AKBAYAN’S RESPONSE TO ANAK NG BAYAN : QC IMC

May 25, 2004

It was announced that affiliates of Anak ng Bayan, the youth organization associated with Bayan Muna et. al., are to file a case against AKBAYAN Citizens’ Action Party. Anak ng Bayan alleges that votes for them were credited to AKBAYAN during the recently concluded elections. This charge is patently untrue and ridiculous.

To make matters worse, large anti-AKBAYAN posters that reek of impulsive rage were posted by Anak ng Bayan along some Metro Manila thoroughfares. Unrestrained accusations that AKBAYAN is a cheat, and in cahoots with Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the Armed Forces of the Philippines animate these posters.

At the core of this controversy is the “sound-alike” ploy used by Anak ng Bayan possibly to sow confusion among the voters. This tactic is similar to trapos fielding bogus candidates whose names sound similar to those of their opponents. Now, Anak ng Bayan cannot accept that the trick may have backfired and it may have cost them the party-list race.

Anak ng Bayan, a new entrant in the party-list race, cites pre-election surveys where they rated favorably as one of the bases for their case against AKBAYAN. However, the Social Weather Station (SWS) exit polls of May 10 clearly showed that 7.7% of voters chose AKBAYAN, while only 1.8% voted for Anak ng Bayan. Evidently, their favorable showing in the earlier surveys could only be a result of voter’s confusion over the names.

Confusion over party-list names is a result of the low level of party-list awareness (54%, according to Pulse Asia). AKBAYAN took out television and print ads in the weeks before the elections precisely to contribute in raising party-list awareness, and counter the confusion generated by the Anak ng Bayan name. In addition, on the COMELEC-provided list of party-list groups, AKBAYAN is listed first in the category of “political parties”, making it easier for voters to pick it out. These, and not cheating as alleged by Anak ng Bayan, are the reasons why AKBAYAN gained an overwhelming edge over them.

With proper electoral awareness, the mass of voters would know how to spell—so, let's give them a little more credit. A more realistic evaluation of the statures of both parties would also show that AKBAYAN has been an eminent actor in the party-list arena during the last six years, while Anak ng Bayan is a virtual neophyte.

AKBAYAN will also not back away from any legal confrontation to protect its hard-won and legitimate victory. To impetuously attribute one's defeat to cheating without any substantial proof is to mock the decision of the electorate, and to be blind to one's own failings. Our advice to Anak ng Bayan is to accept the verdict of the Filipino voting public with grace and dignity, and to re-examine its campaign strategy so
that it can perform better next time.