22 more party-lists barred from mid-term polls

The Commission on Elections has rejected 22 more party-list organizations, bringing to 50 the total number of party-list organizations it has barred from joining next year’s mid-term elections.

Disqualified were the Philippine Coconut Producers Federation Inc. (Cocofed), Alliance of Advocates in Mining Advancement for National Progress (Aama), Bayani Partylist, Abang-Lingkod, Ang Agrikulture Natin Isulong, Agapay ng Indigenous Peoples Rights Alliance Inc. (A-Ipra), Alliance for Mindanao Elders (Ame), Greenforce, Firm 24-K Association Inc. (Firm 24-K), Action League of Indigenous Masses (Alim), Alma sa Pagkahikahos at Ignoransiya (Alma), Kaunlaran ng Agrikultura, Asensadong Probinsya, Angat ng Bayan (Kaagapay), Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (Anad), Smart-Social Movement for Active Reform and Transparency, Kalikasan Green Party of the Philippines, A-Seamariners, and Education Development Services for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Of the disqualified groups, only Anad has an incumbent representative in Congress: Pastor Alcover Jr.

Elections Commission chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said his agency rejected the groups for failing to meet all the requirements relative to the party-list system. Both marginalized and underprivileged people are the target beneficiaries of the party-list system that Republic Act 7941 provides for.

The commission’s first division also canceled the accreditation of the party-list groups Kabalikat ng Bayan sa Kaunlaran (Kabaka) and Alliance of Bicolnon Party (ABP), but it registered them as political parties.

The commission also denied the petition of the Black and White Political Party to join the elections for its failure to prove “through its articles of incorporation, by-law, history and track record that it represents and seeks to uplift the marginalized sectors of women, youth and urban poor.”

The Black and White group is allied with President Benigno Aquino III, but the watchdog Kontra-Daya said groups like the Black and White Movement were “already overrepresented” in the government. Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman and peace process adviser Teresita Deles are members of the Black and White Movement.

Meanwhile, the commission has approved the application of Pilipino With Disabilities (PWD) to join next year’s elections, saying the group’s members and nominees were composed of people with disability.

Last month, the commission disqualified the party-list group being represented by presidential son Juan Miguel Arroyo and rejected the motion for reconsideration of media party list group Alab ng Mamamahayag.

The commission also disqualified Ang Galing Pinoy, a group of tricycle drivers and security guards, for its failure to appear during the hearings for party-list accreditation. It also rejected the Alam Party List due to its lack of track record.

A total of 289 groups submitted their intent to join the May 13, 2013 elections, and of those, 124 are still registered with the poll body. Only groups that obtained 2 percent of the votes in two preceding elections are still accredited. –Joel E. Zurbano, Manila Standard Today