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Comelec to appeal SC order giving disqualified party-list group seat in Congress


The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it will file an appeal before the Supreme Court after the latter issued a ruling ordering the poll body to proclaim Abang Lingkod party-list as one of the winning groups in the May 13, 2013 national elections. 
 
Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said they will not hold a proclamation yet but will file a motion for reconsideration.
 
“We will file a motion for reconsideration. There will be no proclamation yet since the SC decision is not yet final,” he said in an interview.
 
“We will look at the dissenting opinions. I think they recognized our earlier decision,” Brillantes said.
 
He admitted the poll body was surprised with the ruling since the grounds used in disqualifying the group was clearly presented.
 
On Wednesday, the SC affirmed the poll victory of Abang Lingkod that Comelec previously disqualified for allegedly using digitally altered photographs to prove that it represents a marginalized sector. 
 
In a decision, the high court sitting en banc said Abang Lingkod, a group representing farmers and fisherfolk, should not have been barred from running in last May's party-list elections simply because it used altered photos to prove its "track record." 
 
“Simply put, they do not affect the qualification of Abang Lingkod as a party-list group and, hence, could not be used as a  ground to cancel its registration under the party-list system,” it said. 
 
Despite its decision disqualifying Abang Lingkod due to the photo-altering incident, the Comelec still included the group's name when it printed the ballots for the May 13 midterm elections due to a status quo ante order issued by the SC in favor of Abang Lingkod and other disqualified party-list groups.
 
Abang Lingkod ended up getting more than 200,000 votes, qualifying it for seat in the House of Representatives. —KG, GMA News
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