Comelec delisted 25 party-list groups
Posted on October 14th, 2009
In the coming 2010 local and national elections, the party-list groups will be missing 25 organizations from the previous elections, as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) delisted these 25 from the official list of registered sectoral party-list groups because they failed to get sufficient votes in the 2007 elections.
The Comelec said in its six-page resolution that the party-list groups either failed to participate in the last two elections or did not obtain two percent of the votes cast.
Delisted party-list groups include Abanse Pinay, Migrante, PCDO-ACTO, Anak Mahirap, Aba, AKO, Aging Pinoy, PGBI, Ahon Bayan, Aksa, Asap, A Smile, Akapin, Assalam, BTM, Cocofed, Bahandi, Grecon, PMAP, Nelffi, SPI, Suara, SM and Sanlakas.
The poll body said when an interested party filed a verified complaint or even motu propio, they could cancel the registration of a party-list group. However, the Comelec said that the two percent vote requirement does not cover the organizations that won a congressional seat based on a recent Supreme Court ruling.
The groups BANAT, Bayan Muna, A Teacher, and Abono could still participate in the coming elections, said the Comelec. The delisted groups can still file their verified opposition to the resolution on October 26, during office hours, according to the Comelec.
The commission explained that they need to purge the list of registered party-list groups to ensure orderly elections in 2010. They said that there are moribund parties that are already not functioning and should be removed from the list.
According to Comelec chairman Jose Melo, participants in the party-list elections have “gotten out of hand†because there were so many small groups claiming to be marginalized and seeking accreditation to participate in the polls. He said they are currently deliberating on the petitions of more than 200 party-list groups who are seeking their approval to participate in the coming elections.
