Comelec to disqualify dubious party-list nominees

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will no longer wait for disqualification petitions to be filed against party-list nominees before eliminating those with questionable reputation, an official said yesterday.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez, in an interview, noted that the poll body intends to exercise its authority to disqualify motu propio such nominees in connection with the 2013 mid-term polls.

“Before when people were saying that there is a problem with this nominee we would say there is no formal complaint filed against him. Now, we can decide motu propio,” he added.

Jimenez, however, clarified that in disqualifying candidates motu propio, the Comelec will “not trample” on the party-list groups’ choice of nominees.

The policy is contained in Resolution No. 9366, which states that a “party-list nominee must be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, a resident of the Philippines for not less than one year immediately preceding the election day, able to read and write, a bona fide member of the party and at least 25 years old.”

The nominee must also be “a Filipino citizen who belongs to the marginalized and underrepresented sector which his party-list group seeks to represent and able to contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole.”

The resolution states that a nominee must be a “bona fide member of the party-list group for at least 90 days prior to the election.”

It emphasized that a nominee should not only be an advocate of the party-list organization but a bona fide member of the “marginalized and under-represented sector” that the group seeks to represent in the House of Representatives.

Republic Act 7941 or the Party-List System Act was passed to ensure that “marginalized and under-represented sectors” of the society are represented in Congress.

The system, however, was bastardized when politicians, relatives of politicians, military officials and big businessmen were named nominees of some party-list groups.

Among those whose nomination were questioned were now-Ang Galing Pinoy Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, who is supposed to represent security guards, and the wife of fugitive military general Jovito Palparan, Evangeline, of Bantay True Marcos Loyalists.