The Palacio Del Gobernador headquarters to the Commission on Elections in Intramuros Manila on November 11, 2021. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

PH ELECTION

Bea Cuadra

ABS-CBN News

<p>The Commission on Elections Second Division has canceled the Pilipinas Babangon Muli (PBBM) party list registration for the 2025 elections, citing misrepresentation regarding its claimed regional constituency.</p><p>In a ruling released Wednesday, the division granted the petition filed by Atty. Jess Christian Ramirez, who argued that the PBBM party-list falsely claimed to represent the CALABARZON region, despite none of its top ten nominees being residents of the area. The nominees were found to be from Abra, Cagayan, and Quezon City.</p><p>“Wherefore, premises considered, the petition is granted. The registration of respondent Pilipinas Babangon Muli (PBBM) party-list is hereby canceled,” the resolution stated.</p><p>The commission said this misrepresentation undermines the group’s status as a regional political party and contradicts its original registration claims.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D122144608958479425%26set%3Da.122119539416479425%26type%3D3&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="684" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Comelec emphasized that PBBM’s failure to present even a single qualified nominee from CALABARZON disqualifies it from participating in the elections.</p><p>“This is not a mere formality but a substantive requirement that distinguishes a regional party from a national one,” the decision stated.</p><p>The commission concluded that the party-list group failed to meet a critical legal requirement, leading to the revocation of its registration.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ooO4FuZF0fo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><strong>PBBM PARTY-LIST RESPONSE</strong></div><p>In its defense, the PBBM party-list argued that having nominees from outside the claimed region is not a valid reason to cancel their registration.</p><p>They claimed that existing laws do not require regional part-list members to reside in the region they represent and that this requirement was not in their own internal rules.</p><p>The Comelec, however, countered that the PBBM party-list has previously stated in its registration that it was a regional party representing CALABARZON, with its main office in Batangas, and that its members were from that region.</p><p>The poll body also highlighted that they had verified the party-list’s presence in CALABARZON before approving its registration. The Comelec ruled that the PBBM party-list contradicted its previous claims.</p><p>“The Commission (En Banc) in evaluating Respondent&#x27;s Petition for Registration directed the Regional Election Director [&quot;RED&quot;] of CALABARZON to verify the existence of Respondent in the constituency for which it sought to be registered. The RED of Calabarzon subsequently reported that Respondent&#x27;s constituency existed in the said region, a finding that formed a key basis for the approval of Respondent&#x27;s registration as a regional political party.”</p><p>The Comelec ruled that the party-list’s subsequent claim contradicting its initial registration constituted misinterpretation and a violation of election law.</p><p>“Given the foregoing, Respondent&#x27;s recent admission that it never imposed residency as a condition for membership in its party-list, despite earlier claiming a regional constituency, demonstrates that Petitioner made an untruthful statement in its Petition for Registration, warranting the cancellation of Respondent&#x27;s registration.</p><p>“Accordingly, all ten (10) nominees cannot be considered bona fide members of a regional political party purporting to represent CALABARZON. In turn, they cannot be qualified as nominees of PBBM. This results in the absence of even a single qualified nominee as required by law. Accordingly,[the] Respondent is disqualified from participating in the party-list elections for failure to field at least one qualified nominee.”</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uZnp6xNyqII?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The Commission on Elections Second Division has canceled the Pilipinas Babangon Muli (PBBM) party list registration for the 2025 elections, citing misrepresentation regarding its claimed regional constituency.</p>

The Commission on Elections Second Division has canceled the Pilipinas Babangon Muli (PBBM) party list registration for the 2025 elections, citing misrepresentation regarding its claimed regional constituency.

Comelec cancels PBBM party-list registration over misrepresentation in 2025 polls | ABS-CBN

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Comelec cancels PBBM party-list registration over misrepresentation in 2025 polls

Comelec cancels PBBM party-list registration over misrepresentation in 2025 polls

Bea Cuadra,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 24, 2025 06:51 AM PHT

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Pilipinas Babangon Muli Party-list

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