Blatant bastardization of the party list system

To bastardize is to reduce the value of something that should have been very important, to bastardize is to distort the essence or meaning of an idea, an institution or a system, Above all, to bastardize is to defeat the primary objective of a movement or an advocacy; to derail the vision of the proponent, and thus to sabotage the noble intention for which something has been installed.

The party list system has been enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, specifically under Article VI, Section 5, paragraph 2 and other related provisions.It has been made operational by Republic Act 7941. Its purpose is to balance the representation in Congress so that those who are marginalized like farmers, fisher folks, cultural communities, tenants, PWDs, seniors and other vulnerable sectors might have voices. The best evidence of bastardization is that the richest member of the House today is a party list representative,. How can a multi-billionaire claim to represent the poor and the marginalized. That is a very obvious distortion of the system's objectives.

A son of a former president attempted to register a party list supposedly representing the security guards and tricycle drivers. My god, he is a former congressman and a son of a sitting president then, and he would claim to represent the poor drivers and guards? What kind of travesty is that? There are people who are pretending to represent the youth but who are already old. There are people who are claiming to represent the OFWs who have never worked abroad. There are LGBTs who claim they are marginalized. There are non-veterans claiming to represent the veterans.

I was asked by a number of party lists to submit documents so that I could be considered a nominee but I needed to put up five million. Obviously, these parties are going to give money to governors and mayors who would put their party on the LGU's sample ballots. Try to ask those running for mayors or governors and they will probably deny it. But why are they supporting very strongly some party list candidates, whose constituency is totally alien to the pressing problems of their province, city or town? Its all about money, of course. We were not born yesterday, not to understand this.

I am asking why is the COMELEC allowing too many regional party lists, when every district is already represented? For instance, why accredit a Bicol, an Ilocano,a  Waray, a Bisaya, a Mindanao party list, when all the districts all over the Philippines are already represented. The purpose of the party list is to provide a voice to those  sectors that are not represented in Congress. Why is this?  Are Bicolanos, Ilocanos and Warays marginalized sectors? Instead of balancing representation, it exacerbates the imbalance.

If there is going to be an amendment of the Constitution, this is one provision that should be seriously reviewed. I am not saying that we should abrogate the party list system. The purpose is well-taken. But its operationalization has been repeatedly and shamelessly bastardized. Family dynasties are using it as a vehicle to exacerbate concentration of powers on a few elite and moneyed trapos.Let us plug the loopholes. In the meanwhile, we should reject these fake party lists masquerading as marginalized, led by multi-millionaires. Shame, shame, shame.