Akbayan, one rank shy of winning seat in 2022, fights for vacated party-list slot

MANILA, Philippines – Party-list group Akbayan urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, September 17 to declare it a winner in the 2022 polls.,

Two years ago, the group ranked 57th in a party-list election in which 56 groups were proclaimed winners, but Akbayan said the cancellation by the Supreme Court of the registration papers of An Waray, which ranked 27th in that race, means there is a vacant slot in the House of Representatives that needs to be filled.

“The next logical and legal step is for the Comelec to proclaim Akbayan as the rightful holder of the last available seat,” Akbayan president Rafaela David said.

Akbayan, the home party of Senator Risa Hontiveros, has positioned itself as the main opposition party for 2025. The opposition leader is heavily involved in the 2025 senatorial bids of lawyer Chel Diokno and former senators Bam Aquino and Francis Pangilinan.

Akbayan used to be a formidable force in Philippine party-list elections, and has been part of the race since the inaugural polls for party-list representations in 1998. At its peak in 2004, the group won three seats in Congress after placing third in the election.

The democratic socialist organization, along with groups under the national democratic leftist movement, suffered blowback and lost significant political capital under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.

In 2019, Akbayan lost the party-list race for the first time, followed by another defeat in 2022.

Akbayan’s pending case before the Comelec is a crucial legal battle for the party-list group, as its two consecutive defeats put it at risk of getting delisted in 2025 and being removed from the ballots.

“Hopefully, our return signifies a new chapter for progressive forces. With Senator Risa Hontiveros in the Senate and the party back in the House of Representatives, we will continue our work of holding power accountable and pushing for meaningful reforms,” David said. – Rappler.com