Saturday, April 21, 2007

Comelec should stop dilly-dallying on the issue of the fake and government-funded party-lists and remove them from the official list

Saturday April 21, 2007

Comelec should stop dilly-dallying on the issue of the fake and government-funded party-lists and remove them from the official list participating in the May 14 polls

Anakpawis Representative and political detainee today said that the Commission on Elections should stop dilly-dallying on the issue of fake and government-funded party-lists and take action to immediately disqualify these.

"May 14 is just around the corner but the Comelec has yet to resolve the issue of these government-funded party-lists. The legitimate and progressive party-lists Anakpawis, Bayan Muna and Gabriela Women's Party as well as their sister groups Kabataan Party and Suara Bangsa Moro are being harassed and subjected to disqualification charges because they are advocating for genuine representation of marginalized groups in Congress. We will not allow these fake party-lists which are actually fronts for the Macapagal-Arroyo administration to take over the party-list system and secure seats in congress by cheating and buying their way to victory with the help of Malacanang," he said.

The activist lawmaker exclaimed against the bastardization of the party-list system and said that illegitimate party-lists supportive of an illegitimate presidency have no right to claim representation in congress.

"They are making a mockery of the advocacies of the marginalized sectors. They intend to secure seats in congress to edge out those who truly serve the interest of the poor. The Comelec should waste no more time and settle this issue once and for all. The bogus party-lists must be disqualified and stricken off the official list of party-lists participating in the May 14 polls," he said.

Beltran also supported the calls of other progressive parties for investigations into confidential memorandum of assistant secretary Marcelo Fariñas II, designated in the document as the head of the OEA special concerns group (OEA-SCG), sent to Malacanang and the office of Pres. Arroyo.

Fariñas, head of the Office of External Affairs special concerns group of the office of the President, wrote to lawyer Erlyn de Leon, special assistant to the President and close confidante. The memo sought Palace funding for these party list groups that would be supported by the Palace.

"These well funded party list organizations shall actively campaign for 40 seats in Congress with the foremost objective of gathering additional votes in the House of Representatives for another round of impeachment against the President," the memorandum dated Oct.16, 2006 said.

The OEA proposal further said that the administration and its allied civil society organizations should have a comprehensive counter-plan with the objective of frustrating this "grand plan" of the Left and the opposition.

"What other proof does the Comelec need? It's no secret that Malacanang is out to quash the progressive party-lists and undermine our chances of once more topping the party-lists elections. Our leaders and members are being killed, and the representatives including myself are being libeled and labeled as criminals. Despite all this, it's being consistently revealed in all the surveys that the progressive party-lists are a shoo-in in May, and it is only through massive electoral fraud and illegal disenfranchisement of our millions of supporters that we will not win."

"The fake and government-funded party-lists must not be allowed to participate in the May elections. The Comelec will be aiding and abetting in a serious violation of electoral and constitutional law if it allows these fake party-lists endorsed and funded by Malacanang to run," he concluded.#

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