Anad party list disqualified by Comelec; Alcover to appeal decision

FOR being “merely” an advocacy group, the Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy, a Cebu-based partylist group, was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the 2013 elections.

Anad Rep. Pastor Alcover, Jr. called Comelec chairman Sixto Brilliantes “crazy” for disqualifying his group and retaining those he alleged were communist fronts.

“Siya naman lang ang mura’g Ginoo, magabaan ra gyud ni siya”, said Alcover in an interview over radio station dyLA.

(He is acting like God. But he will get his comeuppance.)

“The Comelec disqualified us because we are friends with the military.

“But the Bayan Muna and other communist partylist groups that are supported by the NPA (New People’s Army) were not disqualified. Brillantes is crazy,” Alcover said.

He also criticized the Comelec for releasing the information about the disqualification even though his lawyer has not yet received a copy of the Comelec decision.

Alcover said the disqualification was just a temporary setback and that Anad would file a motion for reconsideration and if, needed, go the Supreme Court.

He said Anad is a multi-sectoral party composed of farmers, workers, security guards, victims of atrocities and rebel returnees, among others, and is allowed by the Constitution.

Last Wednesday, the Comelec announced the disqualification of 19 partylist groups..

The 19 were merely “advocacy” groups rather than sectoral representatives, Brillantes said.

Under the Constitution, the party-list system aimed to provide representation for “marginalized” sectors in society to give them a voice in the legislature.

In a separate interview, Election Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said the groups had failed to pass the test using the eight guidelines in the Ang Bagong Bayani v. Comelec case.

“Their nominees do not belong to the marginalized and underrepresented sector and most of the groups have no track record showing that they worked for the marginalized and underrepresented,” Sarmiento said.

Anticommunist group

In a document submitted to the Comelec, election watchdog Kontra Daya said Anad was an “adjunct of the government,” supposedly receiving funding and support from the Armed Forces of the Philippines

Kontra Daya listed Alcover as among the multimillionaires in Congress with a net worth of P5.45 million in his 2011 statement of assets and liabilities.

This brings to 69 the number of party-list organizations, among 200 being reviewed, disqualified from the balloting. Those delisted include 45 existing party-list groups./Jhunnex Napallacan with reports from Inquirer