The Liga Independencia Pilipinas Inc. (LIPI) on Monday called for the disqualification of the Kabataan and Gabriela party-list groups for violating Section 6 of the Party-list System Act or Republic Act 7941.
In a statement, Jose Antonio “Ka Pep” Goitia, LIPI Secretary-General, said both Kabataan and Gabriela are known legal fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) identified by the government as a terrorist organization.
The groups have filed their manifestation of intent to vie for seats in the 2022 elections, Goitia noted.
“Gabriela has been accused of supporting the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, and receiving foreign funding,” he said.
The Kabataan party-list, he added, has been recruiting students to fight in the New People’s Army.
“Based on the testimony of former Kabataan party-list members and communist criminal organization cadres, there is compelling evidence that Sara Elago and her associates are active members of the Communist Carty of the Philippines,” Goitia said.
“The Kabataan and Gabriela Party-lists are in breach of Section 6 of RA 7941. We urge that the Commission on Elections disqualify these groups for their ties to the CPP-NPA, which attempts to destabilize the government with the ultimate goal of creating a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist tyranny to replace our democratic way of life,” he said.
The Comelec must perform its duty to uphold the Constitution and protect the interests of the Filipino people, Goitia added.
The Philippine Party-list system is defined as a proportional representation process for electing representatives to the House of Representatives from marginalized or underrepresented national, regional, and sectoral parties, groups, or coalitions registered with the Commission on Elections.
It is a component of the electoral process that allows minor political parties and underprivileged and underrepresented groups to gain probable representation in the House of Representatives.
The state guarantees a full, free, and open party system to achieve the broadest possible representation for these groups.
However, Goitia noted the participation of these groups are subject to the provisions of Section 6 of RA 7941.
As stated in the Law, the Comelec may, “motu propio or upon verified complaint of any interested party, refuse or cancel, after due notice and hearing, the registration of any national, regional or sectoral party, organization or coalition” on any of the following grounds:
(1) It is a religious sect or denomination, organization or association, organized for religious purposes;
(2) It advocates violence or unlawful means to seek its goal;
(3) It is a foreign party or organization;
(4) It is receiving support from any foreign government, foreign political party, foundation, organization, whether directly or through any of its officers or members or indirectly through third parties for partisan election purposes;
(5) It violates or fails to comply with laws, rules or regulations relating to elections;
(6) It declares untruthful statements in its petition;
(7) It has ceased to exist for at least one year; or
(8) It fails to participate in the last two preceding elections or fails to obtain at least two percent of the votes cast under the party-list system in the two preceding elections for the constituency in which it has registered.