CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) came under fire yesterday as “appearing like a body commissioned by the Liberal Party (LP)” and being biased against “small” party-lists.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) accused the Comelec of “making things miserable and extra difficult to small parties like Anakpawis party-list while it remains extremely silent on all out campaigning of Pres. Aquino using the Office of the President and the taxpayers money to boost the senatorial bid of LP- backed candidates in the May 2013 elections.”
“We ask the people of the Philippines to be extra vigilant as the Comelec now appears like a body commissioned by LP to advance the political agenda of Malacañang in the May 2013 elections,” said Pamalakaya vice chair Salvador France.
France said that while the Comelec seems partial towards LP, it has been allegedly issuing disqualification threats against “independent party groups critical of Malacanang.”
He accused the Comelec of “giving Liberal Party, the recycled Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), all the freedom and benefits of a ruling political party under Aquino.”
France issued the statement a day after Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. warned party-list groups of disqualification if they are caught violating rules on illegal election posters during the campaign period.
A day after the start of the campaign period for national positions, the Comelec went around Manila with some members of the media to check the compliance of candidates and party-list groups with the election body’s “common poster area” rule.
Inspection around the city revealed several campaign banners pasted on plant boxes and on the columns of the Light Rail Transit along Taft Avenue and hung on electric posts on Quirino Highway while designated common poster areas, which included Plaza Dilao in Paco, remained bare.
The Comelec pointed out that most of the illegally placed posters belonged to party-list groups Anakpawis, Kabataan, Buhay, AkapBata and Gabriela.
But France took up the cudgels for party list groups.
“Since day one of the campaign we were looking for these so-called designated areas of Comelec for postering and what was referred to us was the Plaza Dilao area in Paco, Manila. Imagine, we are from Rizal and Cavite to post Anakpawis posters and what the Comelec could offer is Plaza Dilao as of Tuesday,” he lamented.
“For the Comelec, the election belongs to Liberal Party, while the rest are subject to day-to-day electoral pillory,” he added.
France noted that “posters are the only available medium for marginalized party lists like Anakpawis since they don’t have the means to spend P 100 million or more for TV and radio ads which Palace backed senatorial and party-list candidates can afford. The Comelec should look this situation in an objective and politically correct manner.”
Pamalakaya meanwhile challenged Comelec to reprimand the President “for engaging in partisan politics” through political campaigns particularly on television.
“If Comelec wants to exercise impartiality, then it should order President Aquino to cease and desist from engaging in highly partisan politics, take a leave of absence during the elections and just return to his post after the winners of the May 13 polls have been declared,” said Pamalakaya in a statement.
