INQUIRER.net Eleksyon 2007

Buhay on top of party-list vote count

Inquirer

Jocelyn Uy

MANILA, Philippines – Buhay, the party-list that has the support of the religious group El Shaddai, remains on top of the party-list race, outshining the 92 other party-list groups vying for a seat in Congress.

With 83 percent of the certificates of canvass tabulated before the sub-canvassing committee of the National Board of Canvassers adjourned on Saturday night, Buhay was still at No. 1, followed by Bayan Muna which was behind by 203,202 votes and Citizens Battle Against Corruption (Cibac).

On Saturday, votes from Cagayan de Oro City, Pasay City, Cebu City and the province of Cebu were tabulated, bringing the total number of canvassed local CoCs to 87, or 83 percent of 104 CoCs.

Gabriela was at No. 4, followed by the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC) and Butil.

La Union delivered

Occupying the 9th spot was Akbayan which was ahead of Abono by 28,543 votes. The latter landed on top early in the canvassing of vote tallies after it received more than 87,000 votes in La Union province alone.

Abono is one of the party-list groups suspected of fronting for the administration after it was identified with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s key ally, Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia, who purportedly supports the group.

Anakpawis was in the 13th spot, but behind Batas by a margin of 11,594.

Other suspected administration-backed organizations faring well in the race are anti-left group Anad, which was boosted by votes from Cebu City and Cebu province, and Uni-MAD at No. 22 and No. 24, respectively. However, the latter has denied being supported by the administration.

Administration bailiwick

Known administration bailiwick Cebu City and Cebu province delivered 77,081 votes for Anad. The militant group Bayan Muna placed 6th with 25,335 votes followed by Gabriela with 22,460 votes in all of Cebu.

In the tally of the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) as of 5:52 p.m. on Saturday, Buhay was also leading, followed by Bayan Muna and Cibac.

In fourth place was APEC, followed by Gabriela, A Teacher, Akbayan and Coop-Natco.

Anakpawis was at No. 9, followed by ARC, Amin and Alagad. Batas, Agap and Butil were at 13th, 14th and 15th places, respectively.

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