Party-list reform bill filed

A SENATOR on Monday filed a measure that will reform the country’s party-list system by barring political dynasties and contractors from running for elective positions, aimed at countering alleged corruption in the party-list system.

Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel filed Senate Bill No. 1656, which proposes to bar spouses or relatives of an elected official within the fourth degree of consanguinity from running as a party-list member.

It also prohibits any party-list representatives from holding government contracts, serving as an official of a company that is involved in state projects, or possessing beneficial ownership of a firm involved in government projects.

“This bill aims to reclaim the voice of ordinary Filipinos who’ve been shut out of power because of abusive personalities who are using the party-list system as a backdoor to power,” Ms. Hontiveros said in a separate statement.

This followed findings in congressional inquiries that some party-list representatives were allegedly benefiting from government projects.

“This blatant conflict of interest has no place in a democracy. After decades of abuse and loopholes, the sweeping reforms proposed in these bills hope to hand the reins back to everyday Filipinos,” Ms. Hontiveros said.

The proposed measure also seeks to remove the three-seat limit for party-list representatives, enabling “full democratic and proportional representation.”

It also proposes a new formula for determining the allocation of seats for party-lists representatives. Under the proposal, the number of votes obtained by a party-list will be multiplied by the available seats and divided by the total number of valid votes cast.

The bill also bans the registration of party-list organizations that are patterned after television or radio programs, government assistance programs, or the names of public officials, celebrities, and other public figures.

The senator added that this would ensure that the system remains focused on genuine sectoral representation.

Meanwhile, a counterpart measure was filed by congressmen on Monday, which likewise removes the three-seat limit on party-list groups and ban nominees that have links to government deals, all while prohibiting representatives part of a political family.

“This measure seeks to re-establish the constitutional intent of the party-list system — a clear opportunity to democratize political power from the elite few to the people,” authors Party-list Reps. Jose Manuel Tadeo I. Diokno, Percival V. Cendaña, Dadah Kiram Ismula and Kaka Bag-ao said in the measure’s explanatory note.

The Philippine party-list system was created by the 1987 Constitution, with its framers seeing the system as allowing underrepresented sectors to participate in the lawmaking process. It has since been expanded in 2013 after the Supreme Court ruled that political parties could also participate in the party-list system. — Adrian H. Halili and Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio