By Gil C. Cabacungan, Jocelyn R. Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
CRACKING down on sham organizations seeking congressional seats, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on Wednesday dropped Ako Bicol and 12 other party-list groups from the 2013 midterm balloting.
In a six-page resolution, the COMELEC en banc ruled that Ako Bicol, the topnotcher in the 2010 party-list race, could not participate in next year's elections for failure to pass strict scrutiny "through the lens" of existing laws and jurisprudence governing the party-list system.