Mikey Arroyo may not sit as party-list rep yet

(Update 2 - 7:27 p.m.) The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Tuesday that it would no longer be recalling the proclamation of Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP), a party-list group that claims to represent security guards and tricycle drivers. However, AGP's first nominee — presidential son and outgoing Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo — will not yet be allowed to sit as its representative, Comelec Commissioner Jose Melo said on Tuesday. "The party won, but may question sa nominee, so the party will be proclaimed (The party won and will be proclaimed but there are questions regarding its nominee)," Melo told reporters in an ambush interview. GMANews.TV tried contacting Arroyo, who is reportedly out of the country, for his comment, but he has yet to reply to text messages. His staff said they might issue a statement soon. Arroyo, however, found an ally in Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, who urged the public not to quickly judge President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's eldest son. Recalled proclamation "We leave that up to the Lord. There are many things that we don’t know about him and his background… evidence is pertinent in the court," Aniceto said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news site Tuesday night. On Monday, the Comelec awarded AGP with one congressional seat after it received 269,009 votes in the recent elections. It also proclaimed 28 winning party-list organizations during the first nationwide automated polls. Later in the day, it recalled the proclamation, citing pending disqualification cases against Arroyo. The poll body decided against recalling the group’s proclamation because the cases were filed against its nominee and not the organization, Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said in a separate interview. "To be consistent with the law, to be faithful with the law, it is the party-list organization that you proclaim, it is not the nominee," Sarmiento said. However, he admitted that the poll body "overlooked" something when it almost allowed Arroyo to sit as AGP's representative. "We have overlooked some things legally... that's why we're issuing a resolution to clarify some things," he said. Pending cases Earlier, Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza and Bayan Muna separately sought the disqualification of Arroyo, saying that he is not a member of the sector which AGP seeks to represent. Militant group Akbayan likewise asked the poll body to immediately declare the disqualification of the nominees of AGP for failing to comply with a requirement mandated by the law. Comelec Resolution 8807 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. What happens to Arroyo Arroyo will not be allowed to sit until all the cases against him have been resolved, Melo said, adding that AGP has the option to replace Arroyo with other nominees. AGP's second and third nominees are Dennis G. Pineda, son of former provincial board member and known Arroyo ally Lilia Pineda, and Bacolor Mayor Romeo "Buddy" Dungca. On the other hand, its fourth and fifth nominees are Jerold Domonick S. David and Ryan M. Caladiao, both of whom are from Pampanga, a known Arroyo bailiwick. The poll body will also be prohibiting two nominees of Kasangga Party-list from holding office, Sarmiento said. Kasangga was included in the 28 groups who were proclaimed on Monday, but the poll body likewise overlooked that its nominees Teodorico Haresco and Eugenio Jose Lacson have pending disqualification cases filed against them. Poll watchdog Kontra Daya said that the two do not represent their group's sector, which are supposedly small entrepreneurs. The other nominees of the group are Anna Maria Nava, Enrique Martin, and Segundo Gaston. More proclamations Melo said that the Comelec might proclaim incumbent party-lists 1-UTAK, Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action Cooperation and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms (A Teacher), and Butil Farmer Party (BUTIL) in the next few days. The three party-lists have won in terms of votes but their individual proclamations were deferred because of pending disqualification cases against its nominees. Transport party-list group 1-UTAK named former Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes as its first nominee but Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza filed disqualification cases against him, saying he is not part of the sector the group seeks to represent. 1-Utak supposedly seeks to represent jeepney drivers, operators, and commuters. Its other nominees are Vigor Mendoza II, Homero Mercado, Zenaida De Castro, Ryan Benjamin Yu, Orlando Marquez, Marieto Garvida, Ferdinand Otaza, and Rodolfo De Ocampo. On the other hand, the nominees of A Teacher are Mariano Piamonte, Julieta Cortuna, Nenita Habulan, Elizabeth Saldivar, and Joseph Noel Estrada. Butil, for its part, filed two sets of nominees, including Agapito Guanlao, Cecilia Chavez, Rufino Hernandez, Isidoro Santos, Prudencio Consolacion, Herminio Ocampo, Maximiano Cempron, Gerardo Dilig, Guillermo Carisma, and Antonio Quilang. Proclamation limbo The proclamation of eight other party-list groups have also been deferred due to pending petitions for cancellation of registration. These are:

• Ako Bicol Political Party (Ako Bicol)
• Buhay Hayaan Yumabong Party-list (Buhay)
• 1st Consumers Alliance for Rural Energy (1-CARE)
• Citizens' Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC)
• LPG Marketers Association, Inc. (LPGMA)
• Ang Asosasyon Sang Manguguma Nga Bisaya-Ow Mangunguma, Inc. (MBIS-OWA)
• Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC)
• Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD)

- RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV