PRESS STATEMENT OF THE MAGDALO GROUP

Marso Café and Restaurant – October 30, 2009

With due respect to the Second Division of the Honorable Commission on Elections, ang Grupong Magdalo ay naniniwala na ang RESOLUSYON na inilabas nila kamakailan lamang patungkol sa aming petition for accreditation bilang partido politikal ay HINDI PATAS, WALA SA AYOS, at PUNO NG BUTAS dahil sa mga sumusunod na dahilan:

1. Ang RESOLUSYON ay base sa espekulasyon lamang, at nakatuon sa mga MOTIBO raw ng mga tagapagtatag ng grupong MAGDALO PARA SA PAGBABAGO (“Magdalo”). Ang RESOLUSYON ay hindi po base sa ebidensiya but on pure conjecture and presuppositions;

2. The RESOLUTION preempts the Court trying the case, kung saan ngayon ay nililitis pa po sa Makati Regional Trial Court, Branch 148. The RESOLUTION unfairly jumped at the conclusion that the founders of the Magdalo “employed violence” and “use unlawful means” and “in the process defied the laws of organized society” during the Oakwood Incident samantalang ang Korte mismong naglilitis sa kaso ay HINDI PA PO NAGLALABAS NG DESISYON patungkol dito.

3. Because of this, the RESOLUTION violated our Constitutional right to the presumption of innocence, lalung-lalong na ng mga tagapagtatag, and the right of the Magdalo to due process of law.

4. The RESOLUTION also cites documents which were never presented as evidence during our petition hearing and which are not part of the records of the case [i.e., the supposed records of the court martial hearing referred to in Letter (c) of the observations of the ponente as appearing on Pages 5 & 6 of the RESOLUTION].

5. The RESOLUTION also assumes facts NA HINDI BASE SA EBIDENSIYA. Its conclusions regarding the Oakwood Incident have no basis on record SA ANUMANG KORTE at sa katunayan ay HITIK PO SA PAGKAKAMALI. A case in point are the claims in the RESOLUTION that “several innocent civilian personnel were held hostage” and the Magdalo group used “violence” which are completely false and utterly baseless.

6. The RESOLUTION was not based on a determination of whether or not the MAGDALO met all of the requirements for accreditation as a Political Party – AND WE HAVE MET THE REQUIREMENTS po — but apparently, the RESOLUTION is based on the personal bias and prejudice of the ponente.

These bring to light other issues:

1. Fundamental fairness of the COMELEC

DAHIL PO SA RESOLUSYON na ito, it brings to the fore the issue of the fundamental fairness of the COMELEC. Mawalang-galang na po sa mga makakaliwang-grupo, but why is it that left-leaning groups, even those identified with the NPA, have been accredited by the COMELEC and have in fact been allowed to participate in the National, Local and Party-List elections while the Magdalo, which is composed of former officers and enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and now even civilians, are denied the same opportunity? Does the COMELEC have a bias against former members of the AFP? O dapat po bang maging retirado ka munang heneral ng AFP na kahit nabansagan kang berdugo pero dahil ka-alyado ng administrasyon ay papaboran ka?

2. Faulty Logic of the Reason Cited for the Denial

The view expressed by the RESOLUTION is also myopic and short-sighted. The logic is also defective. If the desire of Magdalo is to merely “recruit and indoctrinate disciplined followers who may become their blind followers”, we would not go to the trouble of filing a petition for accreditation with the COMELEC. We could very well have achieved this purpose by forming even an informal group or a secret or clandestine organization at patagong mag-recruit ng mga miyembro, at kung ano pa.

The fact that the Magdalo have decided to form a group and apply for accreditation as a political party signifies the group’s desire and firm resolve to continue its advocacy for reforms through legitimate and lawful means, particularly by participating in the electoral process.

In fact, it is in the best interest of the country for COMELEC to encourage the Magdalo group to join the mainstream of Filipino society and allow it to participate in the democratic process, especially in elections, by approving its application for accreditation as a political party sa halip na I-ISOLATE KAMI at ITULAK KAMI SA FRINGES sa pagbasura n gaming petisyon.

