Akbayan hits back, seeks ouster of Red party-listers

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Oct 27): Akbayan hits back, seeks ouster of Red party-listers

Groups allied with the Akbayan party-list group are urging the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify “communist party-list groups” from the 2013 elections, claiming that some P770 million in pork barrel funds were being channeled to the operations of the communist New People’s Army (NPA). In the latest escalation of the increasingly acrimonious quarrel between the well-connected Akbayan on one hand and rival progressive groups, the People’s Advocacy for Collaboration and Empowerment (PEACE) Friday reiterated a letter-complaint it filed in the Comelec last month calling for the delisting of Bayan Muna and other groups that it said were creations of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).... PEACE was joined in its petition in the Comelec by the New Guardians for Freedom and Democracy, People’s Advocacy for Collaboration and Empowerment and Pro Democracy Foundation of the Philippines. Noting Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr.’s recent cleansing of the party-list system of “dubious” groups, they said he should demonstrate the same courage by similarly delisting “communist party-list groups that are not only bastardizing the system but also making a mockery of our democracy.” The groups identified the party-list organizations Gabriela, Anakpawis, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Kabataan and Katribu Indigenous Peoples Sectoral Party as some of the CPP fronts that “as part of their political struggle, to infiltrate, manipulate and exploit the country’s free and democratic institutions.” According to PEACE president Agnes Lopez, the number of “communist” party-list groups in the House of Representatives has increased to 11, allowing them to corner some P770 million of pork barrel funds every year. “If one congressman gets P70 million, these groups will be able to channel at least P770 million yearly to support the operations of the NPA or other allied organizations of the CPP,” said Lopez.... “How can party-list groups that support the overthrow of the government and the country’s political system be allowed to participate in the party-list elections? The mere fact that they made no public announcement condemning NPA atrocities or its bloody armed struggle is already a giveaway,” said Lopez....

 

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/296296/akbayan-hits-back-seeks-ouster-of-red-party-listers