On verge of delisting, Akbayan rises to the top

Akbayan party-list faced delisting in 2022 after failing to secure enough votes for a House seat, only to be saved by the Supreme Court after it affirmed the cancellation of the An Waray party-list's registration.

- By EJ MACABABBAD

Three years later, Akbayan leap-frogged to the No. 1 spot, topping other party-lists polling well in pre-election surveys, including ACT-CIS and 4Ps.

Akbayan ranked No. 16 in the final Social Weather Stations poll this cycle, a significant improvement from the 33-34 level in December 2024, but that only guaranteed one seat in the 20th Congress.

Assured of being a representative is human rights lawyer Chel Diokno—the son of former senator Jose Diokno—who failed in his 2019 and 2022 Senate bids.

Diokno said Akbayan, which was formed in 1998, anchored its campaign on messaging discipline, as evidenced by the party-list's viral tagline, "Pag mahal mo, Akbayan mo (If you love it, stand by it)."

"The tagline is very aligned with our track record at Akbayan," Diokno told The STAR's online show "Truth on the Line."

"We have long embraced the Filipino people by legislating bills that promote justice and are humane," the lawyer stressed.