Magsasaka Party-list announced that former lawmaker Argel Cabatbat will be the party-list group's first nominee, stating that he is the right person to represent them in the House of Representatives.
They made the announcement after submitting their Sworn Information Update Statement (SIUS) before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
Under Comelec Resolution 10943, registered political parties or coalitions of political parties, national, regional, or sectoral parties, organizations, or coalitions, including those which participated in, and intend to participate in, the party-list system of representation (collectively "Parties" or "Party") are directed to submit an SIUS with the Clerk of the Commission.
Filing for party-list nominees is set for Oct. 1.
The submission was led by Cabatbat, chairman of Magsasaka Party-list. He was joined by Mario Palacay and Reynaldo Dela Peña, members of the Council of Leaders.
They made the move following the Supreme Court's (SC) decision to reverse the rulings of the Comelec which recognized Soliman Villamin Jr. as the national chairperson of the party-list.
According to them, the nominees are the following:
- Argel Joseph Cabatbat
- Ariel T. Cayanan
- Dante A. Lazatin
- Rafael Naral
- Reynaldo Dela Peñ
- Dennis Zuñiga
- Mario Palacay
- George G. Cabatbat
- Mark Joseph T. Cabatbat
- Marx Josef Mission
Earlier, the Magsasaka party-list said that they conducted a special general assembly and victory party which was attended by 7,996 delegates from Region 3. They were from Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Zambales, Tarlac, Bulacan, Pampanga, Aurora.
Cabatbat emphasized that the Magsasaka party-list truly represents the interests of Filipino farmers.
“Ang may ari ng Magsasaka Party-list ay ang mga magsasaka. Kayo ang dapat masunod. Kayo ang dapat pakinggan. Nasa inyo ang desisyon kung sino ang gusto ninyong mamuno. Hindi tayo katulad ng ibang partylist na pagmamay ari ng iilan lamang (Magsasaka Party-list is owned by farmers. It's them who should be followed. It's them who should decide who to lead. We're not like other party-lists that is owned by just a few),” he said.