It may only be through amending the Party-list System Act that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) can finally put an end to the abuse in the party-list system perpetrated by big businesses and political clans, an election watchdog said.

This, after a study by watchdog Kontra Daya found that most of the party-lists running in the 2022 national elections have ties with political dynasties, the Duterte administration, or big businesses–contrary to the role of party-lists which is to represent marginalized and underrepresented sectors.

At least 120 of the 177 party list groups on the ballot have been flagged by Kontra Daya. Of such a number, 44 groups are controlled by political clans, 21 are connected with large corporations, and at least 32 groups have links to the Duterte administration.

Among those that were flagged by Kontra Daya were ACT-CIS, Ako Bicol, 4Ps, Senior Citizens’ Partylist and Malasakit@Bayanihan. These party-lists are frontrunners in the polls and are expected to win three seats each, according to the latest preelection survey by Pulse Asia released last April 6.

“The party-list system is for the workers, farmers, indigenous peoples, and such other sectors. How can rich professionals, those who are not deprived of basic services, be on the level of the farmer, workers, and the toiling masses?” Kontra Daya convenor and UP Diliman journalism professor Danilo Arao said in an interview with the Collegian.

In the 1987 Constitution, the Party-list System Act of 1995 allows Filipinos from the marginalized sectors, organizations, and parties to become members of the House of Representatives. One-fifths, or 61 out of 304 House seats, is allocated for party-lists. A winning party-list can have up to three seats, depending on its share of the votes. In the 2019 elections, Kabataan, the last party-list to win a seat, managed to get a seat in Congress after only receiving 195,837 votes.

The party-list system, however, encountered significant change through the Atom Paglaum case of 2013. In the case, the Supreme Court ruled that party-lists are not exclusive to the marginalized and underrepresented group–in effect allowing rich politicians and big businesses to dominate the party-list race.

To reform the party-list system, an amendment must be made to the current Party-list System Act that would require nominees and party-lists to hail from marginalized and underrepresented groups, which, in effect, would overturn the Atom Paglaum case, the election watchdog said.

“The very essence of establishing the party-list system act is to genuinely represent the marginalized sectors in the country but as we can see, a lot of dubious groups are running for the elections lalo na for 2022 elections,” Bantay Boto 2022 convenor Louis Cenidoza said, adding that the rich and powerful have trampled the essence of the party-list system. Bantay Boto 2022 is an alliance of youth organizations promoting voters’ education. 

Reforming the Party-list Law

Three elections since the case, an analysis by think-tank IBON Foundation showed that 95 percent of the House of Representatives is composed of the richest 2 percent in the Philippines–a far cry from the supposed intent of electing the poor and marginalized in Congress.

Because of the lower threshold for winning a seat, Arao argued the party-list system is the cheaper way to get a seat in the House of Representatives without relying on a geographical voter base.

Running for the lower house is also cheaper compared with a Senate run. An IBON estimate showed that a candidate vying for a seat in the lower house is assumed to spend around P15 million. In total, the entire House could spend up to P14.2 billion in a single election cycle.

“It’s still a big amount of money, but for the rich, it’s just a drop in the bucket. That's why they can afford not just one but several seats in Congress. It’s still hard for the poor to get a seat in Congress if you want to wage a decent campaign because you will be needing millions of pesos,” Arao said.

Some legislators have, nonetheless, taken notice of the problem. In 2019, Sens. Franklin Drilon and Leila De Lima filed bills to reform the party-list system to level the playing field among parties and prohibit party switching to strengthen the party system. The bills have not been acted upon until now.

However, even Arao noted that it is unlikely that the Congress will act upon measures that would reform itself.

“You cannot expect the majority of the members of the House to shoot themselves on the foot. It is dominated by the rich and powerful so they would want the party-list system to still be controlled by the rich and powerful,” Arao pointed out.

Urging the COMELEC to Act 

While calling on Congress to reform the law is a probable solution, election watchdogs believe that urging the COMELEC to implement a better screening process for party-lists can likewise prevent abuses.

For one, Arao said, the COMELEC can check the Income Tax Returns (ITR) of a party-list’s nominees.

“If you want to represent the workers, you cannot have an ITR that’s equivalent to a millionaire. So, if you have an ITR that points to a low salary then most likely you can be a party-list nominee. This kind of screening process would be necessary so that the rich and powerful would be discouraged [to] maintain partylist groups,” Arao said.

Currently, the Party-list Act only requires groups to submit their constitution, by-laws, platform or programs, and list of officers as a requisite for registration. Requiring the submission of an ITR may be used by a party to prove they are from an underrepresented or marginalized sector. Otherwise, the COMELEC is justified to disallow them from running.

Another resolution, Arao said, is to challenge and reverse the Atom Paglaum case. Such a course of action, however, would necessitate a petition to be submitted to the Supreme Court.

But amid calls to overhaul the party-list system, Arao emphasized that the act, nonetheless, still allows some legitimate party-list groups that indeed serve the underrepresented. They are, however, the exception rather than the rule.

Some of the party-list groups that were not flagged by Kontra Daya are the Makabayan Bloc, which consists of Bayan Muna, Kabataan, Gabriela, Anakpawis, and the ACT Teachers party-lists; as well as Akbayan, 1-ANG EDUKASYON, and Cancer party-lists.

Although demanding actions from the COMELEC is crucial, Bantay Boto 2022 asserts that while discussion about reforms is underway, groups like them can continue their voters’ education drive to inform the electorate about the party-list system.

“Pero kahit maiksi na ang oras, kaya pa rin nating mag-mobilize para magbahagi ng information kung sino ang genuine na representation ng sektor at at kung sino ang magsusulong ng policy sa legislature na sasalamin sa pangangailangan ng mamamayang Pilipino,” Cenidoza said. ●