DEFECTIVE petitions for registration, lack of manifestation to participate in the elections, and questionable party-list names.
These were the reasons cited by Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon in explaining why the accreditation bids of 107 party-list groups was rejected by the poll body, leaving just 166 party-list organizations in the running for next year’s elections.
“The usual defects are: Lacking in consent of all members, no Manifestation of Intent to Participate in the 2022 elections, etc.,” Guanzon in a series of social media posts.
She cited as example the petitions of Nurses United and Ang Ladlad.
“I feel for Nurses United. But their petition was dismissed because of several defects. The same for Ang Ladlad,” Guanzon said, adding questionable names also doomed the petition of others, such as 1 TESDA.
“We denied 1 TESDA because it used a name of a government agency, will confuse voters, give unfair advantage. TESDA, in fact, sent its opposition and its lawyer,” Guanzon explained.
Last Tuesday, the poll body held a raffle to determine the placings of party-list groups in official ballots.
Meanwhile, Filipinos and foreigners looking to serve as observers in the May 2022 polls have been given until March 11, 2022 to file an accreditation with the Comelec.
Also given until March 11, 2022 to get accredited are members of the mass media, both foreign and local, set to cover the coming polls.
According to Resolution No. 10739, the Comelec said it will also accredit bloggers, community journalists, documentary makers, feature film makers, and novelists.
