On May 6, Twitter user @Kikiociousness (2022) posted a photo of flyers scattered along a highway in Cagayan. The flyers claim that party-list groups belonging to the Makabayan bloc (Bayan Muna, Gabriela, ACT Teachers, Kabataan and Anakpawis) have been disqualified in the 2022 elections by the COMELEC. These groups were allegedly disqualified because of their links with terrorism. These flyers include the official campaign banner of COMELEC’s Vote SAFE Pilipinas.
The COMELEC has not disqualified any of the Makabayan bloc party-list groups. As of May 6, 2022, they are still included in the official ballot (COMELEC, 2021). The only party-list group that COMELEC has officially excluded from the ballot is Malasakit Movement (COMELEC, 2022).
Gabriela and Kabataan party-list groups face petitions for disqualification in the COMELEC but these are still pending (Marquez, 2021). The Makabayan bloc faced similar disqualification cases in the 2019 elections but they were junked with finality by the first division of COMELEC for lack of merit (CNN Philippines, 2020).
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