Incumbent groups dominate party-list race

(Updated 11:45 p.m.) Just like the senatorial race, at least 10 incumbent party-list organizations will probably regain their seats in the House of Representatives, an unofficial tally of election results showed. A partial unofficial tally of election results by GMA Network as of 7:57 a.m. Wednesday showed that incumbent party-list groups Coalition of Associations of Senior Citizens in the Philippies, Inc. (Senior Citizens), Buhay Hayaan Yumabong (Buhay), Akbayan, Gabriela, Cooperative Natcco Network Party (Coop-Natcco), Bayan Muna, AN WARAY, ABONO, Citizens' Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC), and the Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action, Cooperation, and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms, Inc. (A Teacher) have garnered enough votes to possibly regain their congressional seats. The Party-list System Act (Republic Act 7941), Section 11(a, b) provides that “The parties, organizations, and coalitions shall be ranked from the highest to the lowest based on the number of votes they garnered during the elections. The parties, organizations, and coalitions receiving at least two percent (2%) of the total votes cast for the party-list system shall be entitled to one seat each: Provided, That those garnering more than two percent (2%) of the votes shall be entitled to additional seats in proportion to their total number of votes: Provided, finally, That each party, organization, or coalition shall be entitled to not more than three (3) seats." Party-list groups to occupy 20% of House seats Commission on Elections’ law department head Ferdinand Rafanan told GMANews.TV that all party-list groups garnering 2% of the votes are assured of one Congressional seat each. Groups will likewise get one seat each for every 2% of the votes that they get, he added. This means a party-list group gaining 6% of the total votes will get the maximum three seats. “Pero hindi ‘yan ang threshold. ‘Yung mga nakakuha ng less than 2%, pwedeng mabigyan ng seats later in the process para mapuno ‘yung allocation para sa party-list groups," he explained. (But that is not the threshold. Those who garnered less than 2% may still be given seats later in the process to fill up the allocation for party-list groups.) The Supreme Court ruled last year that all available seats for sectoral groups in the House should be filled up to satisfy the Constitutional provision stating party-list representatives “shall constitute 20 per centum of the total number of representatives." (See: SC ruling on party-list reps might derail Cha-cha moves) The unofficial GMA tally of 88 percent of election results shows that 26,910,990 votes have so far been cast for the party-list race. Two percent of the votes is 538,220. Given this, the leading party-list groups Ako Bicol Political Party (1,390,794 votes), Senior Citizens (1,169,846 votes), and Buhay (1,162,301 votes) might probably be awarded two seats in the House of Representatives. On the other hand, Akbayan (967,6330 votes), Gabriela (923,997 votes), Coop-NATCO (840,916 votes), Bayan Muna (682,158 votes), 1st Consumers Alliance for Rural Energy (1-CARE) (668,206 votes), AN WARAY (631,939 votes), ABONO (613,840 votes), CIBAC (599,750 votes), and A Teacher (556,273 votes) will probably get one congressional seat each. Only Ako Bicol and 1-CARE are not incumbent party-list groups. Among those known organizations trailing the party-list race are incumbents Butil (456,225 votes), Anakpawis (405,616), Kabataan (381,770 votes), Kasangga (265,569 votes), ANAD (253,653 votes), TUCP (224,629); former Energy Secretary's Angelo Reyes' 1-UTAK (202,761 votes); Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo's Ang Galing Pinoy (245,569 votes); and Ang Ladlad Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Transgender (LGBT) Party (105,394 votes). As of posting time, the Comelec has yet to release its own count of the results of the party-list race. Rafanan said they are expecting to proclaim the winning party-list groups either Thursday afternoon or Friday. Groups accused of abusing party-list system The Comelec had earlier included 187 party-list organizations on the ballot but it later on released a list of groups whose petitions for accreditation have been denied or whose motions for reconsideration are pending with the poll body or the Supreme Court (SC). Several groups have likewise questioned certain party-list organizations which they said do not represent marginalized and underrepresented sectors, or are being backed by the Palace. (See: 6 ‘fake’ party-list groups dared to bare nominees) The Bicol chapter of Bayan Muna, for example, earlier accused Ako Bicol in a press release of being Malacañang’s “dummy party-list", saying its nominees are big contractors in the region who are closely associated with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In its website, however, Ako Bicol maintained it has been in existence since 2006 and was thus never created for the purpose of the elections. Its nominees are a businessman and two lawyers. Some party-list groups have similarly been accused of being funded by the Palace to boost the bid of Arroyo, recently proclaimed as Pampanga’s second district Congressional representative, for House Speakership and eventually for Prime Minister should Charter change prosper. (See: ‘Arroyo to use party-list seats to win as House Speaker’) These party-list groups include Ang Galing Pinoy, whose first nominee is the son of the President;1-UTAK whose first nominee is Reyes; ANAD which allegedly backed by the military; BUHAY, whose nominee is El Shaddai and Kasangga, whose nominees are Teodorico Haresco, a big businessman, and Eugenio Jose Lacson, three-time mayor of San Carlos City in Negros Occidental. (See: Mikey Arroyo, Bro. Mike nominees of party-list groups) — With report by Jerrie M. Abella, LBG/RSJ/JV, GMANews.TV