MANILA, Philippines--The Commission on Elections' rejection of the application for party accreditation by a group of military mutineers was ?unfair and baseless,? according to Ashley Acedillo, a former Air Force lieutenant and the group?s spokesperson.

The Comelec resolution saying that the Magdalo Para sa Pagbabago, a party founded by military men who staged the failed July 2003 Oakwood coup, could advocate the overthrow of the government ?was not based on evidence but on pure conjecture and presuppositions,? Acedillo said.

He said the Comelec had judged the Magdalo members unfairly and they would ask the poll body to reverse its ruling.

Best interests of RP

?It is in the best interest of the country for the Comelec to encourage the Magdalo group to join the mainstream of Filipino society and allow it to participate in the democratic process, especially in elections, by approving its application for accreditation as a political party instead of isolating us and pushing us to the fringes by junking our petition,? the Magdalo said in statement.

The Comelec?s 2nd Division expressed its distrust of the organization and said that its petition ?must fail.?

The commissioners noted that the Magdalo leaders remained ?unrepentant? over the 2003 coup attempt, and that they could ?indoctrinate? their followers in militaristic discipline that undermines civilian society.

On July 27, 2003, about 300 junior military officers and enlisted personnel took over the Oakwood Premier Hotel in Makati City, decrying government corruption and demanding the resignation of President Macapagal-Arroyo and other government officials.

Leaders still in jail

About half of the participants in the failed uprising have been released, but the main leaders, including former Navy lieutenant Antonio Trillanes IV, remain incarcerated. Trillanes managed to get elected to the Senate from jail in 2007.

Although the group?s application as a regional party was not approved, Acedillo said some of its members would still run for elective posts in 2010.

Acedillo, who wants to run for Congress in Cebu, said the Magdalo candidates might ally themselves with a major party or run as independents.

Two jailed former military officers, Ariel Querubin and Danny Lim, who are on trial for alleged involvement in the failed coup attempts of February 2005 and November 2006, are eyeing Senate posts.