Comelec junks Magdalo's bid for accreditation

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has thumbed down the bid of a group of soldiers involved in an anti-government uprising six years ago to be accredited as a regional political party in time for the 2010 elections. In a six-page resolution, the Comelec’s Second Division said the petition of Magdalo Para sa Pagbabago was rejected because the group has not admitted that their siege of Oakwood Premier (now Ascott) in Makati City on July 27, 2003 was wrong. “This and the fact that they were in full battle gear at the time of the mutiny clearly show their purpose in employing violence and using unlawful means to achieve their goals in the process defying the laws of organized societies," the resolution read.

The Magdalo, which filed the petition with the Comelec last July 2, was intending to participate in the party-list elections in the House of Representatives in next year's polls. The Comelec resolution noted that principal founders of Magdalo remain “unrepentant" and still “harbor the propensity to engage in another illegal adventure" similar to the so-called Oakwood mutiny. “(The political party) may very well be used by them to recruit and indoctrinate disciplined followers who may become their blind followers," it said. Described as a “political and social movement advocating reform and fighting corruption," the Magdalo was founded by 15 former junior military officers and chaired by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, currently detained for the failed uprising. Trillanes was among the leaders of the more than 300 junior officers and soldiers that occupied Oakwood on July 27, 2003 and demanded the immediate resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whom they accused of involvement in corrupt activities. The group had recently endorsed rumored presidential aspirant Senator Francis “Chiz" Escudero. Magdalo claimed to have the support of 227 volunteer groups with 19,000 members nationwide. - GMANews.TV