MANILA, Philippines – The ruling PDP-Laban and the Nacionalista Party (NP) have been named dominant majority and minority parties by the poll body once again, which means they will be prioritized for certain privileges on election day, May 9.

Under the law, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is supposed to give the two dominant parties access to the first printed copies of election returns and certificates of canvass. 

They can also be given access to the canvassing center “if the space… is insufficient.”

NP, led by the Philippines’ wealthiest man Manny Villar, and a faction of PDP-Laban are both allied with President Rodrigo Duterte. Both parties have also endorsed the presidential bid of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The Comelec, however, has yet to resolve which wing of PDP-Laban it will recognize, so both factions separately led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III will enjoy the perks that come with the distinction for now.

In making the classifications on Wednesday, May 4, the Comelec relied on a scoring system that ranked PDP-Laban and NP first and second, respectively.

The criteria they used are:

• “The established record of the said parties, coalition of groups that now compose them, taking into account among other things, their showing in past elections”
• “The number of incumbent elective officials belonging to them on the last day of the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy”
• “Their identifiable political organizations and strengths as evidenced by their organized chapters”
• “The ability to fill a complete slate of candidates from the municipal level to the position of President”
• “The number of women candidates fielded by political parties from the municipal level to the position of President”
• “Other analogous circumstances that may determine their relative organizations and strengths”

Ten other groups that filed a petition with the Comelec were also named major political parties, and will have access to the remaining election returns:

• Liberal Party
• Aksyon
• Nationalist People’s Coalition
• Lakas CMD
• Partido para sa Demokratikong Reporma
• National Unity Party
• Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino
• Partido Federal ng Pilipinas
• Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party
• United Nationalist Alliance

In 2019, Senator Francis Pangilinan, who heads the opposition’s Liberal Party, scored the Comelec for classifying NP, a party allied with the Duterte administration, as the dominant minority party. He said the move was “against common sense.” – Rappler.com