Abang Lingkod

Abang Lingkod (lit. 'Humble Servant') is a political organization with representation in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It aims to represent the interest of Filipino farmers and fishermen.[1]

Abang Lingkod
ColorsGreen
Seats in the House of Representatives
1 / 61
(Party-list seats only)

History

Abang Lingkod registered on December 22, 2009 to participate in the 2010 House of Representatives elections under the party-list system but failed to obtain a seat in the House of Representatives.[2][3]

On May 31, 2012, Abang Lingkod manifested its intent to participate in the 2013 House of Representatives elections before the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).[3] With questions surrounding its nominees, it was among the several party-lists that were sought to be disqualified by the poll watchdog group Kontra Daya[4] and left-wing human rights group Karapatan claiming that "its nominees and leaders possess interest in conflict and adverse to the interests of peasants/farmers."[5] In November 2012, COMELEC disqualified several party-lists including Abang Lingkod.[6] However, the said party-list was able to secure a status quo ante order from the Supreme Court, thus allowing it to participate again in the 2013 elections.[7]

With a ruling on April 5, 2013 that the party-list system was not only for marginalized sectors, the Supreme Court decided in favor of the 54 disqualified party-list groups, which included Abang Lingkod, and ordered COMELEC to conduct "evidentiary hearings" to determine their eligibility to participate in the 2013 election.[8][9] On May 6, 2013, COMELEC once again ruled against Abang Lingkod.[10]

As Abang Lingkod was already included in the official ballots despite its disqualification, it was able to garner more than 260,000 votes but was not proclaimed by COMELEC pending their appeal to the Supreme Court.[11] The Supreme Court once again issued a status quo ante order on June 5, 2013 in response to COMELEC's resolution disqualifying Abang Lingkod.[12] On October 22, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that Abang Lingkod "need not prove track record"[13] and on November 27, 2013, voting 10-4, ordered COMELEC to proclaim Abang Lingkod.[3] COMELEC filed for a motion for reconsideration but it was denied and ruled with finality by the Supreme Court on February 2014.[13]

With the legal hurdles resolved, its first nominee Joseph Stephen Paduano was finally sworn into office on May 28, 2014.[14]

Electoral performance
ElectionVotes%Seats
201032,1220.11%0
2013260,9230.94%1
2016466,7011.44%1
2019275,1990.99%1

Representatives to Congress
Period 1st Representative 2nd Representative 3rd Representative
16th Congress
2013–2016		 Hon. Joseph Stephen Paduano N/A N/A
17th Congress
2016–2019		 Hon. Joseph Stephen Paduano N/A N/A
18th Congress
2019–2022		 Hon. Joseph Stephen Paduano N/A N/A

References
  1. Santos, Tina (November 30, 2013). "Comelec to appeal Abang Lingkod party-list ruling". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  2. "G.R. No. 206952, October 22, 2013". chanrobles.com. Retrieved October 29, 2020. ABANG LINGKOD is a sectoral organization that represents the interests of peasant farmers and fisherfolks, and was registered under the party-list system on December 22, 2009. It participated in the May 2010 elections, but failed to obtain the number of votes needed for a seat in the House of Representatives.
  3. Torres-Tupas, Tetch (November 27, 2013). "SC rules Abang Lingkod can take Congress' 58th seat". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  4. Jaymalin, Mayen (August 15, 2012). "30 party-list groups face petition for disqualification". The Philippine Star. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  5. "Karapatan seeks disqualification of Abang Lingkod partylist". karapatan.org. Karapatan. July 27, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  6. Crisostomo, Sheila (November 8, 2012). "19 more party-list groups dropped". The Philippine Star. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  7. "18 more party-list groups get halt order from SC". ABS-CBN News. December 5, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  8. Merueñas, Mark (April 5, 2013). "SC: Party-lists need not represent marginalized sectors". GMA News. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  9. "SC shakes up party list in new verdict". Rappler. April 5, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  10. Lozarie, Dean (May 6, 2013). "Mikey's group, 11 others barred from party list". Rappler. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  11. "Comelec proclaims 14 party-list winners". SunStar. May 25, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  12. "SC stops party list disqualifications". Rappler. June 5, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  13. Gomez, Carla (May 30, 2014). "Breakaway rebel now member of House". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  14. Panti, Llanesca (May 28, 2014). "House welcomes 290th member". The Manila Times. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
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