THE EFFECT OF PARTY SWITCHING ON THE POLICY MAKING OF

SELECTED HOUSE MEMBERS FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

(2007-2016)

A Thesis Presented to the

Faculty of the Department of Political Science
Institute of Arts and Sciences
Far Eastern University
Manila, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

Comayog, John Ray

Lee, Won
Martinez, Jonil

April 2018

1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
ABSTRACT 3
LIST OF FIGURES 4
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 4
1 Introduction 5
1.1 Statement of the Problem 7
1.2 Theoretical Framework 8
1.3 Conceptual Framework 10
1.4 Assumption 13
1.5 Scope and Delimitations 14
1.6 Significance of the Study 15
1.7 Definition of Terms 17
2 Review of Related Literature 19
2.1 Party Switching as a Phenomenon 19
2.2 Political parties, Party Politics, and Party Switching in the Philippines 21
2.3 Executive – Legislative Relations 27
2.4 Other Factors that affect he Party System: Age, Gender, and Preference 29
2.5 Synthesis 30
3 Research Methodology 35
3.1 Research Design 35
3.2 Data Gathering Procedure 37
3.3 Key Informants of the Study 38
3.4 Sampling Technique 39
3.5 Research Instruments 40
3.6 Procedure 40
3.7 Ethical Consideration 42
3.8 Data Analysis 42
4 Results and Discussion 44
4.1 Existence of Party Switching 44
4.2 The Benefits of the Political Party System in the Philippines 46
4.3 Problems of the Political Party System in the Legislative Process 50
4.4 Discussion 55
5 Summary of Findings, Conclusion, and Recommendations 59
BIBLIOGRAPHY

2
 ABSTRACT

The Political Party System in the Philippines has changed into a Multi-Party

System after the Marcos regime in which many ideas where given the opportunity

to promote their own ideology, and led to rampant exercise of party-switching.

Hence, the rise of different problems and interest of a politician has occured in our

system. This research is about the effect of party-switching on the policy making

process on selected members of the House of Representatives and member from

the academes of their respected colleges and universities. This research seeks to

know and discover the perspective of the academes and House Representatives

in accordance to the Political Party System in the Philippines with regards to party-

switching. To analyze the perspective, the researchers used a qualitative-

descriptive method. The data were treated via thematic coding and interpreted

themes based on interview transcriptions. The analyzed data found that there are

effects of party switching with regards to the policy making process of the selected

House Representatives. It was also found out that we have a very elementary

political party system in which the party discipline of each House Members is weak.

3
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1 Conceptual Paradigm 10

2 Party Affiliation 45

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Lakas – CMD Lakas ng Tao-Christian Muslim Democrats

LDP Lakas ng Demokratikong Pilipino

LP Liberal Party

NP Nacionalista Party

NPC National People’s Coalition

NUP National Unity Party

PDP- LABAN Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan

PDAF Priority Assistance Development Fund

UNA United Nationalist Alliance

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 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction

Party switching happens in every part of the world. Some notable examples

of party switching include the countries Brazil, Japan, and Mexico (Desposato,

2006; Desposato & Scheiner, 2007; Kerevel, 2017). Party-switching occurs when

parties are running for office; then, the politician has the initiative to switch to a

different party (Mainwaring, 1991). Excessive centralization can promote one-party

dominance, and excessive decentralization encourages party fragmentation. In

centralized cases like Japan, political actors have effectively just one source for

distributable goods, reinforcing the stability of single party majority rule. Similar

patterns existed until recently in countries like Italy and Mexico. National coalition

membership is usually quite stable and predictable, so the politicians’ initial choice

of party is usually sufficient for the duration of their career. In contrast,

decentralization in Brazil reinforces high party fragmentation; the reason for such

is that parties, whether national or sub national, align themselves with their state

that holds public resource (Desposato & Scheiner, 2007). There are two possible

reasons on why party switching occurs, the first is in relation with the advantages

or the “perks” given by it. The second reason is policy motivation (Mershon &

Shvetsova, 2005).

