FILE

In a move that raised quite a few eyebrows, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) just dropped the hammer on the party-list group Pilipinas Babangon Muli—and it all boils down to some serious questions about where their nominees really come from.

In a 10-page decision released by its Second Division, Comelec canceled the party-list’s registration over what it called a “misrepresentation.” Simply put: Pilipinas Babangon Muli claimed to represent Region 4-A, also known as Calabarzon—but not one of its 10 nominees actually lives there.

To break it down: eight of the nominees are from Abra, one is from Cagayan, and the last one is based in Quezon City. That’s zero from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, or Quezon—the five provinces that make up Calabarzon.

Because of this, Comelec said the party-list can’t be considered a legitimate regional political party for Calabarzon, and none of its nominees are eligible. The ruling added, “This results in the absence of even a single qualified nominee as required by law.”

And that’s not all. Comelec pointed out that the party-list had made “untruthful statements” in its original registration petition—statements that don’t match what the group later admitted in its filings.

The complaint that sparked all this came from Atty. Jess Christian Ramirez. He didn’t just call out the party-list’s misrepresentation of its regional roots—he also accused them of falsely suggesting they had ties with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Now, before anyone calls it game over, it’s worth noting that the decision was made at the division level. Pilipinas Babangon Muli still has a chance to appeal the ruling by filing a motion for reconsideration with the Comelec en banc.

For now though, it looks like this party-list group is facing an uphill battle to stay in the game.