Magsasaka Party-list nominee Argel Cabatbat (Magsasaka Party-list)

Magsasaka Party-list nominee, lawyer Argel Cabatbat galvanized Filipino farmers on Tuesday, Aug. 20 with an inspiring message following the group's recent, major legal triumph. 

Cabatbat, a former congressman, led a special general assembly-slash-victory party with nearly 8,000 delegates from Region III. 

In his message, Cabatbat underscored that Magsasaka Party-list truly embodied the interests of Filipino farmers, and that the Supreme Court's (SC) decision was a significant win , not just for the party, but for all farmers nationwide. 

"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 party-list na pagmamay-ari ng iilan lamang," he said. 

(It is the farmers who own Magsasaka Party-list. You call the shots. You should be lent all ears. You hold the decision as to who should be your leader. We are not like other party-lists that are owned by just a few.) 

"Ang pagkapanalo sa [SC] ay pagkapanalo ng mga magsasaka, pagkapanalo ninyo (The victory at the SC is the farmer's victory, your victory.," added the lawyer. 

Cabatbat was referring to the High Court's recent decision that declared Soliman Villamin Jr. as validly removed from his position as national chairperson. 

A total of 7,996 delegates from Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Zambales, Tarlac, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Aurora trooped to the general assembly. 

The farmer-delegates insisted on having council leaders' election as promised to them last Aug. 11 in San Fernando, Pampanga. 

The SC decision that upheld Villamin's ouster suggests that his first nominee, Roberto Gerard Nazal Jr., cannot be the party-list's respresentative in the current 19th Congress. 

"While the [Comelec] has limited jurisdiction over intra-party leadership disputes, it does not mean that [Comelec] can substitute its own judgment for that of the Party. The [Comelec] cannot disregard the Party’s actionssimply because these do not appear to be in line with the [Comelec’s] interpretation of the party’s Saligang Batas.  A party must be allowed to interpret its own governing rules and remove officials from participating in its own affairs," read the decision penned by Associate Justice Jose Midas Marquez.

Comelec stands for Commission on Elections.

There are roughly seven months left in the 19th Congress.