Akbayan asks SC to bar Mikey from assuming House seat

(Updated 1:19 p.m.) Militant party-list group Akbayan asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn the Commission on Elections' ruling that allowed former Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo to sit as a party-list representative in the 15th Congress. In an urgent motion, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello asked the court to resolve their party's earlier petition regarding the eligibility of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's eldest son to represent Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP), which claims to represent tricycle drivers and security guards. Bello said Mikey should be barred from sitting as a party-list representative because he failed to comply with Comelec Resolution 8807, which requires party-list candidates to show evidence that they are part of, or historically linked to the group they are supposed to represent. "Ang petition namin to the SC is to rectify this injustice by [allowing Mikey] Arroyo [to sit even by] not complying with the Comelec rules," Bello told reporters. Test case? In its motion, Akbayan asked the high court to "direct the Comelec to declare the disqualification of the nominees of AGP party-list, cancel the registration of the same as a party-list group, and permanently enjoin Juan Miguel Arroyo from sitting as member of the House of Representatives." Bello likewise said his group's petition gives the Supreme Court a chance to prove its independence from the previous Arroyo administration. "Certainly, Akbayan considers this a test case if in fact, this is an impartial judiciary," Bello said. He likewise slammed the Comelec for "bending its rules" to supposedly accommodate Mikey even if he had not submitted the necessary documentary evidence. In a related development, the founding chair of Ang Galing Pinoy defended Mikey from his critics and said the group's first nominee complied with all the requirements set by the poll body. "Kami po ay nag-submit ng requirements niya (We submitted all the requirements of Mikey Arroyo)," said Bernard Corella Jr. Mikey had earlier lashed back against those questioning the Comelec's ruling last Tuesday. "I find their line of reasoning too preposterous. It is hypocrisy at its crescendo," Mikey said of his critics. Comelec gives Mikey go-signal Last Tuesday, the Comelec said Mikey was eligible to be AGP's first nominee. It said that it was already enough that Mikey belonged to the party even if he is not from a marginalized sector. [See: Mikey back in House now as party-list representative] Four of the poll commissioners voted in favor of Mikey, two dissented, while Comelec chair Jose Melo abstained. Those who voted in favor of Mikey were Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Armando Velasco and Elias Yusoph. Those who dissented were Commissioners Rene Sarmiento and Gregorio Larrazabal. The Comelec acted on separate disqualification cases filed by former lawmakers – defeated senatorial bets Liza Maza and Satur Ocampo, and party-list group Bayan Muna. But in a resolution issued three days before the May 10 automated elections, the Comelec dismissed the petitions, saying Mikey "has actively supported and advanced the projects and programs of the party [AGP]." In the recent polls, the AGP won 269,009 votes in the party-list race, which entitled it to one congressional seat. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV