Comelec exec says Bayan Muna could be delisted

Despite his boss' contrary statement, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official said party-list group Bayan Muna can be disqualified from the May 14 election over its alleged links to the New People's Army. Sun-Star Davao (www.sunstar.com.ph) reported Saturday that Comelec legal department director Alioden Dalag made the claim following the recovery of Bayan Muna materials from a New People’s Army lair in the outskirts of Davao City. The claim came a day after polling firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed Bayan Muna and two other “militant" party lists stand a good chance of getting congressional seats this May. Dalag said that should a link be established between Bayan Muna and the insurgency movement, it can be a ground for the group’s cancellation of registration. But Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. said Bayan Muna is not considered to have committed any election violation, at least for now. “No, they (Bayan Muna) have not committed any violation," Abalos said during the command conference of Comelec Friday. Government troops recovered last week campaign paraphernalia of Bayan Muna from communist rebels fleeing from military troops in Barangay Tagurano, Toril District in Davao City. Dalaig said it is illegal for any party-list group to be connected or affiliated with a movement that espouses violence, such as the NPA. He noted one of the grounds for removal or cancellation of registration of a party-list is if “it advocates violence or unlawful means to seek its goal," Section 6 of Republic Act 7941 or the Party-List System Act states. Other grounds for cancellation that a party-list group can commit are if it is verified to be a religious sect or denomination; a foreign party or organization; receiving support from any foreign government, foreign political party; fails to comply with election laws; declares untruthful statements in its petition; Ceased to exist for at least one year; or fails to participate in the last two preceding elections or fails to obtain at least two percentage points of the votes cast under the party-list system in the two preceding elections for the constituency in which it has registered. Meanwhile, militant groups in Cagayan de Oro denounced a court ruling indicting Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo in a purge of hundreds of suspected government spies in the 1980s. Lawyer Beverly Musni, head of the militant human rights group Karapatan in Northern Mindanao, linked the arrest warrant issued against Ocampo to the May elections, alleging that militants are either being killed or slapped with trumped-up charges. “The GMA administration has upped to the maximum level its effort to deny progressive forces and individuals victory this election by executing mass leaders like (Dalmacio) Gandiano, or arresting them, like ka Satur," said Musni. She was referring to Dalmacio Gandinao, an activist who was killed by armed men early February. Musni said the charges against Ocampo stemmed from the discovery last year of a mass grave of victims of an alleged communist purge in Inopacan in central Leyte province, about 610 kilometers southeast of Manila. The military, citing testimonies of several former NPAs, said the victims were suspected “deep penetration agents" who were ordered executed by the Communist Party central committee, led by party founder Jose Maria Sison, Ocampo, and others. Musni said the mass graves could be “fake" and put up by the military. She said these could be like the Bukidnon mass graves that turned out to be an ordinary graveyard. “A warrant for Ka Satur but none for the butcher Jovito Palparan despite the Melo and Alston reports?" she added. Militants had blamed Palparan, a retired general, for the killings of activists. The military denied its role in the murders. - GMANews.TV