(UPDATE) The partylist of former MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago has been removed from the final list of candidates for the May elections and will be removed from the ballot, the Commission on Elections said.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the Malasakit Movement partylist "failed to meet the requirements for a sectoral partylist organization."
"They were unable to prove that they were representing marginalized and underrepresented sectors," he added.
Pialago had hoped to advocate for barangay and frontline health workers if elected as representative of Malasakit Movement, a non-government organization that she co-founded.
Due to Malasakit Movement's removal from the ballot, the Comelec skipped number 96 in the tentative listing of partylist candidates which was earlier assigned to Pialago's group.
Pialago said they will exhaust legal means to overturn the Comelec's decision and participate in the 2022 elections.
"Ang pakikipaglaban po ng Malasakit Movement Partylist ay hindi naman po laban ko, hindi rin po ito laban sa pulitika. Ito po ay laban para maipagpatuloy ang pagmamalasakit at pagmamahal sa ating kapwa Pilipino," she said.
The Comelec has yet to release the official list of candidates for the 2022 elections. It earlier set a Jan. 7 target to finalize the list.
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