There have been calls for the abolition of the party-list system in the Philippines from several quarters, foremost of which is from my good friend and former boss at the defunct Daily Express, now Inquirer columnist Neal H. Cruz.
Neal pointed out that 99% of the accredited party-list groups do not represent the marginalized sectors of society and that, in fact, only four of the 100 party-list representatives are not millionaires or multi-millionaires. He also laments that each of these congressmen are a drain to the taxpayers’ money because budgets are allocated to them and their office, and they also receive pork barrel funds. Because it seems that the Commission on Elections has been unable to plug the loopholes in the system, it would be better to abolish them.
While I understand the frustration of Neal and other critics of the constitutionally mandated political system, I still believe the party-list system, if implemented properly, would make the Philippines a genuine democracy, one where “sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”
Besides, the party-list system is mandated by the Constitution and unless the charter is amended, the government has to allocate 20% of all seats in the House of Representatives to these marginalized sectors.
We have to acknowledge the fact that the elected members of the House of Representatives have failed to promote the interest of the people, especially the sectors belonging to the peasants, urban poor, indigenous people, workers, teachers, etc., and have, in fact, placed their own selfish agenda above the general welfare.
And because these traditional politicians have the wealth and resources to get elected election after election, those who have the true interest of the people at heart are unable to get even close to the country’s lawmaking body. Running for elective posts, as we all know, requires a vast amount of money and resources that a true representative of the marginalized sectors most probably don’t have.
Even with the maximum 20% representation mandated by the Constitution, the sectoral representatives can easily be outvoted by the elected lawmakers, but at least the voices of these under-represented sectors will be heard in the halls of Congress and through the media. The ideal proportion would have been 50% sectoral and 50% elected representatives as in the German Bundestag (parliament), but that would be asking too much under the circumstances.
What is important is that the Commission on Elections should make sure that these sectoral representatives really belong to, or at least truly represent, the marginalized sector whose interests they are supposed to protect and promote.
That is exactly what the Comelec under Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. is doing, and the election officials should be commended for showing political will in weeding out the party list system of fraudulent groups and representatives.
In the May 2010 elections, at least 187 groups vied for at least one seat per group in the House of Representatives. Of the 187, five were considered to have substantial chances of garnering the maximum number of three seats. These were: Bayan Muna (8.03%), Aangat Pilipino (6.34%), Anak Pawis (5.88 %), Gabriela Women’s Party (5.55%), and Akbayan (5.07%)
For the 2007 elections, 13 party-lists were proclaimed winners, with the top five namely: Buhay (Buhay hayaan humabong) – 1,163,218 votes; Bayan Muna – 927,730 votes; Cibac (Citizens Battle Against Corruption) – 760,260 votes; Gabriela – 610,451 votes; and APEC (Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives) – 538,971 votes. These groups were able to capture at least two seats each.
Some of these groups were deemed legitimate party-lists because they represent the peasants and urban poor, but questions have been raised against Aangat Pilipino, which is reportedly being financed by Agusan Rep. Rodolfo Plaza of the prominent Plaza clan.
Lately, Akbayan, which was previously represented by progressives Risa Ann Hontiveros and Loretta Rosales, has been the subject of protest because most of its members are now members of the Aquino Cabinet, including Rosales, Political Affairs Adviser Rolando Llamas, Undersecretary Ibarra Gutierrez, National Anti-Poverty Commission chairman Joel Rocamora, and Angelina Ludovice-Katoh, a member of the Presidential Commission on Urban Poor, , GSIS board member Mario Agujo, Social Security System Commissioner Daniel Edralin, and National Youth Commission Commissioner Percival Cendaña.
Akbayan is currently represented by Rep. Walden Bello, who is Aquino’s avid defender in his Philippine Star column, and Rep. Kaka Bag-ao. Akbayan’s nominees in the May elections are Gutierrez, Rocamora and Katoh.
When asked why Bag-ao, who is a known progressive for supporting the causes of the poor, was dropped as an Akbayan nominee, Bello said: “Performance and track record do not matter. It’s who toes the administration line, not the party-list line”.
Bello, an outspoken Aquino ally, inadvertently exposed the present character of Akbayan, which now clearly promotes the interests of the Aquino administration rather than the urban poor and peasants it claims to represent.
This perception was boosted by the admission of Aquino that his sisters Balsy, Viel and Kris and Viel’s husband donated a total of P17 million to the Akbayan 2010 campaign kitty, with Kris contributing P10 million. Akbayan received a total of $112 million in campaign contributions. During that election, Akbayan probably had more funds to spend than some traditional parties.
