THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday cancelled the registration of the Pilipinas Babangon Muli (PBBM) as a party-list organization and disqualified it from participating in the May 12 national and local polls.
In its 10-page ruling, the Comelec Second Division granted the petition of lawyer Jess Christian Ramirez who sought the cancellation of the registration of PBBM, which was accredited as a regional political party for Calabarzon in May 2024.
“Accordingly, Respondent is disqualified from participating in the party-list elections for failure to field at least one qualified nominee,” the Comelec Second Division said.
In its ruling, the division said it has determined that none of the 10 nominees of PBBM came from the Calabarzon despite the fact that the party-list group supposedly represented Region IV-A.
“Eight of its nominees are residents of the province of Abra, one of the province of Cagayan, and one of Quezon City. None of the 10 nominees are residents of Calabarzon region,” it said.
“Accordingly, all 10 nominees cannot be considered bona fide members of a regional political party purporting to represent Calabarzon. In turn, they cannot be qualified as nominees of PBBM. This results in the absence of even a single qualified nominee as required by law,” it added.
The Comelec panel said PBBM also made “untruthful statements,” which warrants cancellation of its registration.
In particular, the Comelec said PBBM belied its earlier claim of having constituency in Calabarzon.
“Respondent’s previous assertion in its petition for registration – that it possesses a regional constituency within Calabarzon – has now been conclusively contradicted by its own subsequent admission in the instant petition,” the ruling stated.
“Respondent’s recent admission that it never imposed residency as a condition for membership in its party-list, despite earlier claiming a regional constituency, demonstrates that petitioner made an untruthful statement in its petition for registration, warranting the cancellation of respondent’s registration,” it said.
The Second Division said PBBM may still file a motion for reconsideration.
PBBM is occupying the No. 7 spot in the official ballots among the 155 party-list groups participating in the May 12 polls.
Meanwhile, the Comelec – Committee on Kontra Bigay yesterday issued separate show cause orders (SCOs) against Palawan congressional bet Abraham Mitra; Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro vice mayoral candidate Edna Villas, Nueva Ecija congressional bet Emerson Pascual, and Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro mayoral candidate Ernilo Villas over alleged acts of vote buying and abuse of state resources (ASR).
In separate SCOs, the four local bets were asked to explain their respective actions which are deemed violations of existing election laws and rules.
“In light of the foregoing, you are hereby ordered to show cause in writing within a non-extendible period of three days from receipt hereof, and to explain why a complaint for election offense and/or a petition for disqualification should not be filed against you,” said Comelec – Committee on Kontra Bigay head Teopisto Elnas.
In the case of Mitra, he was asked to explain his offering of limited free tickets to the public for the movie entitled “Sinagtala” at SM Puerto Princesa.
Edna and Ernilo Villas, meanwhile, were asked to explain their involvement in the distribution of cash amounting to P2,000 per recipient under the pretense of a work program of the DSWD at a covered court in Barangay Poblacion, Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro.
The Comelec asked Pascual to explain his speech asking for support in the upcoming election with a promise of giving money in two barangays in Gapan, Nueva Ecija.
In another development, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) executive director Ernesto Torres Jr. yesterday dismissed as a mere intimidation tactic the red-tagging case filed by the Makabayan bloc against him before Comelec.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Torres asked the poll body to look at the complaint as part of efforts to undermine peace and security, stressing that the NTF-Elcac has always worked within its “legal and moral mandate,” which is to dismantle the underground and aboveground machinery of communist insurgency.
“We urge the Commission on Elections to critically view this recent complaint not as an issue of electioneering, but as part of a systematic and coordinated campaign to undermine the government’s efforts toward national peace and security,” he said.
“We will not be cowed by intimidation or legal maneuvering designed to silence the truth,” said Torres, a retired Army general who once commanded the AFP Northern Luzon Command.
The Makabayan bloc filed the case against Torre on Tuesday for his alleged violation of the anti-discrimination provisions of Comelec Resolution 11116 through alleged red-tagging of progressive lawmakers.
The case stemmed from a statement issued by Torres that seeks to address the renewed call of Gabriela party list Rep. Arlene Brosas to abolish the task force.
In the statement, Torres said Brosas’ call “not only disregards the government’s counter-insurgency efforts — one that she is a part of, lest she forgets — but also reveals her ignorance of the task force’s role.”
In the same statement, Torres said the task force “stands by the truth and supports those who expose the ties that bind Makabayan-affiliated groups, including Rep. Brosas’ party-list, to the violence of the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front).”
Torres also said he is not surprised that the Makabayan block is training its sights on him.
Torres said being “targeted” by the Makabayan bloc is a “mark of success,” adding that this shows the NTF-Elcac has made an impact that is “strong enough for the Makabayan bloc to pull all strings to keep the truth hidden.”
“Unfortunately for them, the Filipino people can already see through this overly familiar pattern: vilify the institution that dares to expose the links that bind supposedly ‘legal organizations and individuals’ to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front by painting themselves as victims, propagating divisive rhetoric and exploiting our democratic processes,” he said.
Torres said the statements of the task force are supported by facts, adding it has testimonies and declarations of former CPP-NPA-NDF and former Makabayan bloc members who attested to the “ideological, political, and organizational linkages between these groups.”
He maintained that it is the duty of the task force to expose how some organizations “have systematically used legal fronts and electoral platforms to legitimize, support, and even recruit for the communist armed insurgency.”
“The public deserves to know how party-list groups like Gabriela, Kabataan, and ACT Teachers have repeatedly echoed CPP-NPA-NDF narratives, and engaged in obstructionist politics aimed at discrediting the gains of our whole-of-nation counterinsurgency campaign,” he added. – With Victor Reyes
