News Release
29 October 2012
Bayan Muna solon dismisses disqualification case as nuisance, harassment suit
Bayan Muna Representative Neri Javier Colmenares on Saturday dismissed renewed efforts to disqualify Bayan Muna as a mere nuisance case, a desperate act by the administration and its allied groups to harass progressive parties.
The progressive lawmaker slammed the case filed by the so-called People’s Advocacy for Collaboration and Empowerment (Peace) which is a rehash of the earlier disqualification and criminal cases filed against Bayan Muna and its representatives every upcoming election year.
“We are confident that the Comelec will junk the said petition, as it did in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010,” Colmenares said. “These petitions do not even specify the illegal acts allegedly committed by the party. They are bereft of fact and evidence. This is mere black propaganda that will not stand in any court,” he pointed out.
“We’ve already been vindicated in court, by the Comelec and by our track record but here they are again crying wolf,” he added.
In 2007, the Supreme Court junked a rebellion case against six representatives of party-list groups, among them Bayan Muna Reps. Joel Virador, Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casiño. Amid the Arroyo administration throwing its own weight behind the trumped up case, the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed it for lack of probable cause and due process and scored Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales and the prosecutors for “obvious involvement of political considerations in actuations.”
“We cannot emphasize too strongly that prosecutors should not allow, and should avoid giving the impression that their noble office is being used or prostituted, wittingly or unwittingly, for political ends,” the SC said at that time. In fact, Peace is the same group that filed the disqualification case in 2010, only to be dismissed by the Comelec.
“Walang ebidensya, dahil walang katotohanan ang alegasyon na nadadivert ng Bayan Muna ang pondo ng gobyerno sa NPA o gumagawa ng anumang aksyong iligal ang partido para ito ay madiskwalipika,” he said.
“They’re just harassing us, wasting the time of Comelec and the taxpayers money. For what? To discredit us? To discredit honest work and efforts to better the situation of marginalized sectors?,” Colmenares ended.
Reference
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares
