MAD, other parties disqualified from party-list polls

The high-profile party-list group Mamayan Ayaw sa Droga (MAD) was officially barred by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday from taking seats in the 12th Congress.

In a 47-page partial report to the Supreme Court, the Comelec ruled that MAD, which nominated actor Richard Gomez for a seat in the House of Representatives, cannot be considered a legitimate party-list group since it does not represent a marginalized sector.

Only three of the seven party-list organizations initially evaluated by the Comelec as "qualified" possess all the requirements to merit them seats in Congress. They were Bayan Muna, Akbayan and the Luzon Farmers Party or Butil.

Four other parties — the Anak Mindanao or AMIN, the Partido ng Manggagawa, the Sanlakas and the Alyansang Bayanihan ng mga Magsasaka, Manggagawang Bukid at Mangigisda or ABA — passed the poll body’s test but they failed to get the two-percent required vote in the elections last May 14.

As this developed, the party-list group Akbayan has joined another group, Bayan Muna, in asking the Supreme Court to order the Comelec to immediately proclaim the winners in the polls.

Akbayan party-list nominee Etta Rosales said they have also asked Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. to endorse their petition.

Rosales, who is poised to serve her second term as party-list representative, said it is the Supreme Court which could end the confusion in the party-list system.

"We’re asking the court on Monday to do just that," she said.

The Comelec, in its report, said MAD was "conceptualized" by government and served as the main vehicle of the Philippine National Police in its campaign against illegal drugs, hence cannot be considered a party-list group.

Because of its popularity, MAD got more than 1.5 million votes and placed second to Bayan Muna in the elections.

Also disqualified by the poll body were the Marcos Loyalist group, the Chamber of Real Estate Brokers Association or CREBA, and political parties Probinsya Muna Initiatives or Promdi, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Lakas-NUCD, the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino and the Aksyon Demokratiko.

The poll body noted that Bayan Muna nominees Satur Ocampo, Crispin Beltran and Liza Maza are qualified to sit in Congress, so were Rosales, Mario Aguja, Gerardo Bulatao, Vicente Fabe, Arlene Bag-ao and Alvin Dizon of Akbayan.

It added that Butil, the farmers group, qualified to be declared as winner because it clearly represents the interest of an unrepresented sector.

"It has the ability to formulate and enact legislation specifically geared towards the upliftment of farmers and the improvement of the state of the country’s agricultural sector," the Comelec said.

Under the Party-List Law, 52 seats in Congress will be occupied by those representing marginalized sectors. Any group that wins at least two percent of the total votes cast in the party-list elections automatically gets a seat.

The Supreme Court had ordered the Comelec to come up with a report within 30 days on which of the party-list groups that participated in the elections are eligible to be declared as winners. However, the poll body asked the Court yesterday for a 15-day extension to comply.

"As things stand, it has become clear that it would be impossible to complete the myriad tasks within the time set by the Court without sacrificing the quality of the decision," the Comelec said. – With Romel Bagares