Casiño says it violates spirit of party-list system

MANILA, Philippines - Even before he could be nominated by a still to be identified party-list group, a left leaning incumbent party-list group is already seeking the disqualification of the President's eldest son, Juan Miguel 'Mikey' Macapagal-Arroyo, from the party-list elections.
 
Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño said they will file a disqualification case against the younger Arroyo after the incumbent congressman from Pampanga's second district files his candidacy for party-list in March.

"Kung totoong tatakbo siyang party-list, seryoso, paglapastangan sa diwa ng party-list system. Ginawa iyan para sa kinatawan ng mahihirap at inaapi. I don't think he qualifies. Siya'y hindi galing sa mahirap, at hindi niya pinaglaban ang interes ng ordinaryong Pilipino. Malinaw intensyon nila: palakasin ang pamilya Arroyo," he said.
 
Casiño noted that being an incumbent congressman and the president's son, one could hardly consider the younger Arroyo as a representative of the marginalized, for whom the party-list system was conceptualized under the 1987 Constitution.

He said he already has an idea which party-list groups could be backing the younger Arroyo, hinting only that there are 3 party-list groups eyeing the younger Arroyo, and that at least one could be a regional party based in Pampanga.

The perks of having Mikey
 
Casiño noted though that there are perks for whoever gets the younger Arroyo as its representative, saying the younger Arroyo's stature almost guarantees that group at least one seat in Congress.

"Di na nakakagulat sa kabila ng pagtakbo ni Marilou Arroyo. Inulit pa at anak ang patatakbuhin. Kung si Marilou Arroyo kinatawan ng magbabalot, si Mikey, baka kinatawan ng maninigarilyo," he said.

However, Casiño also said that it's the same stature the younger Arroyo enjoys that goes against the grain of the rationale for the creation of party-list representation under the 1987 Constitution.

Casiño reiterated the younger Arroyo's possible party-list candidacy only proves the Arroyos are marshalling forces in the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress.

He declined to directly identify the groups, hinting however that it could be one of the party-list groups who have been touted as among the Palace-backed party-list groups that ran in the 2007 polls.

"Mula pa naman 2007 may pinatatakbo ang Palasyo," he said. "22 nuon ang pinatakbo at pinondohan ng Palasyo."

Other VIPs in next Congress?
 
Aside from the prospect of having 5 Arroyos in the 15th Congress, other VIPs who could be in the next session of the House of Representatives are former First Lady Imelda Marcos, Lani Mercado-Revilla, and Manny Pacquiao, who are running for congressional seats in Ilocos Norte, Cavite and Sarangani.

Commenting on these candidates, Casiño said: "Hindi na bago iyan. The House has always been a house of the rich and powerful. Kaya ginawa ang party-list, para may token representation. Pero kung pati party-list system kakainin ng makakapangyarihan, paglapastangan na iyan sa diwa at esensiya ng party list."
 
For his part, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary-general Renato Reyes revealed that a relative of the powerful Ampatuan family of Maguindanao, Department of Energy Undersecretary Zamzamin Ampatuan, uncle of Datu Unsay Andal Ampatuan Jr., is himself running for party-list under the group ADAM.
 
Quoting a statement from their allied group, kontradaya.org, Reyes said the party-list group that calls itself Adhikain ng mga Dakilang Anak ng Maharlika, or ADAM, has for its first nominee Energy Undersecretary Zamzamin Ampatuan, nephew of former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., who was implicated in what is now known as the infamous Ampatuan massacre.

Palace backed party-list groups?
 
Kontra Daya also alleged that at least 9 other party-list groups recently accredited for the coming elections are supported by or have links to the Arroyo administration.

These are Agbiag Timpuyo Ilokano (Agbiag), Ahon Pinoy (Ahon), Akbay Pinoy OFW-National (APOI), Aangat Ating Kabuhayan Pilipinas (Anak), Babae para sa Kaunlaran (Babae Ka), Bigkis Pinoy Movement (Bigkis), Byaheng Pinoy Labor Association (Byaheng Pinoy), Kalahi Sectoral Party (Kalahi), and League of Youth for Peace and Advancement (LYPAD).
 
Four of these groups - Agbiag, Babae Ka, Kalahi, and LYPAD - were mentioned in an October 2006 memorandum from Malacañang's Office of External Affairs (OEA) as the main party-list groups to be supported by Malacañang in the 2007 elections.
 
Reyes, meanwhile, also noted 2 incumbent party-list groups that will be competing in the coming elections - Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) and Bantay - are supported by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
 
Among Anak's nominees for this year's elections is retired Police Gen. Eliseo de la Paz, one of the controversial "Euro-generals" of 2008.
 
Bigkis is identified with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairman Ephraim Genuino (whose son Erwin, who is also a mayoral candidate in Makati City), who heads the group. Among its founding members is Virgilio Angelo, former administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), who, in 2004, authorized with then-Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas the transfer of P530 million from the OWWA Medicare Fund to PhilHealth. The transfer allowed Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to use the funds for her electoral campaign.
 
APOI is linked to Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Melchor Rosales and National Capital Region (NCR) Director Rodolfo Feraren.
 
Byaheng Pinoy, which competed in the 2007 elections, had among its nominees former Mandaluyong City Vice-Mayor Arsenio Abalos, brother of former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos.
 
Both Reyes and Casiño call on the Comelec to finally reveal the nominees of the accredited party-list groups so that they can be scrutinized, and the bogus can be separated from the truly marginalized groups who deserve congressional representation.

Ampatuan to pursue cultural agenda 
 
Zamzamin Ampatuan, for his part, admitted that he is part of the party-list group ADAM.

"Actually, I was the one who organized the party-list. But as to running, it's not yet clear because we have yet to decide who will be our nominees. It's subject to the party's position. March 26 yung final submission nominees. We will have a convention middle of March. We'll be able to decide around March 14," he said.

Zamzamin Ampatuan said he belongs to a cultural minority, the Muslims, which is one of the minority groups in the Philippines. He said he has been working for the promotion of indigenous culture in Mindanao, and he plans to use the House of Representatives as a forum to advance this agenda.