Philippine politics revolves around the relationship of families or political

dynasties, clans and their patron. Thus, these parties also are imbibing that the

5
primary motivation is to secure the posts, offices, and having its leaders be a part

of the government, and thus, receiving benefits as a client. Political Parties in the

country began to emerge during the colonial rule of the Americans. The first

political party was created by the local elites to handle its relationship with their

patrons, the Americans. It was established before the National Assembly that

happened in 1907, whose colonial machineries or support shifted to the provincial

leaders, then creating the Nacionalista Party, which in turn the First

Commonwealth President of the Philippines will then be chosen (Teehankee,

2012). Two parties, specifically the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party

spearheaded Philippine politics during the years 1942 to 1972; this trend was

halted due to the administration of Marcos. It was only when Marcos was ousted

from the position that parties again began to rise and repeat the actions of

switching parties (Lallana, 1989).

The shifting of party alliances could be associated to the issues and

controversies surrounding the legislators. One of the most popular and huge issue

is the Priority Assistance and Development Fund (PDAF) scam also known as the

Pork Barrel (Mendoza, R., et.al, 2011). This discretionary fund is allotted to the

allies of the palace for political and policy favors. This particular incident makes

people wonder whether the politicians that are elected are true to their words or

just wants to obtain wealth and power for their own

Party switching is a phenomenon which still occurs up until now; however,

despite it being evident especially during elections, it is usually ignored by the

people. Most studies talk about the presence and the reason why it occurs. The

6
researchers conducted this study in order to know the effect of party switching on

the House of Representatives in relation with the creation of policies.

Political parties play an important role in a democracy. A country or state

can only be considered democratic if the election that is being held is proven to

constitute a legitimate competition or rivalry between two or among several

candidates that are being supported by political parties or are running into office

independently. Among the functions of the said parties are to present their

candidates and electoral campaigns to the electorate. But they also have other

functions in a democratic country.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

This research is a descriptive study of the effect of party-switching on the

policy making of selected House members from the House of Representatives. In

the exploration of the said proposition, this research attempts to know how the

norms of the party system affect the policy making process. Specifically, it seeks

to find the answers to the following questions:

 Why does party-switching exist in the House of Representatives?

 Why party-switching necessary in the policy making process?

 What are the effects of party-switching in the policy making process?

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1.3 Theoretical Framework

The theory that the researchers will use in the study the Rational Choice

Theory by Pollack (2016).

Pollack (2016) explained the Rational Choice as a theory that uses the

rationality assumption. It explains about the nature of the individual actors and the

social world that they revolve in, it assumes that the individuals are rational and

provide a set of preferences in the political arena. The preferences are studied and

show how the political outcomes come from the results of the interaction of the

individuals. The assumption of Rational Choice provides three important elements.

Methodological individualism, where the theory treats the individuals as the basic

unit of the social analysis. The second assumption is utility-maximization, where

the individuals are assumed to act that would maximize their expected utility which

is subjected to constraints. The third assumption is the existence of various

institutional constraints on individual choice, it states that the individuals do not

choose their ideal conditions of the world but weigh and choose alternative courses

of action that are subject or within the constraints that come from the physical and

social landscape that they are in (Pollack, 2016).

This research will use the Rational Choice Theory to provide an explanation

as to why party switching affects the legislation process. Rational Choice Theory

will be used to view the behavior and perspective of the individual or the political

actors, it will explain why the said actors are performing the action known as party

switching while the latter.

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 The Rational Choice will refer to the individual decision-making of the House

Members from the House of Representatives. By interpreting the Political Party

System, the assumption is on how it affects the policy making process of the House

Members with regards to party-switching. Thus, the Rational Choice Theory will

lead the researchers to describe and analyze the effect of party-switching in the

policy making of the selected House Members in the House of Representatives or

how does this individual perception of the subject shapes and constraints the

Political Party System in the Philippines.

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1.4 Conceptual Paradigm

Party System
(Contextual Factor)

Philippine Political
Party

Members of House of
Representatives
Individual Perception
[IV]

Conscience- Political Survival Multi-party

based (Party-switching) System
Decision

Policy Making
(Process)
[DV]

(Figure 1. Paradigm of the Study)

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 As shown in the paradigm, the researchers will first explore the party

system as the contextual factor towards the political party system in the Philippines

then specifically goes to the Individual Perception of the selected House

Representatives in the House of Representatives, identified as the independent

variable because the perception of the House Representatives does not depend

towards the party decision. The broken lines represent the indirect influence of the

House Representatives towards specific actions they take in connection to party-

switching. In this study, the selected Members of House of Representatives

identified as the key informants. The last box directly connected to the House

Representatives individual perception is the dependent variable, which is the

Policy Making or the process as a whole; it depends towards the House

Representatives individual perception because anything they do or take action will

affect the policy making process in the House of Representatives.