We have yet to see whether Brillantes and commissioner Grace Padaca, both Aquino appointees, would have the guts to purge Akbayan, which is the subject of petitions for purging by several groups, including Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Bayan Muna, former Dagupan-Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Fr. Joe Dizon of Kontra Daya, Bagong Ugnayan ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, and human rights watchdog Karapatan.
The election watchdog Kontra-Daya and the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) have asked the Comelec tpurhe some party-list groups, among them groups led by relatives of President Aquino and those of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In their petition, Kontra-Daya said the groups “represent interest antagonistic to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors that the party-list system aspires to empower and protect.”
A cursory look at the nominees of these party-list groups would easily reveal that some political families are making a mockery of the constitutional provision on party-lists.
Among the groups they want purged are the Aksyon Magsasaka-PartidoTinig ng Masa of former Tarlac Gov. Tingting Cojuangco, an aunt of Aquino, that was reportedly put up by landlords; and the Movement of Women for Change and Reform (MELCHORA), whose first nominee is Mary Grace Ibuna, granddaughter of four-term San Juan Mayor Ignacio Ibuna and common-law wife of the late Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, brother of former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.
Kontra-Daya also sought the purging of Kasangga, which claims to represent the sector of small entrepreneurs, but Kontra-Daya says that none of its representatives, as well as nominees, ever belonged to this sector as they are members of the powerful economic elite. Its representative in 2007 was Ma. Lourdes Tuason-Arroyo, sister of Mike Arroyo and its current representative is businessman Teodorico T. Haresco, who Kontra-Daya said was the contractor builder of the hundreds of bridges under President Arroyo with P92.814-million net worth. Their other nominees are Gwendolyn Pimentel, sister of Sen. Koko Pimentel; and former agrarian reform secretary and now head of the Local Water Utilities Administration.
Another party-list group, Ang Galing Pinoy, claims to represent tricycle drivers and security guards, is led by current representative Mikey Arroyo, son of former President Arroyo and whose net worth is P99.2 million. Its first nominee is Charlie Garcia Chua is senior partner of the Chua and Munsayac Law Firm and reportedly the right-hand man of Mayor Dennis Pineda of Lubao, Pampanga; and second nominee is Eder Garcia Dizon, a cosmetic surgeon and owner of Suncove Corporation, a franchise holder of PCSO Small Town Lottery, a legalized version of jueteng.
Kontra-Daya also wants the purging of the Agrarian Development Association (ADA), led by nominees former congressman Eric D. Singson, and incumbent Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric “Owen” Singson, Jr. of the powerful Singson clan.
Another product of another political dynasty is the Alliance of Organizations, Networks and Associations of the Philippines (ALONA) with Danilo Suarez Jr., Joanna Suarez and Alexis Abastillas-Suarez, members of the Suarez clan of Quezon led by Rep. Danilo Suarez, most loyal ally of Arroyo.
Also under scrutiny is the Kabalikat ng Bayan sa Kaunlaran (KABAKA) whose first nominee is Amanda Christina Bagatsing, daughter of Rep. Amado Bagatsing of Manila’s Bagatsing clan.
Another questionable party-list is Ilaw ng Bayan (ILAW), whose first nominee is Gerard Hilarion Ramiro, son of Misamis Occidental long-term Rep. Hilarion Ramiro and Gov. Herminia Ramiro.
Kontra-Daya said there are also compelling reasons to oppose the participation ofAng Mata’y Alagaan (AMA) with nominees Lorna Q. Velasco, Atty. Tricia Nicole Velasco-Catera and Vincent Michael Velasco, a family enterprise of Justice Presbitero Velasco.
Kontra-Daya also want disqualified a group called Kapatiran ng mga Nakakulong na Walang Sala (KAKUSA) which claims to represent wrongfully convicted prisoners. Its sitting representative is Ranulfo Canonigo and its nominees for 2013 are Jesusa Sespene and former Congressman Romeo Jalosjos, who is a recently released convicted rapist. At least we know that Jalosjos is a convicted prisoner, but whether he was wrongly convicted is another matter.
So far, the Comelec has barred from the 2013 elections 15 party-list groups, including KAKUSA and Mikey’s Ang Galing Pinoy.
KAKUSA is the sixth accredited party-list group with incumbent representatives to be barred from joining the 2013 polls.
Brillantes and company has the unenviable task of purging the ever-growing roster of party-list groups. They still have 87 groups to review, including some of those mentioned above that were obviously established to further perpetuate the hold of the few political families that have monopolized power in the Philippines and who continue to mock the Constitution’s democratic provisions.
The Comelec has decisions of the Supreme Court and the 1987 Constitution to back them up in their deliberations. Let us hope Brillantes’ Comelec will be different from the previous poll bodies and will not allow itself to be used by these scheming politicians.
Let sovereignty reside in the people, as the Constitution dictates.
