Indigenous peoples’ partylist KATRIBU today submitted to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) the names of its nominees who would occupy seats in the House of Representatives if it wins adequate votes in the 2010 elections.
At the same time, KATRIBU named partylist groups said to be fielded for or in behalf of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her allies.
If KATRIBU wins, anyone of its five nominees would be the first from their tribes to become a Member of Congress:
- Beverly Longid, who is of Bontok-Kankanaey ancestry and a noted human rights lawyer in the Cordilleras
- Genasque Enriquez, a Manobo farmer, single-motor driver and community development worker from Surigao del Sur
- Nelson Mallari, an Aeta community organizer and an indigenous rights and environmental activist from Pampanga.
- Kerlan Fanagel, a B’laan from Sarangani Province
- Virgelio Aniceto, an Ibaloi from Benguet
KATRIBU said that no one among its nominees is connected or related to the Arroyo administration.
At the same time, KATRIBU assailed “fakes” and “administration-backed” partylist organizations allowed by the COMELEC to join the May polls.
They are:
- Adhikain ng mga Dakilang Anak Maharlika (ADAM) partylist headed by Energy Undersecretary Zamzamin Ampatuan
- Agapay Indigenous Peoples Rights Alliance (A-IPRA) headed by Eugenio Insigne, a commissioner for the Cordillera Administrative Region and Region 1, and former chair of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), an agency under the Office of the President
- Partido ng Katutubong Pilipino, headed by Jannette Serrano-Reisland, also a commissioner for Region XII and former chairperson of the NCIP
- Abante Tribung Makabansa (ATM) which was said to be publicly endorsed by Jesus Dureza, President Arroyo’s adviser on Mindanao and chair of the newly-created Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
President Arroyo appointed Insigne and Serrano-Reisland to their posts in the NCIP.
KATRIBU said that ATM was “formed by the Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Conference for Peace and Development (MIPCPD), whose council of advisers reportedly include Dureza, Energy Sec. Angelo, Reyes and Army Col. Allen Capuyan.”
KATRIBU adds that Capuyan, a former head of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ special operations group, figured in the controversial ‘Hello Garci’ wiretapping operations.
The entry of partylist groups of President Arroyo’s supporters, including her son Mikey, has been condemned as a bastardization of the partylist system which the Constitution provided as a mechanism to provide representation in Congress to marginalized and underrepresented sectors.