The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has denied the accreditation of a group of cockfighters called “Alyansa Sabungero” for party-list after it failed to meet “basic” technical requirements.

In a resolution, the Comelec said the petition of “Alyansa Sabungero”, did not have any verification necessary from its president or secretary.

“It boils down on the technicality. For us that is not strict technicalities because that is a basic requirement for you to file anything in court of the judicial party. It has to be verified. They don’t have that,” said Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer of Comelec’s Second Division.

Ferrer was referring to Section 5 of the Party List Law (Republic Act 7941) where it states that a petition should be verified by its president or secretary in filing with the Comelec their desire to participate in the party-list system.

But in its Motion for Reconsideration, the group admitted that they overlooked the need to have their documents verified by founder and president Nid Anima.

“It is admittedly an oversight on the part of Alyansa Sabungero to skip things it thinks as obvious… even its having to commit compliance with the laws, rules and regulations relating to elections,” the group said.

A total of 264 organizations have filed for accreditation at the Comelec, including Ang Ladlad which represents gays, lesbians, transgenders, and bisexuals.