Comelec OKs UNA for 2013 polls

Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Commission on Elections on Tuesday approved the registration of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) as a political coalition for next year’s midterm elections.

UNA is a coalition of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) of Vice President Jejomar Binay and the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of deposed President and convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada.

The Comelec’s 1st Division granted the coalition’s petition for registration and accreditation which Binay, PDP-Laban chair and concurrent UNA chair, filed last March 30.

According to the Comelec, the UNA was able to meet all the requirements for a coalition political parties provided for by  the Omnibus Election Code and the Comelec Rules of Procedure.

Comelec’s registration requirements state that a political coalition must have principal headquarters, that the component parties have been previously granted registration by the poll body, and that they are bound by a common platform of government.

The coalition should not be a religious sect, does not advocate violence or unlawful means, not an organization funded by the government, does not accept financial contribution from foreign entities, and should uphold the Constitution and all laws.