Comelec to voters: Examine candidates’ platforms

MANILA, Philippines –  Voters should not be personality-oriented when choosing the party-list groups they will vote for in the May 2016 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Friday.

“They should look at the platform and principles of the party-list organizations and not the nominees representing the groups,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said.

The party-list system was conceptualized to ensure that the marginalized sectors of society are represented in Congress.

John Rex Laudiangco, chief of the legal opinion and research division of the Comelec Law Department, said of the 244 groups that filed manifestation to participate in next year’s elections, 213 were able to submit their Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance, which contain the list of nominees. 

Vitangcol seeking House seat

Meanwhile, former Metro Rail Transit (MRT) general manager Al Vitangcol is seeking a seat in the House of Representatives under the Advance (Association of Direct Vendors, Agents, Networking Circles and Entrepreneurs) party-list group.

Vitangcol expressed belief that the graft case he is facing in connection with the alleged $30-million shakedown attempt on a Czech supplier of trains for the MRT 3 expansion in July 2012 would not affect his candidacy.

He is hopeful that the Supreme Court will dismiss the extortion case filed against him for lack of evidence.

Vitangcol said his group would push for the crafting of a law regulating networking firms or multi-level marketing industry.– With Rainier Allan Ronda