For the marginalized, what was supposed to be an opportunity for representation is now a travesty.
In 1995, the Party-List System Act (RA 7941) was enacted into law "to attain the broadest possible representation of party, sectoral or group interests in the House of Representatives by enhancing their chances to compete for and win seats in the legislature, and shall provide the simplest scheme possible." (Sec. 2, RA 7941)
Through the years, this "simple scheme" became an elaborate scam, as evidenced by how the rich and powerful have repeatedly used the party-list election to consolidate their control of their respective districts and the House of Representatives as an institution. The situation has been exacerbated by the Supreme Court's decision that practically allowed party-list nominees to run even if they do not belong to the sector they claim to represent.
Two years ago, Kontra Daya conducted a study on party-list groups and came up with this conclusion: "The Supreme Court decision on the qualification of partylist nominees along with very lax Comelec guidelines, in the context of a political system already dominated by the rich and powerful, are to blame for rise of political dynasties in the partylist system. This development also makes it even harder for grassroots-based partylist groups to gain entry into Congress as they face further marginalization from the rich and powerful dynasties."
As the submission of certificates of candidacy (COCs) ended last October 17, we look back at how former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque initially announced being first nominee for Luntiang Pilipinas partylist last Monday (October 15) only to change his mind two days later to run for senator instead under the People's Reform Party (PRP).
It is so convenient for the rich and powerful like Roque to make a mockery of the election process, particularly the partylist system which is supposed to change the composition of the House of Representatives, described by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as being "dominated by parties with big political machinery." (COMELEC Primer on the PartyList System of Representation in the House of Representatives)
Kontra Daya started the campaign against fake party-list groups and unqualified nominees more than a decade ago, during the 2007 elections. To this day, many nominations in the party-list system have become a matter of political expediency and do not appear to require actual membership and track record of advocacy.
We single out the case of Roque's seemingly overnight membership and nomination in Luntiang Pilipinas, only to drop his bid at the last minute so that he can run for senator under the PRP. The party-list system is not just a backdoor for the rich and powerful to enter Congress, it has become some kind of fallback option for the same rich and powerful.
How did Roque secure a nomination in this partylist? Was he ever a member to begin with? Was he ever nominated through a convention? What does it say of party-list groups that allow such shortcuts to happen?
We challenge the COMELEC to state for the record what it has done to prevent the rich and powerful to exploit the party-list system at the expense of the marginalized in whose name the law was made. For example, what has the Comelec done to prevent past reports of party-list groups for sale?
Danilo Arao, convener, Kontra Daya