Ako Bicol party-list lawmaker Alfredo Garbin Jr. Photo from https://www.congress.gov.ph
MANILA, Philippines—Aking Bikolnon Party-list on Wednesday slammed Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Rodel Batocabe over his accusation it was riding on the latter’s popularity for next year’s elections.
In a statement, Aking Bikolnon’s president lawyer Edgar Carmona denied that they were claiming to be an adjunct of the axed Ako Bicol Party-list to mislead voters in the 2013 midterm polls.
He called Batocabe “insensitive and malicious” and said that while they refrained from making comments on Ako Bicol’s disqualification, they had to defend themselves from the lawmaker’s tirades.
Ako Bicol’s accusations were deemed a “palpably pathetic act of trying to save its face from the dishonor and disgrace due to its disqualification” said Carmona.
“First, Aking Bikolnon did not and does not claim to be an adjunct of Ako Bicol. That is a serious accusation and we sincerely hope that Rep. Batocabe, being a lawyer, has concrete evidence to back this ridiculous declaration because the officers and members of Aking Bikolnon will never do such a thing,” said an incensed Carmona.
“Contrary to what he is claiming, we at Aking Bikolnon are actually distancing ourselves from Ako Bicol,” he pointed out.
“We are entirely different from Ako Bicol. Ako Bicol need not disown Aking Bikolnon. We do not even want to be tagged as related in any way to Ako Bicol,” he stressed.
Despite garnering most votes during the 2010 elections, Ako Bicol Party-list was one of the first groups to get the axe as the Commission on Elections began cleansing the party-list system of groups that do not represent the marginalized sectors as stipulated in the party-list system.
Carmona accused Ako Bicol of failing to represent the marginalized and underrepresented, saying that the party-list “represents the rich Bicolanos.”
As far as being tagged as “left-leaning” by Batocabe, he said that “if serving the poor, advocating the causes of the really marginalized sectors of society and fighting for their rights in all levels within the bounds of law, is left-leaning then, we would gladly accept this kind of label.”
“I can only surmise what would Rep. Batocabe call or label their party list group,” Carmona said.
First posted 1:32 pm | Thursday, November 1st, 2012