Disqualified party-lists should appeal to SC - Belmonte

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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines -- Party-list groups disqualified by the Commission on Elections from joining the May 2013 elections should just go to the Supreme Court to appeal their case, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said.

Belmonte explained that the House of Representatives can do nothing about the disqualifications since this is under the jurisdiction of the poll body.
At the same time, Belmonte urged the Comelec to refrain from making premature announcements about the number of party-list groups it expects to disqualify.

At least three incumbent party-list groups are among those that have been disqualified by the poll body.

“To those (party-lists) who are already here (in the House), I’m 100 percent sympathetic. The soundest advice I can give is that the Comelec ruling is appealable to the Supreme Court, so do everything you think is proper,” Belmonte said.

The House leader said he understood why the Comelec had to make a piecemeal decision on the disqualification cases against several party-list groups.

“It can’t be that one rule will apply to all because you have to scrutinize each party-list group,” he explained.

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