MANILA, Philippines?With one out of five members of the incoming 15th Congress a sectoral representative, party-list groups are touted to be a major factor in the battle for the speakership in the House of Representatives.

?With their numbers in the House, I think party-list groups will be a formidable voting bloc especially in the selection of the Speaker,? said Rodel M. Batocabe, president and nominee of Ako Bicol, the topnotcher among party-list groups with over 1.5 million votes received.

The next Congress is expected to have a total of 286 members with 229 district representatives and 57 party-list representatives.

Lakas-Kampi-CMD remained the party with the most seats despite losing in the national elections with 109 members, followed by the Liberal Party with 49, Nationalist People?s Coalition with 33, and Nacionalista Party with 25.

A source from a major party-list group said there were at least two blocs that would emerge from the party-list roster?a progressive bloc led by Bayan Muna and the pro-Arroyo bloc led by Kasangga. Both were being aggressively wooed by the LP-led Conscience and Reform (CORE) coalition which has incoming Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. as its nominee for Speaker. Lakas-Kampi-CMD is reportedly fielding Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

The CORE coalition claimed it had already secured the speakership with the bulk of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD group already in its fold along with NPC and NP.

On the other hand, Lagman said he expected the fight to be close, adding that the dominant party members had ?decided to vote as one.?

Batocabe, however, doubted the party-list groups could unite in a single bloc because of their divergent interests.

?But there will be a significant number which can unite as one bloc to advance their common interests. I am sure this bloc will vote for a Speaker that will treat party-list representatives with fairness and on equal footing with regular congressmen and not as literally marginalized members of the House,? said Batocabe.

Batocabe said that despite insinuations by other party-list groups, specifically Bayan Muna, Ako Bicol had not yet chosen whom to side with in the contest for Speaker.

?Both parties are really qualified and close to us Bicolanos and that?s why we are keeping our options open,? said Batocabe.

?Bayan?s Renato Reyes is again trying to resurrect and peddle this worn-out propaganda which did not sell among our voters as shown by the more than 1.5-million votes cast in favor of AKB compared to Bayan Muna?s dismal performance. Maybe it?s time for Reyes and his allies to realize that Filipino voters are tired of their militant style of ?all talk, all shout, no work? politics,? said Batocabe.

Bayan had branded Ako Bicol chair Elizaldy S. Co as a ?favored contractor? in Bicol.

In a statement, Batocabe said Co was a Bicolano with investments in renewable energy, construction, real estate, and resort development.

Batocabe added that since Ako Bicol was put up four years ago as a self-help group in the region, Co has been one of the group?s most generous patrons for its scholarship and livelihood programs.