The militant BAYAN-Bikol had been very critical of party list group AKO BICOL or AKB ever since the latter fielded itself in the last National and Local Elections of May 2010. Very obviously funded and well-connected, AKB had been charged by BAYAN-Bikol of being a “front” for erstwhile Malacañang occupant Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The numerous advertisements it had on TV, print, radio, and even the huge billboards AKB put up during the campaign period indeed proved that it had adequate funding. This was not so surprising as the fact that even before it won in the elections, AKB was the only party list group whose press releases were carried by government media outlets PIA and PNA, indicating that AKB (or at least people within it) was in “friendly terms” with the Arroyo regime.
