Comelec picks Lakas-CMD, NP as top parties for May 12
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has selected Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and the Nacionalista Party (NP) as the dominant majority and minority parties for the May 12 midterm polls.
Resolution No. 11119, passed by the commission en banc on Wednesday, said Lakas-CMD and NP will be entitled to their own servers that will directly receive election results transmitted electronically from automated counting machines (ACMs).
In a news forum in Manila, Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said he will meet next week with officials from the two political parties, as well as the election watchdogs and media entities that will also have their own servers, to draft guidelines concerning the release of results from ACMs.
Under Republic Act No. 9369, or the 2007 Automated Election Systems Law, the dominant majority and minority parties shall also receive hard copies of all election returns and certificates of canvass.
They are also entitled to one official watcher in every polling place and canvassing center. Their watchers will also be given preference, if the space in the canvassing center is insufficient.
Lakas-CMD, the biggest party in the House, is led by Speaker Martin Romualdez as party president and Sen. Bong Revilla as party chair.
NP, the country’s oldest political party, is led by former Sen. Manny Villar as president and his wife Sen. Cynthia Villar as chair.
The two parties are part of the administration’s Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas electoral coalition.
Comelec used five out of six criteria, enumerated in Resolution No. 11084 that it adopted in November last year, to determine from 11 applicants the dominant majority and minority parties.
The nine parties who did not make it to the top were accredited by Comelec as the national political parties eligible to receive hard copies of the returns and certificates.
These parties are: Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party, Aksyon Demokratiko, Liberal Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition, National Unity Party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, Partido Demokratikong Reporma, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas and United Nationalist Alliance.
Fourteen local parties were also declared eligible to receive copies of local returns and certificates.
Among them are Asenso Manileño Movement in Manila, Serbisyo sa Bayan Party in Quezon City, Kusog Bikolandia, Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod in Davao City, and Bileg Party in Ilocos Sur.
Garcia said loose alliances and coalitions between the parties need not be approved by the poll body and will not invalidate their accreditation and entitlements.
However, if the alliance or coalition is formally registered with Comelec, the chair said the component parties will lose their legal personality, and the new entity will be getting only one copy of the election documents.