In the conceptual paradigm provided, it illustrates the connection of the

party system towards the process of policy making. The contextual factor is the

Party System where it identifies the Political Party System in the Philippines; it is

where the independent variable and the dependent variable exists and operates.

The independent variable or House Representatives’ Perception is the behavior or

action done by the political actors within the Party System; by using Rational

Choice Theory three important elements were identified to support the assumption:

Methodological Individualism, in which it reflects the Conscience-based decision

of the House Representatives. Rational choice approach in this element seek to

explain both individual and collective behavior as the aggregation of individual

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choice, and in this view, maintaining to act according to his preferences, in which

assumed to be fixed, transitive, and exogenously given; Utility Maximization. The

political actors will then determine which would be deemed best for their interest,

in this case, political survival or power. It provides a distinctive approach to human

action where individual would likely to maximize their utility; and Institutional

Constraints, it emphasize the institutional constraints on individual behavior, and

exploring how institutions shape and constrain the choices of individual actors. The

third assumption is the existence of institutional constraints on the individual’s

choice, the Philippines has a multi-party system which is considered as a restraint

for the politicians, they will choose from a number of parties and weigh which has

the most favorable outcome for them due to the fact that by switching to a different

party, they have a higher possibility to survive in the political arena and further

attain power. However, by also going to a different party, the politicians, by default,

must conform to the norms, principles, and ideas of that certain party.

Since the politicians are often obligated to conform to the norms of the party

they themselves affiliated with, this would affect the political situation in the

government, which includes the legislative process. Thus, the dependent variable

or the process of Policy Making has the possibility of being affected due to House

Representatives individual perception, the party with politicians who left the other

party and joined a different party would have the chance of overpowering the other

parties in terms of votes which will then quicken the process of passing a bill.

Another outcome in the process of policy making is that it would create

conflicts, specifically through a number of debates, between different parties which

12
would have the possibility to hinder the passage of the bill or simple prolong the

process of policy making.

1.5 Assumption

Based on the data gathered, party switching does affect policy making. The

party system of the Philippines became a weak party system because the parties

began to have weak roots in society and no longer considered the ideology of their

party and is simply in the party for its opportunities. By using the Rational Choice

theory, it assumes that the individual will choose the option which would often

maximize their interests, in the case of the Philippines, the legislators tend to

affiliate themselves with certain parties and in due time, during elections, switch to

the party which is most likely to win in order to stay in power. In the legislative

system, a way of ensuring the creation of a certain policy is through the decision

made by the majority, the party which gains the members from other parties affects

the outcome of policy making for the politician who switched parties would act

based on the behavior of the party which includes the collective decisions made

by the party in the creation of a policy.

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1.6 Scope and Delimitations

The research will focus on how party switching affects the policy making

process in the House of Representatives. The scope identifies the boundaries of

the study in terms of subjects, objectives, facilities and the time frame, most

importantly the issues to which the research is focused. The coverage of the study

will focus on the effect of party switching on the policy making process in the House

of Representatives. The key informants were chosen randomly based on their

availability and compliance. The key informants of the study consists of two (2)

members from the academe coming from the two Universities in Metro Manila

namely from the University of the Philippines, Diliman and from the Technological

Institute of the Philippines, Manila, and fifteen (15) House members from the

House of Representatives. The researchers gave the 293 House members a

request letter for the interview and fifteen (15) House members complied, and they

automatically became our key informants.

Delimitation is used to make the study better and more feasible and not just

for the interest of the researcher. Also, the delimitation identifies the constraints

and the weaknesses of the study which are not within the control of the researcher.

The study is delimited into a specific spans and sessions of the Congress, and

identifies how does the party switching affects policy making within the given time

frame. Starting from the Malolos Congress in Aguinaldo Administration (1898-1899)

down to Estrada Administration (1998-2001), and from 1st Congress (1946-1949)

up to 13th Congress (2004-2007) will not be touched, and also will not be tackled

in this research. With the large number of representatives present, not all are

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covered, to further avoid conflicts in analyzing the data, thus, selected bills and,

prominent representatives who were involved in party switching are to be

discussed. Statistical treatments will not be used; moreover, the comparison of the

political parties of the House of Representatives members ranging from 2007-2016

would then be treated as documents and handful of materials, thus, coding would

then be used. All of the records in the House of Representatives will not be tackled,

instead, the researchers will only focus on the policy making process in general.

