PNoy ally Akbayan allowed to run as party-list group in 2013 polls

(Updated 5:06 p.m.) Prominent Leftist group Akbayan Citizens' Action Party — the subject of disqualification cases filed by various militant groups — has been allowed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to participate in next year’s elections. Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said the commissioners on Tuesday voted 4-2 to allow Akbayan to run next year. Aside from Akbayan, its rival Bayan Muna was also allowed to run via the same vote. Both have been criticized for being "multi-sectoral" and not representing a particular sector. A Bayan Muna ally, Anakbayan, had vociferously opposed Akbayan's party-list status, arguing that Akbayan leaders' appointments to high positions in the Aquino administration disqualified it from being an organization representing "marginalized sectors." Anakbayan had disrupted an Akbayan press conference in October that turned into a televised shouting match and scuffle. Their conflict has been traced to the ideological split in the radical Left more two decades ago. Those who voted in favor of Akbayan and Bayan Muna were Commissioners Rene Sarmiento, Elias Yusoph, Christian Lim and Armando Velasco, while those who voted against the two groups were Brillantes and Commissioner Lucenito Tagle. Newly appointed Commissioner Grace Padaca abstained because she was not part of previous deliberations.

Sarmiento said Akbayan and Bayan Muna both have track records in representing underrepresented sectors. "I think they deserve to be in Congress," Sarmiento said. "After all, they have a long track record in representing the marginalized. It can be seen in the bills and laws passed in Congress." As for the case of Akbayan, Sarmiento said having members in government is not a basis for disqualification as stated in Bagong Bayani vs. Comelec Supreme Court ruling. Brillantes said he voted for Akbayan's disqualification because of its multi-sectoral nature. Akbayan first secured a House seat in 1998. Since then, five Akbayan representatives have already been included in the roster of House members — Loretta Ann Rosales, Mayong Aguja, Risa Hontiveros, Walden Bello and Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao. ‘Malacañang’s favorite’   Renato Reyes of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, one of those who filed a disqualification case against Akbayan, said the Comelec decision only shows that Akbayan is “truly Malacañang’s favorite.”   “As petitioners in the disqualification case against Akbayan, we are aghast at the result of the voting of the Comelec allowing Akbayan to run in the partylist polls on 2013," Reyes said in a statement. "How can the five commissioners not see that Akbayan is a party in power that has influential cabinet officials and has multi-million peso campaign donors from the country's ruling elite?”   He added that the Palace might have “worked its magic on the Comelec” to come up with a decision favoring Akbayan.   Reyes said they would continue to maintain a close watch on the party-list group’s actions as the 2013 polls near.   Anakbayan, for its part, said by approving Akbayan's accreditation, the Comelec "failed a major test of its integrity and credibility." "Its (Akbayan) being a Malacañang lackey is now clear. We are outraged by this ridiculously pro-Palace decision further bastardizing the party-list system," Anakbayan said in a separate statement. It also said that "[l]umping Akbayan together with Bayan Muna is obviously a spin to cover up a crime. The complaint against Akbayan is not due to its being a multisectoral party but due to its being party in power and obvious government connections." Groups vs Akbayan At least two disqualification cases had been filed against Akbayan, one by Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students, Kilusang Mayo Uno, among others, and another by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Fr. Jose Dizon of poll watchdog Kontra Daya, and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz. The complainants claim that Akbayan no longer represents the marginalized and underrepresented for having previous and current members holding government posts. Those with ties to Akbayan who now occupy posts include Loretta Rosales (Commission on Human Rights chairperson) and Ronald Llamas (presidential political adviser).   Another Akbayan member, defeated 2010 senatorial bet Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel, is again running for the Senate under the administration coalition. During the 2010 polls, Baraquel was a guest candidate of the Liberal Party, headed by President Benigno Aquino III.   Akbayan’s nominees for the 2013 midterm polls have also held government positions: Barry Gutierrez was Malacañang’s undersecretary for political affairs while Angelina Ludovice-Katoh was commissioner-in-charge for Mindanao and women concerns from the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor. The statement of election contributions and expenditures of Akbayan also revealed that President Aquino’s sisters – TV personality Kris Aquino, Maria Elena "Ballsy" Aquino Cruz and Victoria “Viel” Aquino-Dee – donated P14 million of Akbayan’s P112.183 million campaign fund in the 2010 elections.   This led critics to assert that Akbayan is now a mainstream political party strongly allied with the administration and cannot claim to represent marginalized sectors. SC ruling   But Sarmiento said having members in government is not a basis for disqualification as stated in the Supreme Court ruling on Ang Bagong Bayani vs Comelec in 2001. The ruling states that a party-list group should be disqualified if it is backed by government or a foreign entity, if it represents a religious sector, if it advocates violence or unlawful means, among others. "Kung may ma-appoint man sa gobyerno, accident of history 'yan through the years at napunta sila 'dun," Sarmiento said. Brillantes, meanwhile, said he voted for Akbayan and Bayan Muna's disqualification because of their multi-sectoral nature, which means they are not representing any particular sector. He said he wanted to be consistent with their decision disqualifying Ako Bicol party-list because of its multi-sectoral nature. "We have to be consistent with what we've already done. And I think dapat naman. Consistent naman maski may masaktan, we don't really care," Brillantes said. Ako Bicol, whose disqualification was temporarily stopped by the Supreme Court, claims to represent Bicolanons in the entire country. "Similar ito sa Ako Bicol, multi-sectoral and political party, although ang sinasabi nila may track record ito unlike Ako Bicol which was new in 2010. This (Akbayan) is a political party existing way back in 1998. This is similar with Bayan Muna," Brillantes said. Legal grounds But according to Anakbayan, there is clear legal grounds against the participation of Akbayan in the party-list race. It said the Ang Bagong Bayani vs Comelec ruling — the same ruling cited by Sarmiento — includes guidelines regarding the party-list elections, among them the prohibition of government “or its officials” in party-list affairs. The ruling reportedly said that: "..the party or organization must not be an adjunct of, or a project organized or an entity funded or assisted by, the government..It must be independent of the government. The participation of the government or its officials in the affairs of a party-list candidate is not only illegal and unfair to other parties, but also deleterious to the objective of the law..”   In the same ruling, the SC also reportedly ruled that nominees of a party-list must not only represent a marginalized sector but must themselves belong to the marginalized sectors they seek to represent.