MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – The next time Filipino voters go to the polls to vote for party-lists, there will be new accredited groups to choose from.

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) today announced that it has unanimously approved the following:

• The Kabataan party-list has been abolished. In its place, two new party-lists have been accredited: the Youth party-list and the Borderline party-list. The poll body said this would end all controversy and debate on who qualifies as ‘youth.’
• Two new groups representing the Filipino transgender community have also been certified: the Pre-Op party-list and the Post-Op party-list. COMELEC says this move will be better reflect the diversity within the community.