By MIKHA FLORES
AFTER starting with more than 300 names, party-lists allowed to run in the May 13 elections are now down to a little over a hundred. They will be vying for 58 seats in Congress.
The Commission on Elections began with 352 party-lists—187 holdovers from the 2010 elections and 165 new entrants.
The list is now down to 108. Of this number, 84 received accreditation after undergoing stringent Comelec review, while 24 groups were reinstated after the Supreme Court issued last April new parameters in determining the qualifications of organizations applying for accreditation as party-lists. (See table below for complete list).
Ako Bicol, the number one party-list in the 2010 elections, is back in the race a week before the elections. Incumbent party-lists like 1 Care, APEC, Aangat Tayo and Kakusa were also part of the 24 groups reinstated.
Juan Miguel Arroyo’s Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP) party-list was still barred from running. Comelec also sustained the cancellation of Senior Citizens and ANAD, party-lists that have incumbent nominees in Congress.