Lastly, the researchers conducted an email type of interview, which two (2)

members from the House of Representatives and one (1) from the academe

namely from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, responded on a given

period of time.

1.7 Significance of the Study

The researchers examine the politicians’ behavior on how they change

parties from one to the other during their term in the legislature. It is not only

beneficial to the politicians, but to the policy-makers as well. The researcher will

examine the relationship between the legislator’s motivations, institutional

relationship between the executive’s patterns. These motivational experiences and

relationships would, in turn help distinguish how the party switching or its mobility

can affect the relationship. The members of the academe can also benefit in this

study, for they can advance in pursuing their studies and future researches. Parties

also provide a way on how to solve the collective decision making problems of the

legislators by formulating or creating an institutional structure by which collective

15
decisions can be reached and enforced. Party switching is significant not because

it is more common and more systematic than what the conventional idea suggests,

but rather, of what it reveals about the politics and what it could contribute to the

study. Party switching also emerges when it is seen as the result of strategic choice

in a wider game. The decisions on party affiliation must be viewed in the context

of relationships within their parties, thus, creating an important significance in the

nature of legislative party system. Not only are parties as one of the main actors

of political participation, they also strengthen electoral turnout.

The researchers, especially the students of Political Science, can also benefit

from the study, on a certain point that the dynamics of party switching can be

tackled in here. It shapes the views of politics and the political activities of the

students and the citizens as well. The less educated public and a less robust

society may be less resistant to this. Also, it influences political activity, whether

be it in a weak institutionalized system, or in a stabilized system thus having

systemic effects on the overall party system. This study can also be important for

growing nations. Without the stabilizing presence of party identifiers, party systems

may suffer from persisting instability.

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1.7 Definition of Terms

Constitution – system of laws and beliefs by which the Philippines, the political

units are being governed. Providing such provisions for the Congressmen to have

a maximum of three (3) terms, thus term limit is present.

Efficiency –performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least

waste of time and effort; having and using requisite knowledge, skill, and industry,

providing such goods and services to the constituents.

House of Representatives – the locus of the study in the research; fifteen (15)

Congressmen happened to respond in the research.

Members of the House of Representatives – pertaining to the lower house which

consists of 292 House Members in the House of Representatives; in this study, the

district and party-list representatives.

Party System – the setup in the House of Representatives is purely multi-party

system, thus parties are being described in its nature as fluid. Highly-programmatic

and based on personalities and charisma.

Party-Affiliation –the relationship of a Congressman on a set of ideas, morals,

and principles of a political group. E.g. Liberal Party, BUTIL Party-List, BAYAN

MUNA Party-List.

Party-switching – An act of hopping from one party to the other. E.g. from Liberal

Party (LP) to PDP Laban, another is that of fromNacionalista Party to National

Unity Party (NUP).

17
Politicians –members of the House of Representatives in the Philippines who

happened to practiced party-switching in their term of office.

Policy Making – the legislative process where the Members of the House of

Representatives approve or disapprove the passage of the bill.

Political Party – a fluid, yet organized group of people who share the same ideas,

contest elections and hold power in the legislative body in the House of

Representatives, Philippines. E.g. Liberal Party (LP) Nacionalista Party (NP)

Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP- LABAN)

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 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents and includes a number of different related literatures

that served as an aid for the researchers in understanding the study at hand. The

researchers investigated and collected different writings and studies conducted

and undertaken which are related to the topic that can be of data addition.

