8 party-lists have 2 sets of nominees

Eight party-list groups have been found to have submitted two sets of nominees for the May 2010 elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) revealed. In an interview with reporters, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez identified the eight party-list organizations as:

• 1Ganap/Guardians
• Aba Ilonggo
• Abakada Guro
• AMIN
• ANAD
• Biyayang Bukid
• BUTIL
• CIBAC

Abakada Guro, AMIN, ANAD, BUTIL, and CIBAC are all incumbent party-lists. 1Ganap/Guardian and ANAD were earlier identified by the Kabataan Party-list to be among the groups that allegedly have links to the military while Butil was identified as "pro-administration." (See: Probe 38 ‘admin-backed’ party-lists, Comelec urged) The Party-List System Act or Republic Act 7941 gives party-list groups 45 days before the elections (from January 19 to March 26) to submit to the Comelec Law Department a list of at least five nominees for their respective party-list representatives. It likewise says that a person may be nominated in one list only. It does not specify, however, what the poll body should do in case there are two sets of nominees for one organization. Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that the matter will be taken up by the en banc. "We'll sort it out," added Jimenez. A total of 178 party-list groups out of the 187 accredited organizations submitted a list of their nominees. Nominee qualifications The Party-list System Act defines the party-list system as "a mechanism of proportional representation" in the election of representatives to the Lower House. Under the law, qualifications of party-list nominees are the following:

• they must be natural born citizens of the Philippines
• they must be registered voters
• they must be residents of the Philippines for at least one year
• they must be able to read and write
• they must be bona fide members of the party which they seek to represent for at least 90
• days before the elections
• they must be at least twenty-five years old on the day of the election.

If a nominee is from the youth sector, he must be at least 25 years old but not more than thirty 30 years of age on the day of the election. In addition, since Comelec issued Resolution 8807 on March 25, party-list groups are now also required to submit documentary evidence to prove that their nominees "truly belong" to the marginalized and underrepresented sector they seek to represent. (See: Nominees required to show proof they belong to partylists) According to Resolution 8807, each party-list organization must submit a track record of the group showing the participation of the nominee in projects advancing the interests of the sector, proof that the nominees are advocates of the sector (declarations, speeches, written articles), and certification that the nominees have been members of the organization 90 days prior to election day. The new guidelines also require nominees to be capable of contributing to the "formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole." —Kimberly Jane T. Tan/JV, GMANews.TV