Rejected nurse’s party-list group appeals to COMELEC for reconsideration
By Emilio Escudero
The members of the Nurses United (NU) party-list group rallied outside the Manila office of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to make a plea to reconsider their party list registration after it was rejected by the poll body last October 4.
Appeal for reconsideration
The COMELEC formally notified the NU party-list last October 4 that their application for the May 2022 elections was denied. This prompted the group to file a motion for reconsideration on October 9.
According to a report by Rappler, the party list’s registration for next year’s poll was rejected by the COMELEC’s first body for supposedly not attaching the list of members showing that the majority of them are nurses.
Conversely, Maristela Abenojar, first nominee of NU, mentioned that they addressed the issue in the motion for reconsideration that they filed.
“We said in our motion for reconsideration that we beg to disagree with the grounds cited as to why our application was dismissed because it is very clear from all the documents that we have submitted that all our members and the officers are all registered nurses,” Abenojar added.
Right now, the motion filed by the group has already been elevated to COMELEC en banc. Along with the nurse’s party-list, there are over 100 dismissed party-lists who also made an appeal waiting for the en banc’s final decision.
According to the poll body, the final list of accredited party-list groups who will make it to the ballot for the May 2022 elections will be out by December.
Nurse’s representation in Congress
Ever since the pandemic started, healthcare workers, especially nurses, have been at the forefront of the government response. In fact, official data showed that more than 10,000 out of the 28,103 medical professionals that got COVID-19 are nurses .
“Many, too, have died. Sadly, since the start of the pandemic, nurses’ conditions remain the same,” Abenojar said.
In addition, Abenojar also mentioned that while being considered as modern-day heroes, nurses and other healthcare workers in the country still face less than ideal working conditions such as meager pay and benefits, insufficient protective equipment, and poor working conditions.
“Our voices must be heard in the policy-making process to uplift our social, mental, economic and physical condition,” Abenojar said, stressing the need for nurses’ representation in the congress.
Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares has urged the poll body to reconsider its rejection of the party-list accreditation. In addition, he mentioned that it would be an injustice to medical workers to overlook such requests.
“I urge COMELEC to reconsider this decision and let NU Party-list participate in the 2022 Elections. They are legitimate members of the sector and not some fly-by-night group eager for political power,” Colmenares said in a statement last November 22.
“If other preposterous party lists are allowed to participate, then more so should NU, as the latter are genuine health workers fighting the injustices in the health sector,” he added.
