Mikey wants Lenten moratorium on party-list politics

MANILA, Philippines - In the spirit of the Lenten season and in view of the recent illness of his father, presidential son Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo yesterday asked for a moratorium on the criticisms he had been receiving lately.

“I will let my political career take the backseat momentarily. There’s no point in engaging them (critics) tit for tat when you are in a situation like ours,” the outgoing congressman of the second district of Pampanga said.

Bayan Muna had accused the young Arroyo’s party-list of plagiarizing its constitution and bylaws.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño noted that when they were looking into the application for registration of Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP) with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), they were “shocked” to find out that it had copied Bayan Muna’s constitution and bylaws.

“AGP is not a real party-list group. It’s bogus. It is an expert in copying. Mikey is nothing but a second-rate copycat,” Casiño said in a press briefing.

Bayan Muna filed a petition with the Comelec yesterday to seek the disqualification of Arroyo and AGP from the May 10 party-list polls.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said the Comelec could disqualify Mikey and AGP motu propio on four grounds.

“He does not represent, neither does he belong to the marginalized and under-represented as required in the party-list system and he is not a bona fide member of AGP for at least 90 days prior to the May 10, 2010 elections,” he added.

He said Arroyo is still a member of the House of Representatives as he was elected in the 2007 midterm polls and that the AGP is “not a legitimate and qualified party-list group and has, therefore, no authority to nominate him as its nominee in the 2010 party-list elections.”

“This incapacity to draft its own constitution and principles further shows that Ang Galing Pinoy is not a genuine party-list group that was established based on the experience of its marginalized constituency but is a flighty party-list organization that only copies the constitution and principles of others,” the petition showed. 

But Arroyo assured his detractors that all of their complaints against AGP – of which he is the first nominee – will not fall on deaf ears, especially since it is now a legal battle in the Comelec.

AGP’s second nominee is Lubao Mayor Dennis Pineda and the third nominee is Bacolor Mayor Romeo Dunga Jr., both in Pampanga.    – Sheila Crisostomo