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Disqualification of 6 party-list nominees sought


Two groups on Wednesday sought the disqualification of several party-list nominees for allegedly failing to belong to marginalized sectors they intend to represent in the House of Representatives. Those requested to be disqualified were Sheryl Genuino-See, Johnny Tan, Lamberto Barbin of Batang Iwas Droga (BIDA); Teodorico Haresco and Eugenio Jose Lacson of Kasangga; and Eugenio Insigne of Agapay ng Indigenous Peoples Rights Alliance Party-list's (A-IPRA). The disqualification cases were filed by multi-sectoral poll watchdog Kontra Daya and Katribu Indigenous People’s Sectoral Party. Comelec Resolution 8807 requires party-list nominees to “belong" to the marginalized and underrepresented sector, sectoral party, organization, political party, or coalition they seek to represent. It also requires party-list groups to submit documentary evidence to prove that their nominees “truly belong" to the marginalized and underrepresented sector they seek to represent. It added that nominees must be capable of contributing to the “formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole." BIDA Kontra Daya, in a 10-page petition, said BIDA’s first nominee, Genuino-See has “significant business interests," including being president of the family-owned Filipino Pest Control and General Services Inc. Genuino-See is also owner and vice president for administration of Cookie Café Franchise System, Inc, which holds the Philippine franchise of the international brand Mrs. Fields, and other companies that form part of the conglomerate Trace Group of Companies. The group also noted that Genuino-See is the daughter of Efraim Genuino, chairman of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), a government-owned and controlled corporation that allegedly funds BIDA, which is also a violation of the law. Besides regulating all casinos in the country, it also gives licenses to establishments to sell and issue lotto tickets. The Supreme Court — in a 2001 decision on the Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party vs. Comelec — said that a party-list organization “must not be an adjunct of, or a project organized or an entity funded or assisted by, the government." It also said that a party-list organization must be organized by a marginalized or underrepresented group of citizens independent of the government. Kontra Daya said BIDA’s other nominee, Tan, is a successful businessman whose interests include that of Kilton Motor Corporation and a chain of coffee shops that operate inside casinos and gaming establishments owned and operated by Pagcor. The group likewise said that the nominee is a "pillar" of various prestigious racing circuits around the country. In the meantime, Barbin is reportedly a member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Postal Savings Bank, also a government-owned and controlled created and operated by the Philippine Postal Corporation. Kontra Daya said that prior to his designation, he was also appointed to other government positions during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, including a directorship at one of the offices under the Office of the President, president and vice chairman of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, director of the Philippine National Construction Corporation, and examiner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. “Allowing the nominations of the respondents will undermine and damage the party-list system almost beyond repair," Kontra Daya said. Kasangga In a separate 10-page petition, Kontra Daya said that Kasangga's nominees, Haresco and Lacson, do not represent their group's sector, which are supposedly the small entrepreneurs. In its official website, Kasangga said it aims to “represent micro entrepreneurs and consequently (take) a step forward towards decreasing the country's poverty rate." The group defined micro-entrepreneurs as those whose enterprises have an individual capital of P3 million and below, which Kontra Daya said is contradictory to the status of their two nominees, both of whom are supposedly big businessmen. It cited Haresco, who is known for his involvement in the President's Bridge Program, an infrastructure program targeting rural areas with inadequate farm-to-market roads that began since the time of President Fidel Ramos. It said that Haresco is also a member of the board of directors of the Philippine Naional Oil Co, chairman of the Winace Secuirty Agency, and chairman of Winace Holdings Philippines. Winace is the mother company of BPO firm Winsource Solutions, Inc., Technostrat Solutions, Chaikofi Brewmasters, and Winserve Risk Managament Consultants Inc. “Haresco is clearly not in the same league as the balut vendors and other small entrepreneurs Ang Kasangga claims to represent, especially if he has multi-million dollar partnerships with foreign firms," said the group. Meanwhile, Kasangga’s Lacson is a three-time mayor of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental and a member of the Nationalist People's Coalition-United Negros Alliance. A-IPRA In another 10-page petition, Katribu said that A-IPRA's nominee Insigne does not truly represent the indigenous peoples. The nominee was the chairperson of the National Commission on Indigenous People's (NCIP) until he recently resigned from his post. The NCIP is a government agency attached to the Office of the President. “To allow executive officials in the government to become nominees of party-lists is to render futile and meaningless the spirit and intent of the party-list system of representation," the group said. The NCIP under his leadership was “widely and strongly criticized" by indigenous cultural communities for his gross violation of their rights, the group said. Aside from this, Katribu noted that Insigne only resigned from his post on March 30, only more than one month prior to the May elections. The law requires party-list nominees to be members of the organizations they represent for at least 90 days before the polls. - KBK, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

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