DAVAO CITY Kabataan Party-list today pleads to parent voters to vote
for their children’s future and not be lured with the incentives and
the goodie-bags which are being poured-in by party-list groups
believed to be backed by Malacaang.
“We know how hard it is for our parents to refuse the goodie-bags and
accident insurances being offered to them by those who are running for
a seat in the government,” Karla Hyasmind Apat, Vice-President for
Mindanao of Kabataan, said.
“But we must refuse this short-term grace for a long-term and genuine
change in our government because this “help” are only temporary
alleviation for a day or a week’s survival, while, our ballot is the
future of the youth and this country,” she added.
The group also lambastes the President’s Office for External
Affairs-backed party-list groups including Agbiag, Babae Ka, LYPAD and
Kalahi.
They particularly cited the Kalahi party-list where the son of House
Majority Floor Leader Cong. Prospero Nograles is the first nominee.
“Our volunteers in a community reported that Kalahi distributed
“goodie-bags” with kilos of rice and cash. This is a clear violation
of the Omnibus Election Code.” Apat said.
An OEA memorandum identified the pro-Arroyo party-lists as follows:
Babae Ka formed by OEA Director Nerissa Garcia, Lypad Partylist
organized by Director Melvin Mitra, and Kalahi initiated by Director
Poe Gratela. Others named in the document were the Alliance of
Neo-Conservatives, Abono, Kasangga and Aging Pinoy.
“If COMELEC is really serious in ensuring the credibility of the
upcoming polls, it should immediately declare these OEA-initiated
partylist groups ineligible,” said Raymond Palatino, National
President and first nominee of Kabataan.
The group appeals to the parent voters to scrutinize well the
candidates that they will support. #
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2007 Elections
