May 30,2010
Reference: Rodel M. Batocabe
President, Ako Bicol
“The baseless disqualification case filed by Bayan Bicol against Ako Bicol is nothing but pure and simple harassment designed to thwart the will of Bicolanos who have reposed their trust in us.” Ako Bicol President and nominee, Rodel M. Batocabe said in a statement.
Ako Bicol noted that right from the start when it decided to enter the political fray, Bayan- Bicol had always been very active in hurling black propaganda in an attempt to discredit Ako Bicol in the eyes of the Bicolanos. Bayan-Bicol has accused Ako Bicol as a GMA-aligned party list which is not marginalized.
Ako Bicol said that the disqualification case is a rehash of the old issues raised by the militant group during the campaign which were not believed by the Bicolanos as shown by the more than 1 million votes garnered by Ako Bicol in the Bicol region alone.
“First, the disqualification case was filed out of time per Comelec rules. Second, Ako Bicol is a regional political party and not a marginalized sectoral organization or coalition. A regional political party is allowed to participate in the party list sytem of representation and certainly, it has every right to represent marginalized Bicolanos. Third, Ako Bicol does not deny that its Chairman, Elizaldy S. Co, is a generous benefactor of its livelihood and scholarship programs which were already instituted and had benefited thousands of Bicolanos in and out of the region long before the party decided to join the political arena. There is nothing wrong or illegal with that if we have generous Bicolanos willing to help us in our programs. Certainly, we will not take it against Bayan-Bicol if it has also generous friends, including Mr. Co, who will contribute in giving scholarships or livelihood programs to Bicolanos. But the problem is, Bayan-Bicol has no such programs as its priorities are somewhere else.” stressed Batocabe.
Ako Bicol further decried why Bayan-Bicol is singling out the Co family among all its supporters. It emphasized that the Co family has been benefactors of various charitable and church organizations and anti-poverty causes in the region and the scholarship programs and projects of Ako Bicol are only minor beneficiaries compared to the Cos ’ charitable endeavors. Since it was founded in 2006, Ako Bicol has been active in disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts , scholarship and livelihood programs in the Bicol region. In June 2009, it decided to participate in the party list system of representation.
“It is unfortunate that it has already been the professed advocacy of Bayan-Bicol to malign Ako Bicol. If it had its way, it could have thrown the septic tank and even the entire garbage dump on us.” said Batocabe.
