Comelec may junk Mikey Arroyo’s party-list group

Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Representative Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo

The Commission Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday said the Ang Galing Pinoy party-list group represented in Congress by Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo may lose its accreditation for the 2013 elections.

In an interview, Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Ang Galing Pinoy had failed to present evidence of its continuing compliance with the law on the party-list system.

“They made no appearance, they did not ask for a resetting, so most likely we will remove them from the list of accredited party-list organizations,” Brillantes told reporters Tuesday.

The Comelec began two weeks ago hearings into groups seeking either accreditation or reaccreditation for next year’s midterm elections. The hearings will resume on Friday.

Ang Galing Pinoy—which supposedly represents security guards, tricycle drivers, farmers and small businessmen—was among the accredited party-list groups scheduled to defend their legitimacy yesterday before the Comelec commissioners.

“They were supposed to submit evidence to be allowed to continue to participate. But they did not submit, so we will remove them,” said the poll chair.

Brillantes had earlier said the Comelec was going to cleanse the party-list system of fake and illegitimate groups.

On Tuesday, he was quick to add, however, that Ang Galing Pinoy’s possible disqualification was not connected to a petition filed against the party-list group by the election watchdog Kontra Daya.

Two weeks ago, the Quezon City-based Kontra Daya renewed its call to the Comelec to disqualify Ang Galing Pinoy, saying it was not a legitimate party-list group representing marginalized or underrepresented sectors but was a “tool of the Arroyos and their political allies to remain in power.”

Mikey Arroyo is the eldest child of former President-turned-Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. His brother, Diosdado or Dato, is the congressman from the second district of Camarines Sur.

Kontra Daya also questioned the credentials of Ang Galing Pinoy’s nominees for next May’s elections, Charlie Chua and Eder Dizon.

According to the group, Chua was a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Lubao, Pampanga, and a senior partner at Chua and Munsayac Law Firm. Dizon, it said, was a cosmetic surgeon and businessman who owned the Pampanga-based Suncove Corp.