SC won’t reverse ruling on party-list groups

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has denied a request of militant groups to reverse its ruling last April that allowed non-marginalized groups to participate in the party-list elections.

The high court on Tuesday dismissed the intervention appeal filed by Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela party-list groups seeking to revert to its previous practice of limiting the elections exclusively to marginalized and underrepresented sectors.

In a text message to reporters yesterday, SC spokesman Theodore Te said the high tribunal denied the motion for reconsideration-in-intervention lodged by the three groups for having been filed out of time.

The SC handed down the ruling last April 2. But the intervenors filed their appeal on April 29 after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) opted to abide by the decision. The rule requires filing of appeal of the high court’s decision within 15 days from its issuance.

“Without a motion for reconsideration of the Atong Paglaum decision filed by the Comelec, the decision has become final,” Te explained.

This means that the SC ruling would be placed in its book of entry.

In the new six-point parameters, the SC removed the previous requirement of the Comelec that groups joining the party-list elections should belong to a marginalized or underrepresented sector.

The SC held that the party-list system should not be exclusive to sectoral groups and must be opened to regional parties and even national political organizations that do not represent marginalized sectors enumerated in the law.

The high court also allowed political parties to participate in the party-list elections “provided they register under the party-list system and do not field candidate in legislative district elections.”

As for sectoral parties, the SC held that a majority of members as well as their nominees must belong to the respective sectors they represent that should still be “marginalized and underrepresented.”

It also allowed participating groups to proceed with their election bid even if some of their nominees are disqualified, provided they have at least one other qualified reserved nominee.

Representatives Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna, Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis and Luz Ilagan of Gabriela appealed this ruling, saying that “opening the party-list system to the non-marginalized decreases the chance of the poor and marginalized to win in the party-list system.”

All party-list winners may not be proclaimed

Meanwhile, the poll body may not be able to proclaim more party-list winners before the 16th Congress opens on June 30.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said they could not proclaim additional winners in the party-list race because there are still some 30,000 uncanvassed votes.

“We don’t mind the June 30 because we can still proclaim after that,” Brillantes said.

The Comelec has so far proclaimed 38 organizations that will occupy 53 of the 58 seats allocated for party-list groups in the House of Representatives.

But aside from the five unfilled seats, the poll body had withheld one of the two seats won by An Waray after the SC ordered the Comelec to reserve seats for Senior Citizens and Abang Lingkod groups. This left six seats vacant.

Brillantes said they are still awaiting the SC ruling on the petitions filed by the two groups that were disqualified by the poll body but obtained enough votes to win House seats. – With Sheila Crisostomo