Reviewing the Party-List Law and the 2004 Election
(First of two parts)

Nine years after the first party-list elections, 12 years after the passage of Republic Act No. 7941, and 20 years after the ratification of the present Constitution – is the party-list system serving the avowed purpose of giving voice to the voiceless?

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat

Is the party-list system effective in giving a voice for the voiceless?

The framers of the 1987 Constitution acknowledged the dominance of elite groups in the traditional political system. Acknowledging the need to give space to those with little or no representation in the traditional political system, they included a provision for a party-list system in which groups representing “marginalized and underrepresented sectors” may have congressional representation.

Art. VI, Sec. 5 of the Constitution states:

The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum of the total number of representatives including those under the list. For three consecutive terms after the ratification of this Constitution, one-half of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as provided by law, by selection or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by law, except the religious sector. 

In accordance with the said provision, from 1987 to 1998, 10 percent of the seats at the House of Representatives were occupied by representatives either selected or elected from the sectors enumerated.

In 1995, Republic Act (RA) No. 7941 (An Act Providing for the Election of Party-List Representatives through the Party-list System, and Appropriating Funds Therefor) was passed. It serves as the enabling law for Art. VI, Sec. 5 of the Constitution. Sec. 2 of RA 7941 provides:

The State shall promote proportional representation in the election of representatives to the House of Representatives through a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations or coalitions thereof, which will enable Filipino citizens belonging to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties, and who lack well-defined political constituencies but who could contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole, to become members of the House of Representatives. Towards this end, the State shall develop and guarantee a full, free and open party system in order to attain the broadest possible representation of party, sectoral or group interests in the House of Representatives by enhancing their chances to compete for and win seats in the legislature, and shall provide the simplest scheme possible.

Under the party-list system, party-list groups can have a maximum of three seats in the House of Representatives. Sec. 11 of RA 7941 further provides that:

The parties, organizations, and coalitions receiving at least two percent (2%) of the total votes cast for the party-list system shall be entitled to one seat each; provided, that those garnering more than two percent (2%) of the votes shall be entitled to additional seats in proportion to their total number of votes; provided, finally, that each party, organization, or coalition shall be entitled to not more than three (3) seats.

In addition, Section 5 of RA 7941 provides that:

Any organized group of persons may register as a party, organization or coalition for purposes of the party-list system by filing with the [Commission on Elections or] COMELEC not later than ninety (90) days before the election a petition verified by its president or secretary stating its desire to participate in the party-list system as a national, regional or sectoral party or organization or a coalition of such parties or organizations, attaching thereto its constitution, by-laws, platform or program of government, list of officers, coalition agreement and other relevant information as the COMELEC may require: provided, that the sectors shall include labor, peasant, fisherfolk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, veterans, overseas workers, and professionals.

The first party-list election was held in 1998. Since then, voters have been allowed to fill their ballots with one district representative and one party-list group.

Nine years after the first party-list elections, 12 years after the passage of RA 7941, and 21 years after the ratification of the present Constitution – is the party-list system serving the avowed purpose of giving voice to the voiceless?

Party-list groups and the 2004 elections

A review of what happened in the 2004 party-list election is necessary to know not only how many seats were given to party-list groups but also to know the kind of representation the marginalized sectors got.

Based on Comelec data on the 2004 elections, out of a total 66 party-list groups that participated, only 15 of them got the necessary votes to have 24 seats in the House of Representatives.

The party-list representatives in the 13th Congress are: Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño, and Joel Virador of Bayan Muna (People First); Edgar Valdez, Ernesto Pablo, and Sunny Rose Madamba of the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC); Etta Rosales, Mario Aguja, and Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel of Akbayan; Rene Velarde and Hans Christian Señeres of Buhay Hayaan Yumabong (Buhay or Let Life Grow); and Crispin Beltran and Rafael Mariano of AnakPawis (Toiling Masses);

Joel Villanueva of Citizen's Battle Against Corruption (Cibac); Liza Maza of the Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP); Renato Magtubo of the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM or Workers’ Party); Benjamin Cruz of the Butil (Grain) Farmers Party; Eulogio Magsaysay of the Alliance of Volunteer Educators (Ave); Ernesto Gidaya of the Veterans Freedom Party (VFP); Guillermo Cua of the Cooperative-National Confederation of Cooperatives (Coop-Natcco); Florencio Noel of An Waray (literally, Those Who Have Nothing); Mujiv Hataman of Anak Mindanao (Amin or Children of Mindanao), Acmad Tomawis of Ang Laban ng Indiginong Filipino (Alif or The Struggle of Indigenous Filipino); and Rodante Marcoleta of Alagad (literally, Agent).

Bayan Muna, a consistent topnotcher in the 2001 and 2004 party-list election, has established a reputation for taking the cudgels for the basic masses (workers, peasants, and urban poor) and other marginalized sectors. According to its website, the party-list group is “a national political party composed mainly of workers, farmers, professionals and other progressive sectors that champions the cause of ‘New Politics, the Politics of Change’ in the Philippines.”

PM is a worker-based affiliate organization of Sanlakas, which split from Bayan in the early 1990s over ideological differences.

Akbayan, on the other hand, represents a group that split from Bayan in the late 1990s, also over differences in ideology. It has affiliate groups representing workers, government employees, women workers, peasants, migrant workers, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

Links

For its part, An Waray describes itself as the party-list group of the people of Eastern Visayas, a region encompassing the Samar-Leyte provinces and Biliran. The people of Eastern Visayas are known as Warays. The party-list group has as its adviser former Northern Samar Rep. Wilmar Lucero who was described in the book Pork and Other Perks (published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism) as being rich enough to own a private helipad, among other properties.

Alif’s Tomawis, meanwhile, is said to be a businessman engaged in trucking services in Iraq among other overseas business contracts.

Another party-list group, AMIN, is said to be a representative of the Moro people. In the May 2004 elections, it competed with the Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro People) Party for the Moro vote. Amin became controversial when Suara Bangsamoro documented cases of dagdag-bawas (vote-padding and vote-shaving) in the province of Lanao del Norte. Based on election returns from Lanao del Norte, Suara Bangsamoro stressed that in some 20 precincts in the province there were more votes for party-list groups than the total number of actual votes cast. In these questionable election returns, AMIN had remarkably high number of votes.

Two of the party-list winners, APEC and Coop-Natcco, represent large cooperative networks. Coop-Natcco is a member of the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (Code-NGO), a coalition of reformist non-government organizations which initially supported President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo but is now critical of the Arroyo administration.

Three party-list groups that made it to the 13th Congress are said to have connections with religious formations. Buhay allegedly has links with the El Shaddai since Rene Velarde, one of the party-list group’s representatives, is a son of El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde. On the other hand, Cibac had Joel Villanueva as its representative in the 13th Congress and he happens to be a son of Jesus Is Lord Movement’s Eddie Villanueva who ran for president under the Bangon Pilipinas (Arise Philippines) Movement. Alagad, for its part, is reportedly supported by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC or Church of Christ). INC claims more than a million devotee-voters.

Meanwhile Butil, as its name suggests, represents the peasantry. Benjamin Cruz, who represented the party-list group in the 12th Congress, served his second term in the 13th Congress. Ironically, however, Cruz, together with House Speaker Jose de Venecia, co-authored House Bill No. 3339 which seeks to eliminate quantitative restrictions on rice imports and replacing these with tariffs. According to critics, HB 3339, if passed into law, will destroy the domestic rice industry by allowing unfair competition with countries with higher agricultural modernization and lower production cost and consequently displace some 2.4 million farmers. Bulatlat

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