FACTS
On May 31, 2010 the COMELEC, sitting en banc as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) determined that 39 out of the 179 party lists groups may be allotted with party list seats. However, only 28 party lists groups were proclaimed, in view of the fact that the proclamation of 11 out of the first 39 party list groups was deferred “until final resolution of their respective cases, in order not to render the proceedings therein moot and academic”. Said party list groups have either pending petitions filed against them either for cancellation of registration or disqualification of their nominees. The party list groups whose proclamations have been deferred are the following:
Rank:
01 - Ako Bicol Partylist (3 seats, 1,522,986 votes)
03 - Buhay (2 seats, 1,249,555 votes)
07 - 1-Care (2 seats; 768,829 votes)
11 - Cibac (1 seat; 647,483 votes)
12 - A Teacher (1 seat; 614,725 votes)
14 - Butil (1 seat; 506,703 votes)
18 - LPGMA (1 seat; 417,600 votes)
21 - AAMBIS-OWA (1 seat; 357,009 votes)
23 - APEC (1 seat; 313,359 votes)
26 - ANAD (1 seat; 292,057 votes)
37 - 1-Utak (1 seat; 220,002 votes)
TOTAL: 6,910,308 VOTES
As of the present date, the said party lists have not been proclaimed by the NBOC.
OBSERVATIONS
DEFERRAL OF PROCLAMATION IS A DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF 6,910,308 VOTERS
The bedrock of democracy is an honest, fair, clean, orderly elections. The 11 party list groups whose proclamations were deferred were elected by a total of 6,910,308 Filipinos whose votes were validly and legitimately casted during the May 10 elections. The essence of democracy frowns upon any action or interpretation of the law that would hinder the free and intelligent casting and appreciation of the votes in an election. The NBOC has to respect the will of the electorate and adhere to the democratic foundations of our nation by proclaiming the 11 party list groups the soonest possible.
DEFERRAL OF PROCLAMATION IS A BAD PRECEDENT
The cases filed against the 11 party list groups are either petitions for cancellation of registration or for disqualification of party list nominee. Majority of the petitions were only filed after the May 10 elections. In fact, a significant number of the cases were filed on May 29, 2010, or a mere 2 days before the ruling of the NBOC. This decision to defer proclamation has set for all an extremely bad precedent. The NBOC has left the door wide open to harassment suits that may be filed by the not so fortunate party-list groups, who knows not the meaning of the word “concede”, thereby creating a mockery of the will of the Filipino people.
DEFERRAL OF PROCLAMATION IS UNREASONABLE
Legally, suspension of a proclamation is usually allowed when there is a pre-proclamation controversy, which may only be raised due to illegal proceedings of the board of canvassers, irregularity of the election returns, or similar cases questioning the regularity of the canvassing of votes. Questions concerning the party list registration or the qualification of nominees are clearly NOT questions related to the canvassing. Hence, the NBOC should not have deferred the proclamations since the petitions against the 11 party list groups are not pre-proclamation controversies.
DEFERRAL OF PROCLAMATION IS UNFAIR
All party list groups underwent an accreditation procedure set by the COMELEC, including publication thereof in 2 newspapers of general circulation and a period to file oppositions thereto. It is unfair that after diligently complying with the registration procedure, then rigorously campaigning on a national level and finally garnering sufficient votes to be declared winners, the 11 party lists were not proclaimed due to petitions belatedly filed beyond the period allowed and even after the votes were already casted and counted. It is likewise unfair that only the petitions filed against the 11 party list groups were recognized as valid bases to defer proclamations. Party list Ang Tambay filed a petition for the disqualification of 133 party list groups but the party lists included therein were proclaimed nonetheless. In fact, it is public knowledge that Ang Galing Pinoy has a pending case for the disqualification of their nominees but it was proclaimed on May 31, 2010 in the same resolution issued by the NBOC.
APPEAL
The Filipino people have made known their choice of the party-list groups that would be their voice in the House of Representatives. That choice must be respected. Time is of the essence and there is now an urgent need to proclaim the 11 party list groups as a winning party list groups. Right or title to elective office must not be left long under cloud otherwise public administration will suffer.
We therefore appeal to the COMELEC, as the NBOC, to IMMEDIATELY PROCLAIM AAMBIS-OWA, AKB, ANAD, APEC, ATEACHER, BUHAY, BUTIL, CIBAC, LPGMA, 1-CARE and 1-UTAK as party list winners in the May 10, 2010 elections.
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