IN a week or two, the Kilusan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) may already be a registered national political party with the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In an interview after hearing the petition for registration of KNP, Comelec chairman George Garcia said they do not see the resolution of the KNP petition pending for over two weeks before it is resolved.
“Once they file their memorandum within five days, probably, in a matter of one week until two weeks, we can already resolve if they should be given accreditation or not,” said Garcia.
He said one major factor that would hasten their case’s resolution is the absence of an opposition to their bid to become a registered national political party, which he said would allow the Commission en banc to take cognizance of the case, instead of being remanded to the division level.
He also noted how the Comelec has been informed of the applying entity’s presence across the country.
“We asked our field personnel to verify the existence of the party. We were informed that the KNP political party exists in at least 11 regions,” said Garcia.
Still, the poll chief stressed that KNP has to meet all the other requirements of being a registered political party.
“Remember that they are still applying. Therefore, all our requirements must be met. We will still have to look into the attached files they have submitted,” said Garcia.
Under the Omnibus Election Code (OEC), a political party must be duly registered with the Commission for it to acquire juridical personality, quality it for subsequent accreditation, and to entitle it to the rights and privileges granted to political parties.
The OEC said that a political party may file with the Commission a verified petition by attaching its constitution and by-laws, platform or program of government, and such other relevant information as may be required by the Commission.
