Hontiveros files disqualification case vs Mikey Arroyo

(Updated 7:58 p.m.) A former party-list representative on Wednesday sought the disqualification of Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP) Rep. Juan Miguel 'Mikey' Arroyo for allegedly corrupting the party-list system in the country. 

In filing the disqualification case at the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), former Akbayan representative and defeated senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros said she was offended by Arroyo's "abuse of our electoral process which corrupted the spirit of the party-list system." 

She accused Arroyo of failing to comply with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution 8807, which compels all party-list nominees to submit documentary evidence proving their link with the sector or group they are trying to represent in Congress. The poll body issued the resolution last March 25. 

 Hontiveros said it was Comelec law department director lawyer Ferdinand Rafanan who confirmed that Arroyo and his group did not file any required documentary evidence. She said the failure to comply with the rules and requirements set by the Comelec means failure to act as a party-list representative. 

"To allow Mikey to become a member of Congress is to insult other party-list groups that diligently followed and subscribed to our election body's rules," Hontiveros said. In an interview with reporters, Arroyo said he respects the right of those who are trying to unseat him. “I hold no grudges regarding that. Insofar as I’m concerned the Comelec en banc upheld the legality of my assumption into office as the nominee of Ang Galing Pinoy and I will not let these disqualification cases and harassments derail my drive in serving my constituents," he said. 

Last Thursday, Akbayan Rep Walden Bello filed an urgent motion before the Supreme Court asking for the disqualification of Arroyo after the Comelec allowed him to represent the party-list group. Asked if they will not be accused of forum shopping, lawyer Jae dela Cruz, Akbayan legal counsel, said two different parties filed the cases before the Supreme Court and the HRET. “Officially si Congressman Walden Bello ang nagsampa dun sa kaso sa Supreme Court at ito naman ay si former Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros. Nakalagay sa rules na pag na-proclaim na ang isang party-list candidate ay HRET na ang may sole jurisdiction so it cannot be a case of forum shopping," she said after the filing of the case. On July 20, the Commission on Elections ruled to allow Mikey to be the nominee of the AGP in the House of Representatives, as the disqualification case lacked merit. Comelec chairman Jose Melo in a report on GMA News' Saksi on July 20 was quoted as saying that "he [Mikey] need not be, himself, marginalized. It's enough that he belongs to the party." [See: Mikey back in House, now as party-list representative] — LBG/KBKGMANews.TV