Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (transl. Force of the Heroic Athlete) also known as the PBA Partylist is a political organization which has partylist representation in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It aims to represent the interest of Filipino sportspeople.[1]

PBA Partylist
LeaderMargarita Ignacia Nograles
PresidentMark Aeron Sambar
ChairmanJericho Nograles
HeadquartersQuezon City
ColorsBlue
Sector representedSports
Seats in the House of Representatives
1 / 63
(party-list seats only)
Website
http://pbapartylist.org/

History

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The PBA Partylist ran in the 2007 elections but failed to win a seat.[2]

In the 2010 elections, it was endorsed by professional boxer Manny Pacquiao who was also the organization's chair at the time.[2] PBA spent ₱80 million the most among candidate partylists in that elections, although this was still within the spending limit of ₱3 per registered voter or ₱150 million[3] The organization managed to win a seat in the 2010 elections.[4] During the 15th Congress, the PBA filed a bill proposing the creation of a Department of Sports but the proposal did not become law due to a lack of time.[5]

The PBA Partylist lost representation in the Congress after it failed to secure at least a seat in the 16th Congress in the 2013 elections.[5] The group regained representation in the following Congress after it garnered enough votes to win two seats in the House of Representatives.[6]

The organization generated controversy in February 2024 as its members admitted to bribery in Davao City during their campaigning for Constitutional reform in the Philippines through the People's Initiative.[7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "PBA Party-list : Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta". Library of Congress. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Llanto, Jesus (November 29, 2009). "Pacquiao endorses athletes' group for party list". ABS-CBN News.
  3. ^ "Pacquiao's PBA biggest party-list spender". ABS-CBN News. May 29, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  4. ^ Santos, Reynaldo Jr. (March 18, 2020). "17 partylist groups in Congress barred in 2013?". Rappler. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Baquero, Elias (March 2, 2016). "Party-list group to help athletes". Sun Star. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Santos, Tina G. (May 20, 2016). "Winners of 59 seats in party-list race announced". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  7. ^ G, Herbie (2024-02-03). "Davao witnesses link PBA party-list workers to 'deceptive' Cha-Cha initiative". RAPPLER. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  8. ^ "People in Davao 'deceived' into signing people's initiative forms – barangay officials". MindaNews. Retrieved 2024-02-04.