Palace washes hands off ‘fake’ party-list groups

Malacañang on Tuesday washed its hands off claims of poll watchdog groups linking it to supposedly “fake" party-list groups in the May 10 elections. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Charito Planas said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should be faulted and not Malacañang for such claims against some party-list groups. “Yang mga party-list na yan sa Comelec yan.... Sila ang nag-recognize, sa kanila, sila nagbibigay… gawin nalang natin kanya-kanyang trabaho. Di naman jurisdiction ng executive eh (The Comelec is the one that accredits party-list groups. Accreditation of such groups was never in the Executive Department’s jurisdiction)," Planas said in an interview on dzXL radio. She added the Comelec should have scrutinized the nominees of such groups in the early on. Planas said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should not be faulted for all supposed irregularities. “Let’s not blame everything on the president. It’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t thing for her. What do her critics really want?" she said. Last Monday, a militant Church-based poll watchdog group sought an investigation into the nomination of presidential son Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo and Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes as party list representatives in the May elections. Kontra Daya made the call during a rally in front of the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila. [See: Ban 6 ‘pro-admin’ party-lists, Comelec asked] The group particularly sought a closer look at the accreditation of allegedly fake party list groups. Earlier, militant Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño claimed Reyes had been nominated as party list representative for 1-Utak transport group. They also said Arroyo had been nominated as party list representative of Ang Galing Party (AGP). — LBG, GMANews.TV