Nurses, doctors and health workers belonging to the Health Workers Partylist picketed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Intramuros, Manila on August 27 to call on the agency to allow their party to run for party list electios in 2025. Concurrently, they filed a Motion for Reconsideration on August 22 at the commission regarding the agency’s refusal to register the party.

“It is hollow and insincere to hail health workers as ‘modern heroes’ …(then) deny their bid to push for changes in our ailing healthcare,” Dr. Joyce Brillantes, party official, said.

The Comelec en banc dismissed the Health Workers Partylist’s registration papers over a simple technicality of differentiating a “sectoral party” from a “sectoral organization.” The party believes that the agency should not use this as a basis to prevent them from running.

“We shouldn’t allow this,” said the group. They said they successfully completed the Comelec’s requirements for registration. In fact, the party has at least 11 chapters in 16 cities in the National Capital Region.

“Our members are health workers who risked their own lives to save the lives of patients before, during and after the pandemic,” the group said. They further emphasized that they led mass actions for public health, salaries, benefits, protection and humane working conditions of health workers.

They expressed their extreme frustration with the Comelec for immediately depriving them of the opportunity before they could even inform more citizens of their legislative platforms and agenda.

Aside from submitting a motion for consideration to the Comelec, the group is also planning to submit a corresponding legal remedy to the Supreme Court.