Steps Moving Forward

Because of the issues na kababanggit ko po lamang, amin pong i-aapila sa Kagalang-galang na COMELEC en banc, lalo na kay Chairman Jose Melo, within the period prescribed by the rules PARA PO MAANYAYAHAN ang Commission on Elections to reconsider, at kung maari, rebisahin ang RESOLUSYON po na ito.

Maraming salamat po.

By Gerard Naval

Malaya; 28 Oct 2009

THE Commission on Elections yesterday denied the bid of Magdalo Para sa Pagbabago (Magdalo) for accreditation as a regional political party based in the National Capital Region.

“The Magdalo Party remains unrepentant and they still harbor the propensity to engage in another illegal adventure similar to the failed 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, should they fail to achieve their goal – this time with the use of the political party that they are now applying for accreditation and which may very well be used by them to recruit and indoctrinate disciplined followers who may become their blind followers,” the Comelec Second Division said a six-page decision set to be promulgated by the Comelec secretariat.

The Second Division said its findings contradict the group’s claim that “the party does not advocate the use of force or violence or other unlawful means to achieve its goals.”

It noted the testimony of former Air Force 1Lt. Ashley Acedillo, the party’s secretary general and spokesman, during the September 3 hearing that the Oakwood incident was not illegal.

Some 300 junior officers and men calling themselves the Magdalo group staged the mutiny in July 2003 to protest what they said was rampant graft and corruption in the military and the government as a whole.

Acedillo said they have not received a copy of the decision but it did not come as a surprise.

“As much as we were hopeful, since we complied with the substantial requirements of Comelec, we were also expecting the decision to be unfavorable to us. We recognize that adverse political forces are at play here,” he said.

Acedillo said his group will file a motion for reconsideration.

The Second Division invoked the Omnibus Election Code denying accreditation to any political party which seeks to achieve its goal through violence.

It also noted that the party’s chairman, detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, were among the officers who did not plead guilty before a Makati court hearing their coup case.

Trillanes was among the six core leaders of the Magdalo during the mutiny.

Last Sunday, the group endorsed the presidential bid of Sen. Francis Escudero as well as the senatorial candidacy of former Scout Ranger chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and Marines Col. Ariel Querubin.

Lim and Querubin, a Medal of Valor awardee, are among 28 officers facing court martial for an alleged plot to overthrow the Arroyo government in February 2006.

The group also endorsed the candidacies of four others participated in the mutiny, including Acedillo who is running for congressman at Cebu City’s second district.

The three others are Navy Lt. (s.g.) James Layug, for the second district of Taguig City; Army Capt. Dante Langkit, for the lone district of Kalinga province; and Marines Capt. Gary Alejano, for mayor of Sipalay City in Negros Occidental. – With Ashzel Hachero

October 25, 2009 Sunday

The reformist Magdalo group announced today their official endorsement of the candidacies of its six card-bearing members and the presidential bid of Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

In the first party resolution he read, Magdalo Party Secretary General Francisco Ashley Acedillo announced their endorsement of Army Brig. Gen. Danny Lim and Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, who are both running for the Senate.

In addition, three of four other Magdalo leaders who also received the group’s backing are running for the House of Representative through their respective districts. They are Navy Lt. Senior Grade James Layug, for the second district of Taguig City; Air Force 1Lt. Francisco Ashley Acedillo, for Cebu City’s second district; and Army Captain Dante Langkit, for the lone district of Kalinga province.

Marine Captain Gary Alejano, meanwhile, has been endorsed as candidate for mayor of the city of Sipalay in Negros Occidental.

In another party resolution, the results of the party’s balloting were announced which showed Sen. Escudero garnering 53.7 per cent of the votes cast by the party leaders or a 24.7 per cent margin over the candidate with the second highest number of votes.

“We are supporting the presidential bid of Sen. Escudero. The decision of the group to back the senator is a product of a thorough and comprehensive consultation among our members nationwide,” said Magdalo national spokesperson Air Force Lieutenant Francisco Ashley Acedillo at a press conference at the University Hotel in Diliman, Quezon City.

Party delegates were made to select from among the opposition presidential bets on the basis of the latter’s character, vision and leadership.

The Magdalo has more than 40,000 members nationwide representing 375 chapters at the provincial, city or municipal level.