MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has revoked the registration of the Pilipinas Babangon Muli (PBBM) as a party-list organization due to claims of misrepresentation.
The Comelec Second Division, in a 10-page ruling, determined that none of the 10 nominees associated with the party-list are actually from Region 4-A (Calabarzon), the region they are purported to represent.
“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,” the Second Division 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. This results in the absence of even a single qualified nominee as required by law,” it added.
The poll body further said the party-list made “untruthful statements” that warrant the cancellation of its registration.
“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 said.
The ruling was made in response to the petition submitted by attorney Jess Christian Ramirez, who alleged that the organization misrepresented itself as a regional political party for Calabarzon while only nominating candidates from outside the area.
Ramirez further claimed that the group misleadingly implied a connection with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
As the decision is at the division level, the organization retains the option to contest the ruling by submitting a motion for reconsideration to the Comelec en banc./PN