2.1 Party Switching as a Phenomenon

Party switching exists worldwide with different alternatives, perspectives,

and political reasons. Party Switching involves a politician switching from a party

to a different one. There are countries where party switching has occurred; these

countries include Mexico (Barrow, 2007; Hellon & Mershon, 2009 Kerevel, 2014,

2017), Brazil (Desposato, 1997, 2005, 2006), and Japan (Laver & Kato, 2001; Kato

& Yamamato 2009; Murakami, 2009). The two main reasons why politicians resort

to party switching is that it gives incentives to the politician and it creates policies

based on the belies and ideology of the politician or party. Nikolenyi stated that the

political institution has a major role when it comes to behaviour of the politicians

which leads to party switching (Nikolenyi, 2013). Mexico is a multi-party system

consists of three major political parties: Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI),

National Action Party (PAN), and The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)

(Darlington, 2018). According to Desposato (2001), Brazil constitutes a multi-

party political system, and it was called a Coalition Democracy. In the case

19
of Japan, in the years 1993 until 1996, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) tried to

resort to party switching by opening their party to potential party switchers and also

by bribing the other parties (Kato & Yamamoto, 2009). Japanese party system is

of concurring development. It was when the conservative one-party rule was

terminated and quickly emerged to two major parties in Japan in 1955. However,

Japan’s trend toward a two-party system gave way to a multi-party trend (Flanagan,

1971). The LDP being the largest party in Japan saw the chance to remove the

second largest party out of power and allowed them join their party (Laver and

Kato, 2001). By allowing the politicians to switch parties, it enabled the LDP to hold

the power in the government and thus dominate the system which includes the

creation of policies.

Incentives are also the reason for party switching are the incentives,

Brazilian politicians tend to have a short life-span when it comes to their party for

their beliefs or specifically their ideologies are quite different and although policy

formation is included on why they switch parties, they are more inclined with or

interested in the benefits that the occupation provides for them (Desposato, 1997)

According to Kerevel (2014), party switching does not only happen during

the legislative term but also occurs during the electoral campaigns or specifically

the electoral process (Kerevel, 2014). In the case of Mexico, party switching

seldom happens, however it still happens during the electoral process where they

attempt to use the ballot access in order to win and if they fail attempting it, the

politicians usually accepts their defeat and thus states with the party and wait for

the next election to happen (Kerevel, 2017). From the three cases, it could be

20
observed that party switching occurs for it benefits both the politicians and the party

itself, for the incentives and the pushing of policies go hand in hand and that party

switching could occur anytime as long as the politicians have the motivations to

switch parties.

2.2 Political parties, Party Politics, and Party Switching in the Philippines.

Party Switching can only occur in countries which have two or more political

parties; therefore the absence of parties cannot lead to such an action. The parties

serve as representatives of the people to address their general needs. Political

parties in the Philippines did not exist during the Spanish colonization, the country

had themselves local elites which rivaled each other for power and it was only

during the arrival of the Americans that the parties began to emerge and the

affiliation of parties based on family and friends began (Tigno, 2013). Before the

authoritative rule of Marcos, the Philippines had a two-party system (Kasuya,

2005). The two parties were the Nacionalista Party, which was headed by

President Osmena, and the Liberal party, which was headed by President Roxas,

despite other parties emerging; the parties remained to be dominant until it was

halted by the administration of Marcos (Schirmer & Shalom, 1989). It was only at

the end of the authoritarian rule in 1986 that the Philippines began to, once again,

democratize and paved the way to a multi-party system However, the country’s

democracy has been labeled by scholars as an “oligarchic democracy” or a

“cacique democracy” for the bourgeois or the socio-economic elites are the ones

who keep on holding on to the political power in the Philippines (Quimpo, 2007;

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Kasuya & Quimpo, 2010). The previous and present lists of politicians sitting in the

government post have names almost common to every voter’s eyes and ears. One

thing that is alarming is that, it is becoming more common that every sitting official

are relatives of another waiting to be re-elected as they already finish the limit of

their term or too young to hold a post (Mendoza, et.al, 2011).

The political parties in the Philippines are also considered to be wishy-

washy and that the country also has a weak kind of party system. This kind of

characterization was due to the country’s parties which are considered

personalistic and not program–oriented. Despite being in different parties like the

Liberal party and Nacionalista Party and having different ideologies based on their

parties, the parties are quite indistinguishable from one another in their political

beliefs and programs (Quimpo, 2007). Political parties are supposed to perform

the important functions of candidate selection, one’s leadership formation, interest

aggregation and agenda development. However, in the case of the Philippines the

parties are well known and at best be described as “temporary political alliances”.

