

All nominees will be made public so that the voters can scrutinize the men and women seeking to represent marginalized sectors in Congress, Comelec chairman Jose Melo said.

“We will find out if they have the basic qualifications such as citizenship, age and residency,” said Melo, adding that being allied with the administration is not sufficient ground for delisting.

Controversy over the party-list nominees arose after the militant Akbayan accused 11 groups of serving as fronts for Malacañang. These groups, according to Akbayan, are Babae Ka, Akbay Pinoy, Aksa, Kakusa, Ahon Pinoy, Biyaheng Pinoy, Anad, Agbiag, Banat, Bantay and Lypad.

Akbayan said the nominee of Ang Kasangga is Lourdes Arroyo, sister of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, while the representative of Bantay is retired Gen. Jovito Palparan, who gained prominence for his anti-insurgency campaign. –Joel E. Zurbano, Manila Standard Today