Militant party-list groups bare Palace plan to field sectoral groups

Militant party-list groups yesterday said they have obtained a document that would prove that Malacañang fielded sectoral organizations to run in the May 14 elections, in a bid to gain more seats at the House of Representatives to quell any impeachment complaint that would be filed against President Arroyo.

Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Liza Masa said they were furnished with a copy of "confidential" memorandum of assistant secretary Marcelo Fariñas, head of the Office of External Affairs (OEA) special concerns group (SCG) of the Office of the President (OP), which asked for funding for these party-list groups that would be supported by the Palace.

The OEA proposal said that the administration and its allied civil society organizations should have a comprehensive counter-plan with the objective of frustrating this "grand plan" of the Left and the opposition.

"These well-funded party-list organizations (referring to militant party-list organizations) shall actively campaign for 40 seats in Congress with the foremost objective of gathering additional votes in the House of Representatives for another round of impeachment against the President," a copy of a confidential plan given by Fariñas to Mrs. Arroyo said. Masa distributed copies of the memorandum to reporters.

The memo added that to counter this, the OP, through the OEA, shall field five to eight pro-administration party-list organizations that could win nine to 12 seats in the House of Representatives.

The document said that these groups would form a party-list block that would support the plans and programs of the administration and help in countering the destabilization moves by the opposition as well as left-leaning party-list groups.

The campaign proposal identified Agbiag! Timpuyog Ilocano (AGBIAG), Babae para sa Kaunlaran (BABAE KA), League of Youth for Peace and Development (LYPAD) and Kalahi Advocates for Overseas Filipinos (KALAHI) as the main groups that would be supported by Malacañang.

"Two to five more party-list groups shall be given support, which may include a coalition of Muslim and Indigenous Peoples and already registered party-list parties," it said. – With Sheila Crisostomo