Comelec: Over 250 party-list groups seek accreditation for 2010 polls

More than 250 party-list groups have applied for accreditation to participate in the 2010 elections, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official said Tuesday.

Comelec law department director Ferdinand Rafanan said that 106 party-list groups filed their petitions for registration last Monday, bringing to 252 the total number of civic groups seeking accreditation for the 2010 polls.

"Sobrang dami nila na nag-last minute filing (A lot of groups filed at the last minute)," Rafanan told dzBB radio in an interview.

The Comelec set August 17 as the deadline for the "filing of petitions for registration of political parties…, organizations and coalitions under the party-list system of representation."

Rafanan, however, did not mention how many political parties have filed their petitions.

In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Rossie Palacio of the poll body’s Office of the Clerk of the Commission said they are still finalizing the tally of the political parties and party-list groups that have submitted their petitions.



First step

Lodging a petition is a party-list group’s first step in getting accredited, Rafanan said.

“Mayroong preliminary screening, pagkatapos tayo ay magsa-submit ng recommendation sa Commission (all Comelec commissioners) en banc, ihi-hearing nila ‘yon (After a preliminary screening, we would submit a recommendation to the Commission en banc, who would hear the petitions)," Rafanan said.

During the hearing, the Comelec commissioners would verify whether the applicant group exists, whether it has complied with all requirements, and whether it represents "marginalized and underrepresented sectors."

Republic Act No. 7941, also known as Party-List System Act, lists the following qualifications for a group to be considered marginalized, or belonging to the underrepresented sectors: "labor, peasant, fisher folk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, veterans, overseas workers, and professionals."

The hearings would help the commissioners decide whether a party-list group is eligible for accreditation.

Results by October

Rafanan said that while the whole process might be tedious, the Comelec is targeting the release of the results of the hearing "by October," and that the Comelec would try to hear 10 petitions a day to meet the deadline.

Among the 252 party-list groups that filed for accreditation are the Alyansa ng Sabungero, Aabot, All Rainbow Party, Alab ng Lahi, Partido Lakas ng Masa, Citizen Call for Action, One Nation Empowered with Technology, Liwanag sa Bilangguan, OFWs, Alagaan Natin Ating Kalusugan, Grand Bohol, Balikatan and Ang Ladlad. [See: Cockfighting aficionados eye congressional seat] - GMANews.TV

Senate panel defers dismissal of Jarvinia case vs Villar

A Senate panel on Tuesday deferred its action on the dismissal of the ethics complaint filed against Senator Manny Villar Jr. in connection with his alleged land-grabbing case in Bulacan province.

The decision was made after senators noted the similarities of the evidence in the so-called Jarvinia case with those presented during last week’s hearing of the committee on the whole on a separate ethics complaint against Villar.

Senators Panfilo Lacson, ethics committee chairman, Manuel Roxas II, Gregorio Honasan II and Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri agreed to “temporarily hold in abeyance the decision on the complaint until we can firmly ascertain its connection with the evidence presented on Thursday."

Roxas said the case could be connected with the subject of the ethics complaint filed by Senator Ma. Ana Consuelo “Jamby" Madrigal that was tackled by the committee of the whole last Thursday.

In the complaint, which was also filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, private citizen Gina Jarvinia accused Villar and his wife, Las Piñas Representative Cynthia Villar, of land-grabbing in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

Lack of quorum

Laywer Jhomuel Mendoza, committee general counsel, recommended the dismissal of the Jarvinia complaint three months ago but the panel was not able to act on it due to lack of quorum.

Mendoza said he recommended the dismissal of the compliant since based on documents, Villar’s alleged acts were committed before he became a senator.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said after Thursday's hearing that acts committed by a senator before he or she assumes his or her post are beyond the jurisdiction of the Senate.

The ethics committee's legal counsel will submit next week a matrix on the similarities of Jarvina's complaint with that of Madrigal's.

'Simple politicking'

Villar, for his part, accused the panel of politicking in deferring the dismissal of the Jarvinia case.

"I see no other reason why fellow presidentiables seem to be employing foot-dragging tactics in the dismissal of the Jarvinia case but plain and simple politicking," Villar said in a text message to reporters.

He noted that the case had been junked by the Ombudsman in 2008, and that several senators had already expressed their intention to dismiss the case as early as May 2009.

"The move to defer action on the recommendation to dismiss (the case) is nothing but another desperate attempt by my political rivals to malign my reputation," said Villar, who is being groomed to run for president in next year's national elections.

Liban vs Gordon

The committee on the other hand approved the junking of the complaint filed against Senator Richard Gordon by former Quezon City Representative Dante Liban as the Supreme Court had already issued its decision on the matter.

Liban had accused Gordon of holding two positions in the government, being a lawmaker and a chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross.- GMANews.TV

Palace defends govt ‘infomercials’

A Malacañang official on Tuesday defended Cabinet members who have infomercials on television and radio, saying these is part of their mandate to inform the public about the programs of their departments.

“As far as I'm concerned, what the Cabinet members are doing is just within their mandate to be able to disseminate information pertaining to their departments," said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in an ambush interview.

Ermita made the statement three days after the Manila Regional Trial Court issued a temporary restraining order against the airing of the infomercials.

The issuance of the TRO was based on a petition filed by lawyer Ernesto Franciso Jr.

Ermita said government lawyers would address the cases against the Cabinet members.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who was one of those affected by the issuance of the TRO last Friday, expressed regret that his constitutional duty to inform the public has been stifled.

Duque is one of several Cabinet members being eyed by the administration to run for senator in the 2010 national elections.

But in radio interview earlier in the day, he said he is not inclined to “waste his time" if the surveys show that he has little chance of winning.

“Tingnan natin ang survey. Kung kulelat tayo sa survey huwag natin pagsayangin ng panahon (I’ll look at the surveys. If I fare poorly, I’d rather not waste my time)," Duque told dzXL radio. - GMANews.TV