The problem with the party-list system
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) sets the filing of the certificate of candidacy (COC) this Oct. 11 to 17 for the 2019 elections. Some politicians have expressed their ambition to run for public office several months ago. In fact, a few notable personalities already directly or indirectly hinted about their plans, despite the endless, more pressing controversies our country is facing. Luckily for them, when they do hint about their intentions, they easily get the spotlight they want.
The same cannot be said about the party-list system. Unlike district representatives, a party-list should present their top five nominees to Comelec that will represent them in the House when they win. Their seat allocation will be computed based on a formula by the Supreme Court to know the number of seats they will have, but it should not exceed three seats.
Just recently, Party-list Rep. Anecito “John” Bertiz of ACTS-OFW became controversial when he confronted an airport security personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, who requested him to remove his shoes when he entered the X-ray machine area. He later apologized for his misbehavior. While some party-list nominees do not truly represent the sector they are representing. Imagine a former presidential son representing the sector of security guards.
When it comes to publicity, some party-lists prefer to work under the radar, so they can be far from the criticism of the media and the public. They do this through legislating laws and resolutions that serve their interests. And this time, more than any other, is the most critical—budget season.
This is the time when many politicians take advantage of the opportunity to manipulate the budget. But merely looking through the contents of the GAA books will drag down anyone’s eyes, and this perhaps is the reason why provisions like Section 48 of the GAA 2018 escape the scrutiny of the rest of legislators.
Under Section 48 of the 2018 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the automatic payroll deduction system applies a hierarchical system prioritizing the GSIS in payroll deductions. The second group in priority are the non-stock savings and loans associations, which include a certain party-list that is known to be engaged in the lending business for almost five decades.
How have they become the priority over other private lending institutions? All we can do is guess and connect the dots. As far as the teachers are concerned, this policy further aggravates their financial situation as it prevents them from paying their loans from other financial institutions like insurance companies and rural and thrift banks.
Clearly, this is an example of how the party-list system is bastardized by interest groups without considering the unintended and dire consequence it will cause to their constituents.
As the 2019 midterm election is fast approaching, Comelec must start to get rid of fake representations and vouch for groups that genuinely advocate public interest. The challenge for the future party-lists is to gradually mature to a platform-based politics upholding public interest above all else.