the list of congressmen who voted yes to the ConAss has been making the rounds of egoups and email inboxes. but more than giving us the names of those we MUST NOT VOTE FOR, i have found it more interesting, the partylist representatives and therefore organizations, that are part of this ‘wag iboto list.

BRIONES, NICANOR M. AGAP Party list
ESTRELLA, ROBERT RAYMUND M. ABONO Party List
PABLO, ERNESTO C. APEC Party List
SANTIAGO, NARCISO D. (III) ARC Party List
VALDEZ, EDGAR L. APEC Party List

a look at AGAP Partylist‘s website doesn’t give much information, only that they are “coordinating with” government offices including GMA’s, to “protect and promote the welfare of the hog and poultry industry” in the country.

the three other partylist organization don’t have websites, and there is very little information on them. ARC stands for Alliance of Rural Concerns — which seems like a huge umbrella organization, yes? — but doesn’t seem to stand for a concrete constituency. according to this news article from 2007, ARC advocates for CARP: “We value CARP despite its acknowledged defects, and look to the DAR as a principled partner in the struggle of the rural people for reforms and better life.”

they forget that the DAR and the CARP are both already enemies of the farmers of this country, something that has been proven by the continued existence of the Hacienda Luisitas in our midst, and by even more current events such as Henry Sy’s takeover of 8,000 hectares of prime agricultural land. too, that there is an alternative, one that’s about REAL agrarian reform: the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill or GARB.

there isn’t much on Abono Partylist online either, except for news reports that they were topping the COMELEC count in the elections, and that they are an agricultural-fertilizer partylist.

and then there’s APEC Partylist, which apparently has the richest of congressmen in its ranks. it stands for Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives, which seems self-explanatory.

there is no information on the constituencies of these partylist organizations, a requirement for partylist registration with the COMELEC. and the one org that had a website, listed all of two members — TWO MEMBERS!

but too, what might be more obvious here is that there doesn’t seem to be a clear marginalized sector being representedby any of these congressmen who voted yes to the ConAss. if anything, we have congressmen who represent capitalists who sell fertilizer, hogs and poultry, and electricity.

this tells us that we shouldn’t be giving this vote away. NOT.AT.ALL.