Trimming the Party List

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The announcement from the Commission on Election that it has delisted 25 organizations from the officially registered list of sectoral party-list groups has been met with relief by both ordinary citizens and politicians. The poll body released to the media yesterday the names of the groups stricken from the official list because they had failed to get the required number of votes for them to still be considered in the elections of 2007, or they had failed to participate in the last two elections.

Ever since the last amendments were made in the Constitution, among them one that provided for the introduction of the party-list concept, many Filipinos have been wondering about the rationale for it. At first it seemed that the justification that it would enable those from the so-called marginalized sectors to have a voice in Congress that they would not be able to attain, if they had to go through the normally costly campaigns undergone by those who would represent their districts in the House of Representatives, was reasonable enough.

But subsequent elections have shown the burgeoning of the supposedly “marginalized” who have turned out representatives coming from, not only wealthy, but even highly influential sectors or families. And then, too, more and more groups sprouted, with leaders whose targets were to get to Congress in what one may call an easy and painless manner.

COMELEC Chairman Jose Melo was right in saying that the party-lest idea has “gotten out of hand”. He should know whereof he speaks, because, as he also revealed, there are now more than 200 party-list groups seeking accreditation and entry into the 2010 elections. With that number, will the elections then not be swamped with more party-list candidates than what we may call the “regular” ones?

No doubt, those who pushed for the party-list participation had good intentions. But they probably did not reckon with the fact that, as in most things that we see in life, there can be too much of a good thing.

Let us have representation from our marginal people, but let us stick to what the law says and make sure the ones claiming to belong to that sector really do. Otherwise the party-list participation could turn into another mockery of the law.*