Reforming the Party List System

 

                                                     

The year 2025 was rainy in the Philippines which resulted in massive floodings in Metro Manila. Investigations revealed that corruption in flood control projects aggravated the sufferings of people because of substandard, overpriced and ghost projects. There were allegations of commission received by legislators on projects worth billions of pesos. With that amount, those accused politicians are believed to have earned big money that could make an ordinary Filipino an instant multi-millionaire. As an example, a billion-peso project with just 10% commission will yield 100 million pesos earnings!

The scandals angered people and galvanized them so that thousands in various walks of life took to the streets in Metro Manila and some parts of the country. They asked for accountability to those who are involved in corruption and the government to take the necessary measures to stop or minimize corruption. Other issues they brought up included the constitutionally mandated but long taken for granted political anti-dynasty law and along with it the reform of the party list system. In this blog I shall focus more on the party list reform which is my main topic.

Under the previous Philippine constitutions there were only representatives elected from electoral districts. That set up was good enough for legislature. However, in1987, the framers of the new constitution introduced a novel concept in Philippines congress that was the party list. Under that system members of congress should consist of district and party list representatives. Originally, congress should be composed of 250 members with 20% of that coming from the Party list. The concept of the party list was to give the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of the society a voice in congress.  

In the beginning, candidates including those from the leftist groups were elected through the party list without issues from the public. But later, some dynastic politicians, business and influential religious groups also set their eyes on the party list. Their desire came to a head in 2013 when the Supreme Court ruled that party list representatives should not necessarily belong to the parties or groups they claim to represent. That ruling opened the doors for dynastic families and other interested groups to infiltrate the party list.

Although not all the representatives from the party list come from political dynasties and elites, many of them are.  A 2025 study by election watchdog Kontra Daya found that 86 of the 156 accredited party list groups in 2025 were linked to political dynasties and big business corporations.

The adoption by the country of the party list system is not an ideal experience because it does not serve the purpose to which it was originally intended. Instead, it is exploited by powerful political dynasties, business groups, and religious groups using their fronts to further enrich and empower them.

As an offshoot of the flood control scandal and the resulting people’s clamor for justice and reforms, there is a big possibility that the anti-political dynasty law will be passed in the 20^th congress; and it is hoped that it will be implemented in the 2028 elections and the succeeding 21^st congress. At present Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV filed Senate Bill 1559 which is called the “Party List Reform Act”.     

In the bill the COMELEC is mandated to thoroughly vet the parties or groups who wish to be elected through the party list to ensure their authenticity, and that the nominees should truly belong to the sectors or parties they claim to represent. In addition, the nominees should not be related within the third degree of consanguinity to incumbent elected government officials or connected to government funded infrastructure projects as a contractor or as an officer of a company building the projects. The passing of the bill plus the Anti-Political Dynasty Law will hopefully improve the country’s political and electoral situations and usher economic prosperity.

A system that is deviated from its original purpose for the benefit of those who should be excluded from it needs to be reformed so that it would not become a burden to our political system. Keeping it defies logic and insults our common sense. The other alternative is to abolish it. However, doing so is difficult because the system is embedded in the constitution. 

Why the Philippines Needs Anti-Political Dynasty Law

 

                             

“The state shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibits political dynasties as maybe defined by law,” says Section 26, State Policies, 1987 Philippine Constitution. The congressmen and senators are therefore required to pass laws to implement that provision. However, after three decades they are yet to act on it. Instead of fading out, political dynasties have grown bigger, dominating the political landscape from Luzon to Mindanao. 

The country has had leaders from political families from the national to local levels since its independence from the United States. However, issues such as poverty, corruption, underdevelopment and others persist, and people think that their leaders or their political systems have failed them. It will be an exaggeration to say that political dynasties are the root cause of our problems, but certainly it is one of them. Eliminating one of the issues which is political dynasty is a step in the right direction to move this country forward.  It is imperative for the legislators to pass anti-political dynasty laws because: 1) They are mandated by the constitution to do it, 2) the people expected them to do their duty, and 3) the good of the people must prevail over their self-interest. Below are some more reasons to have an anti-political dynasty law:  

Political dynasties treat government offices like family business. The head of political dynasty is not content with having an elective position all alone. He wants to share the privilege with his family. This will result in a family with members holding multiple government positions all at the same time from the national down to local levels including the barangay. An example of dynasties monopolizing public office is the senate where there are four pairs of siblings who are senators which is equivalent to 1/3 of the total number of 24 senators in that chamber. 

Political dynasties undermine our electoral system. Most often, politicians from political families are among the rich in a community. They have the name, the money, and the political machineries for an election. Over time, long entrenched politicians who mostly belong to political families would learn the tricks of winning elections. These include vote buying and patronage politics such as giving ayudas which are aimed especially to lower income groups who comprised the largest percentage of voters. For these reasons, it is hard for a qualified and well-intentioned candidate to beat them. Candidates from dynasties always win elections because the playing field is not level on the side of their opponents.       

Political dynasties hijack the party list system- The party list system is introduced in the 1987 constitution to enable the underprivileged and underrepresented sectors to have a voice in congress. However, political families also intruded into the party list so that some of its representatives came from dynastic families. This creates a situation where two or more representatives come from just one family or clan. This situation has defeated the purpose of party list representation in congress. 

Political dynasties breed corruption. Long serving politicians such as senators and representatives who belong to political families have a say on government infrastructure projects under their jurisdiction. This will make them in contact with DPWH officials, other government agencies and private contractors involved in project implementation. Over time, their connections make them close to each other, and it’s highly likely that kickbacks and commissions will become a secret deal in their transactions. In the flood control investigation by congress in Bulacan and other parts of the country hundreds of billions of pesos are wasted through corruption. Most of those involved politicians came from dynastic families. It is not just enough to punish the culprits since people who will take their place might be as corrupt or more corrupt as the people they replace with. Fixing the system might be a better way to prevent the wrongdoings from persisting.

What can be done to check the growth of political dynasties:                                                                

Massive information campaigns should be conducted to educate the people about the negative effects of political dynasties. This can be done through the social or mainstream media and even through the ordinary people since nowadays information can be easily accessed with a cell phone. Church, civil society, schools, students and the youth particularly the millennials and Gen Z generations should be tapped for this endeavor. Their clamor will make the topic of anti-political dynasty an issue in the 2028 election which will make voters support anti-political dynasty candidates. If majority of them win, then a law could be passed in the next congress.

If above method fails, then a people’s initiative will be another remedy. People can make laws they want if the lawmakers are negligent or unwilling to perform their mandate. The initiative needs the verified signatures of 10% of total number of registered voters in the Philippines, with at least 3% of total number of verified registered voters for each legislative districts.

The last resort is a constitutional convention. This time there will be delegates who will deliberate not only on political dynasty but also on other matters of importance. There will be amendments or changes to the 1987 Constitution as the delegates may deem appropriate under the circumstances.