The Philippine Online Chronicles

This May, four terms will have passed since the electorate began voting for parties and organizations representing various sectors in the country. However, the controversies that have arisen, especially in this year’s forthcoming national elections, has driven many, including the original proponents of the law that enabled it, to conclude that the Party-list system is a failure.

House of 'Representatives'

Two decades since the fall of Martial Law, Congress remained a bastion of political dynasties. Among the members of the Lower House, 76 percent (or roughly eight out of ten) come from political families.

Moreover, while the poverty incidence in the country continues to increase, our lawmakers continue to grow richer. The average net worth of congressmen has increased from P8 million in 1992 to P28 million in 2001. The richest member of the 14^th Congress, Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, has assets worth P1.046 billion.

A typical congressman is college-educated (usually with a degree in law), has previously held a local government post and there is one chance in two that he is related to a former member of Congress. Far different from the average Filipino who has a few years of high-school education, and an annual income of about P150,000 in 2000.

Such figures ultimately lead to the question, “How representative is the House of Representatives?”

Besides the domination of "elites," traditional political parties have also dominated the legislature since 1907, the first legislative elections for the Philippine Assembly (59 Nacionalistas dominated the 80-member house).

Currently, most representatives come from the Partido LAKAS-KAMPI-CMD – the administration coalition, the Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party, and other political parties, which has been criticized for serving as mere vehicles in electoral campaign.

The party-list system

As a remedy to the problem of representation in the House, the party-list system was envisioned as a means of providing the marginalized with representatives in the elite-dominated House.

The 1987 Constitution thus allocated 20 percent of the total number of seats in congress for party-list representatives.

The first party-list election was held in 1998, after Republic Act 7941, otherwise known as the Party-list System Act was signed into law in 1995. Since 1987 until 1998, the President of the Republic appointed sectoral representatives in Congress.

The system as it is practiced in the Philippines today is proportional in nature - the number of seats entitled to a party-list depends on the number of votes it gathers in the elections.

However, Section 11 of R.A. 7941 also states that in order to be entitled to a seat, a party-list must gain two percent of the total number of votes cast for party-lists. This equates to approximately 600,000 votes for this year’s elections. The same provision also provides for a maximum of three seats for every party-list that earns more than the two percent threshold (one seat for every two percent).

The method by which seats were allocated, however, changed in 2009 after a Supreme Court decision declared the two percent threshold to be unconstitutional because it “mathematically and physically prevents the filling up of the available party-list seats.” Thus, a second round of allocation is now applied; enabling top party-lists who did not gain the two percent of votes to qualify as members of the House.

Because there are now 220 congressional districts, 55 seats in the House are allocated for sectoral representatives.

Sectoral representatives in the 14^th Congress

1-UTAK Mendoza, Vigor Ma. II D.

A TEACHER Piamonte, Mariano U., Sarmiento, Ulpiano III P.

ABA-AKO Montemayor, Leonardo Q.

ABAKADA GURO Dela Cruz, Jonathan A.

ABONO Estrella, Robert Raymund M., Ortega Francisco Emmanuel III R.

ABS Leonen-Pizarro, Catalina G.

AGAP Briones, Nicanor M., Cobrador, Ceasar A

AKBAYAN Bello, Walden F., Hontiveros, Risa

ALAGAD Marcoleta, Rodante D., Osabel, Diogenes S.

ALIF Tomawis, Acmad M.

AMIN Hataman, Mujiv S., Hernandez, Ariel C.

AN WARAY Montejo, Neil Benedict A., Noel, Florencio 'Bem' G.

ANAD Alcover, Pastor Jr. M.

ANAKPAWIS Maglunsod, Joel B., Mariano, Rafael V.

ANG KASANGGA Arroyo, Ma. Lourdes T.

APEC Pablo, Ernesto 'Ernie' C., Valdez, Edgar L.

ARC Francisco, Oscar D., Santiago, Narciso III D.

AT Abayon, Daryl Grace J.

BANAT Britanico, Salvador B.

BANTAY Palparan, Jovito Jr. S.

BAYAN MUNA Casiño, Teodoro A., 

BUHAY Coscolluela, Ma. Carissa O., Tieng, Irwin C., Velarde, Rene M.

BUTIL Chavez , Leonila V.+, Guanlao, Agapito H.

CIBAC Cruz-Gonzales, Cinchona C., Villanueva, Emmanuel Joel J.

COOP NATCO Paez, Cresente C., Ping-ay, Jose R.

GABRIELA Ilagan, Luzviminda C., Largoza-Maza, Liza T.

KABATAAN Palatino, Raymond V.

KAKUSA Canonigo, Ranulfo P.

SENIOR CITIZENS Arquiza, Godofredo V.

TUCP Mendoza, Raymond Democrito.C.

UNI-MAD Lim, Teodoro L.

VFP Santos, Estrella DL.

YACAP Lopez, Carol Jayne B., Omar, Haron D.

Source: Congress.gov.ph

Gains and victories

Since the first party-list elections, we now have members of Congress who would never have had a chance to be members of the House.

Among the first to join and win in the partylist elections, CIBAC and Akbayan are still running this year.

Even the Philippine Left, who has criticized Philippine elections as essentially a contest among ruling classes, has been joining the race since 2001, under Bayan Muna Partylist, and later branching out into other sectoral groups such as Anakpawis (workers and peasants), Gabriela (women), and Kabataan (youth).

Bayan Muna assessed the said system as “a chance, though a limited one, for the marginalized and under-represented to have a voice in government decision-making.”

Not surprisingly, most of the poorest members of the House of Representatives come from Party-lists.

Source: Congress.gov.ph

As sectoral representatives, these groups have advanced and supported bills for the sectors they represent and the people in general, such as the P125 legislated wage hike for workers, P3,000 salary hike for public employees, repeal and reversal of unpopular policies such as the ExpandedValue Added Tax (EVAT), Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), Oil Deregulation Law, compensation for victims of Martial Law, among others.

The fact that there are now peasants and workers sitting as members of the Lower House is a victory for the people itself, although they will always be a minority when compared to the 220 district representatives.

With their efforts being constantly thwarted by their colleagues, the same party-lists succeed in illustrating the genuine character of congress and for whose interests it serves.

Limitations

However, the system is far from perfect, and party-lists themselves recognize the many limitations of the system.

For one, the three-seat cap means that votes exceeding the six percent ceiling can be considered as “wasted.”

Moreover, although it is growing, there is still low public awareness regarding the system, which makes it more difficult for part-lists to gain seats.

A recent Pulse Asia survey reveals that six out of ten Filipinos or 58 percent still have not heard or read anything about the system. Majorities in all geographic areas (51 percent to 61 percent) and practically every socio-economic class (58 percent to 60 percent) are also not aware and it is only in the best-off Class ABC that a majority awareness level is recorded at 55 percent.

Worse, administration allies, former government executives, and even a presidential son are now running as party-list representatives.

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