During a business trip with a former college professor earlier this month to Tarlac City, our heads suddenly rolled upon seeing a newly established party-list group whose name is currently being advertised just right after the Luisita exit.
The name of the newly founded party-list as stated in its supposed premature campaigning is “SSS-GSIS Pensioners Party-list.”
I immediately called the attention of my college mentor since we’re inside the same vehicle and asked him: “Did you see that Prof.? Okay din sa gimik to ah? Maraming mabubudol yan panigurado.”
I told him that with the kind of brand the said group has, it’s really possible for them to secure more than two congressional seats considering that there are close to 400,000 active pensioners from GSIS and another 2.2 million from SSS.
The professor, who is also a prominent political analyst, agreed with my observation, adding that he’s actually expecting new batches of party-list groups sprouting like mushrooms in next year’s midterm polls.
The 1987 Constitution paved the way for the representation of the underrepresented community sectors or groups in the Lower House including labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural, women, youth, and other such sectors as may be defined by law.
But no thanks to the 2013 Supreme Court ruling which clarified that the party-list is a system of proportional representation. The said High Court’s Decision opened the doors to various kinds of groups and parties, and not an exercise exclusive to marginalized sectors—which many experts believed that it contradicts the true essence enshrined under the 1987 charter.
The total number of seats allotted to the party-list system is equivalent to 20 percent of the entire elected congressional districts. During former President Duterte’s term, Congress has created additional congressional districts in various parts of the country—which means additional allotted seats also for the party-list.
Since the 2013 SC ruling took effect, many of the current party-list groups were either an offspring of another party-list group or their congressional nominees belonged to prominent local or national political clans.
The names of some party-list groups currently seating in Congress were even derived not only from various famous television shows but also from popular cash aid programs by the government, even though the said groups have really nothing to do with those brands.
So don’t get shocked by October if there are party-list groups who might use the initials of President Marcos Jr. or other prominent political figures, as well as the abbreviation of various social amelioration programs currently being implemented by the national government.
Also, don’t forget about those OG party-lists who allegedly have ties with the communist rebels as well as those being used by various influential religious groups despite the fact that there’s a constitutional provision on the Separation of Church and State.
During the last three congresses, it’s quite ironic that the party-list system—originally designed to represent the underrepresented in the Lower House—are now being handled or represented by real billionaire politicians.
It's been thirty-seven years since the party-list system was established but is the system still worth it in the next elections? Or is it really about time to abolish the party-list system since it's just basically a "carnival for the rich?"
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