Ex-ANAD partylist solon eyes seat in City Council

CEBU, Philippines – Former congressman Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr. of the Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) Party-list is eyeing a seat in the Cebu City Council in 2016 elections.

Camputhaw barangay councilman Raymond Alvin Garcia said Alcover together with him is in the list of Team Rama candidates for councilors in the north district.

Alcover said he is just waiting for Mayor Michael Rama to officially announce their slate. Alcover’s son, Pastor “Jongjong” Alcover III is now the deputy mayor of Rama for hilly land barangays. Jongjong completed his term as barangay captain of Agsungot and was succeeded by his wife, Noli Ann.

Another son of Jun, Lemar Alcover, is also the barangay captain of Sambag 1.

In 2001, Jun decided to bring his incessant peaceful anti-communism campaign to the hallowed halls of the House of Representatives, through the country’s partylist system of representation.

ANAD joined the 2004 elections and won one seat with over 300,000 votes but some opposing forces fought hard and prevented ANAD partylist from taking its rightful seat in Congress.

Unfazed, ANAD Partylist made another shot during the May 14, 2007 elections.

Finally, the Supreme Court puts its imprimatur on ANAD partylist’s competence and qualification as among the 18 winners in the elections for partylist representation.

With the order of the Supreme Court, Jun Alcover took his oath of office before House Speaker Prospero Nograles on April 28, 2009, barely a year before the next elections in 2010.

In 2010, ANAD also got another term but the proclamation was also delayed for a year. In 2013, the Commission on Elections upheld the disqualification of ANAD and 11 other party-list groups.

It was Kontra Daya who earlier pushed that ANAD should be disqualified without the need for Comelec to conduct a summary evidentiary hearing even after the Supreme Court issued new guidelines which allowed non-marginalized groups to join the partylist elections.

Alcover said that Kontra Daya is another legal front of the Communist Party of the Philippines. —/FPL (FREEMAN)