No proof yet that Mikey is a valid party-list nominee

Presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Mikey Macapagal-Arroyo may be disqualified from being a nominee of Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP) as documents proving that he belongs to the party-list group have not yet been submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec). In a phone interview with GMANews.TV on Tuesday, Commissioner Ferdinand Rafanan, head of the poll body’s law department, said neither Arroyo nor AGP has submitted the required documentary evidence for nominees cited in Section 7 of Comelec Resolution No. 8807. "Meron silang nominees pero di pa nila nasusubmit ng documents (They have nominees but they have not yet submitted the documents)," Rafanan said. "Kung di sila mag-submit, disadvantage nila yan pag may nag-file ng disqualification (If they do not submit, that will be their disadvantage if someone files a disqualification)," he added. Lapsed deadline The deadline for the submission of documents was on March 29. Arroyo, whose nomination as party-list representative has been subjected to various criticisms, said their lawyers are looking into the matter. "The lawyers and lawyers of the party-list are handling that," he told GMANews.TV in a separate phone interview. Rafanan made the admission after Akbayan party-list wrote to him asking for the documentary evidence that Arroyo is a valid nominee of AGP for a seat at the House of Representatives. Among the documentary evidence required for submission are the party-list group’s showing the active participation of the nominee/s and certification that the nominee/s is/are a bona fide member of the group for at least 90 days prior to the election. Limitations But even though the deadline for the submission had lapsed, Rafanan said the Comelec cannot automatically disqualify Arroyo for not meeting the requirements in Section 6. He said they could only disqualify nominees motu proprio (on its own) if they do not meet the limitations set in Section 7 of Comelec Resolution No. 8807. Section 7 states that a person may be nominated by one party-list only; that only persons who have given their consent in writing and under oath may be named in the list; that the list shall not include any candidate for any elective office in the same election, or has lost his bid for an elective office in the immediately-preceding election; and that no change of name or alteration of the order of nominees shall be allowed after the list has been submitted to the Comelec except in valid substitution. "Pag-aaralan namin ito (We will study this)," Rafanan said. Disqualification case Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello, who was among those who asked the Comelec to release documentary evidence on Arroyo's nomination, said his group is willing to file a disqualification case against Arroyo if the Comelec insists that it cannot automatically dismiss his nomination. "The Comelec has the obligation to move for disqualification in this case and that is our position. However, if the Comelec hesitates in this and says it cannot act motu proprio then we will file a disqualification case," Bello told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. He added that the Comelec cannot have double standards. "Some of us in the party-lists follow the rules and others have not. We cannot have double standards." Bello said the non-disqualification of Arroyo was "very, very unfair" because there are "very strong grounds" for his name to be struck out of the nominees' list. Bello said they would further clarify the issue with Rafanan and announce their next move at a press conference Wednesday morning. 2 disqualification cases At present, two disqualification cases against Arroyo have already been filed. The first one, lodged by Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza, argued that Arroyo cannot possibly represent the marginalized sector. The second case, filed by Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, said that AGP, which claims to represent tricycle drivers and security personnel, is "not a legitimate and qualified party-list group" and does not have the authority to nominate Arroyo in the 2010 party-list race. - KBK, GMANews.TV