Comelec junks cockfighters’ party-list bid

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has junked the request for accreditation filed by a group of cockfighting aficionados seeking a congressional seat in next year’s elections through the party-list system. In a resolution, the Comelec’s Second Division under Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer ruled that the petition of Alyansa ng mga Sabungero did not conform to Sec. 5 of Republic Act 7941 or the Party-List System Act. The resolution said the group's petition does not include the group’s constitution and by-laws, platform of government, list of officers, agreement, and other relevant information that are required under the law. “We rejected their application right away, right after they filed three weeks ago," Ferrer told GMANews.TV on Monday. Alyansa ng mga Sabungero founder Nid Anima admitted that their petition did not include the required information, saying it was an “oversight" of the group to skip on things it thinks are obvious. The petition however included other required information such as nationwide coverage, non-affiliation with any religious sect or denomination, adherence to law, and being non-recipient of any foreign funding. Anima chided the poll body for rejecting the petition allegedly without due process. “Alyansa ng mga Sabungero never having been called to a hearing and thus, never given its proverbial day (in) court," Anima said in the motion. The group filed a motion for reconsideration last week, but the Comelec is yet to act on it. It also filed a supplemental petition that seeks to “correct the infirmities in its original petition." Alyansa ng mga Sabungero was one of the more than 250 party-list organizations aspiring for a congressional seat in 2010. It claimed that their purpose in seeking representation in Congress is to help poor workers in the cockfighting business. Under the law, a group is qualified to apply for party-list accreditation if it is marginalized or belongs to the sectors of labor, peasant, fisher folk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, veterans, overseas workers, and professionals. - GMANews.TV