By Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has announced its intention to remove party-list organizations that have failed to secure a seat in the House of Representatives in the two most recent elections in the country.
According to Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco, “Regarding existing party-lists that participated in the previous elections, Comelec will release a resolution wherein those that have participated and lost twice may be removed from the list as per the Party-list Act. Expect this announcement from Comelec soon,” he stated during a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Monday.
He said they are very stringent in accrediting groups for the party-list polls.
“Tinitingnan natin kung sila ba ay tunay sa representante ng kanilang sector na nais represent, at kung nako comply ba ang requirements ng Party-list Act at desisyon ng Korte Suprema (We are checking if they really represent the sector they would want to represent and if they comply with the requirements of the Party-list Act and the decision of the Supreme Court),” Laudiangco added.
Under Republic Act 7941 or the Party-list System Act, only parties, organizations, or coalitions registered with the Comelec may participate in the party-list elections.
The law said the registration of a party-list may be cancelled if it fails to participate in the last two preceding elections or fails to obtain at least 2 percent of the votes cast under the party-list system in the two preceding elections.
Earlier, Comelec chairman George Garcia announced the plan to trim the number of party-list groups that would be allowed to join the 2025 midterm polls to around 130.
He said out of the 200 applicants for registration, they have dismissed 130 petitions for registration, and have accredited only around 17 groups for next year’s polls.
A total of 177 party-list organizations participated in the May 2022 elections. (PNA)
