Drilon: Poll execs must resign for letting Mikey into House

Senator Franklin Drilon on Wednesday backed calls for the resignation of election commissioners who voted in favor of allowing Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, son of former President Gloria Arroyo, to take a Lower House seat representing security guards and tricycle drivers in the 15th Congress. "They have no respect whatsoever for the party-list system... majority of the Comelec should resign," Drilon told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Wednesday. The senator was pertaining to the four Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioners who allowed Mikey to be the first nominee of Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP), which purportedly seeks to represent security guards and tricycle drivers in line with party-list representation for “marginalized sectors" in the Lower House. The four commissioners are Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Armando Velasco and Elias Yusoph. Those who dissented were Commissioners Rene Sarmiento and Gregorio Larrazabal. Drilon pointed out that Arroyo is "obviously" neither a security guard nor a tricycle driver, yet the Comelec still allowed him to sit as their representative in Congress. "Mikey Arroyo cannot represent the security guards. The Comelec is making a mockery of the pary-list sytem," he said. 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. But Drilon said the poll officials probably allowed Mikey to sit as AGP's representative because of the influence of his mother, ex-President Arroyo. "How else do you interpret the action of the majority (of the commissioners)? How can be they be so brazen in their partisanship?" he said. In a separate text message to GMANews.TV, Senator Francis Escudero agreed with Drilon, saying the move was probably a "decision of accommodation." "They twisted and expanded the interpretation of the law to fit Mikey Arroyo's case," he said. Escudero added that the poll body wasted the success of the automated elections with this decision. "Once again I think the credibility of the Comelec was shattered. Sayang, okay na sana (It's such a pity, they were doing okay) after the holding of successful elections," Drilon said that he plans to question the Comelec about the matter during the next budget hearing. The leftist coalition Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) earlier also demanded the resignation of the four commissioners, saying that that letting Mikey sit as AGP representative is a "gross violation" of the party-list law. (See: Commissioners' resignation sought for letting Mikey sit in House)—JV, GMANews.TV