To some extent politicians hop from one party to the other. This can be seen

throughout the election period and the legislative process. Others would go to the

extent of saying that there are no real parties in the Philippines and that what the

Philippines have are mere “fans club” of politicians which in turn, help them to

boost their vested interests (Ufen, 2007 & Aceron, 2009)

The lack of intra-party cohesion is one of the notable features of Filipino

parties. Parties are not unified in a single body, instead, pave the way for

factionalism. One of the notable features and can be distinguished in most of the

22
parties in the Philippines. It also, paved the way for party switching or turncoatism

(Banlao & Carlos, 1996). Being able or a part of the election, party switching

persists even in the highest position of the land, the presidency. For example,

Ramon Magsaysay and Ferdinand Marcos left in their respective leadership party,

Liberal Party, and to run for presidency under Nacionalista Party or label. Also,

Fidel Ramos formed LAKAS-NUCD to support his presidential bid after he failed

to win the LDP domination (Lande, 1996). The political parties’ lack of ideological

orientation is due to the politicians who behave the way they do. People tend to

behave, those who choose and vote their desired and respective leaders, not

because they are popular, but contested only in such one thing, each don’t have

the choice of being platform oriented and program driven politicians. Parties are

usually large organizations with a certain amount of centralization and presence

across the country (Aceron, 2009).

Filipino politics have always been an unending cycle where politicians

compete with each other in order to gain political power which could influence the

government and also public policy (Abueva & De Guzman, 1969). The Philippines

being in a form of indirect representative, which is also known as a republican

democracy, grants the people the power to choose their leaders or representatives

through the action of voting (Ariola, 2012). Due to the power vested in the people,

party politics and party switching in the Philippines go hand in hand. The party

politics in the Philippines revolve around political clans, dynasties or families and

even friends. As long as the individual or specifically the politician has close ties

23
with other people, it could be used as a way to gain an advantage in the

government.

This kind of situation shows clientelism or political patronage. According to

Stokes, clientelism in politics is the distribution of benefits or material goods to

different individuals or groups in order to gain their political support (Stokes, 2011).

There are explanations as to how and why clientelistic relationship still exists in the

Philippines. It started during the colonization of the Spanish and Americans, the

colonizers used the local elites in order to expand their influence in the country.

Clientelism was also used in presidential bandwagon, where the politicians would

affiliate themselves with the presidential candidates in order to have a better

chance of winning the elections (Teehankee, 2013). However, in contemporary

times, it is referred to as state patronage or political patronage, Patronage has

played an important role in Philippine politics, for it motivates the politician to switch

parties. An example of the application of political patronage was during the rise of

the presidency of Cory Aquino, politicians during the day became dependent on

the state to be able to acquire resources that they could get from their

constituencies. Because of such dependence, the politicians switched to Lakasng

Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) which was able to recruit 157 out of 202 members

in the House of Representatives (Magno, 2008)

Party affiliation in the Philippines could be best described as loosely based.

The 1992, 1997, 1998, and 2001 elections eventually reflected the shifting of party

affiliations or party switching in the Senate. In the 1992 elections the LDP showed

how fragmented the politics in the Philippines was, in terms of party affiliation and

24
majoritarian rule. After Fidel Ramos of National Union of Christian Democrats-

Union of Muslim Democrats of the Philippines (NUCD-UMDP) won the presidency,

a number of the members of LDP shifted to his party. In 1995, there was a coalition

between Lakas and LDP, this coalition was able to win 10 of the 12 seats in the

senate which led to the complete control of both chambers of Congress and was

able to push legislative agendas. In the 1998 elections, the Laban ng Makabayang

Masang Pilipino (LAMMP) gave rise to a new coalition which had Joseph Estrada

as its candidate. The coalition was able to win 7 out of the 12 seats in the senate

which was critical for the impeachment trial of President Estrada in 2001

(Teehankee, 2002).

Through the article of Teehankee (2002), the idea of Lallana explained that

once politicians change their party affiliations or resort to party switching, the

politicians bring their retinue and the party becomes bloated and that the new

recruited members will never be committed to the new party (Lallana, 1989). By

following the political culture in the Philippines, party switching will still persist in

country for the politicians do not care about ideology or the people and are only

concerned about attaining and maintaining their political power.

The issue of being disloyal of the politicians in party system of the

Philippines was clamored about by the politicians who want to prevent the manners

of the politicians who were being disloyal to their own party. Bills and proposals

were set out to prevent such party switching, turncoatism, and political butterflies.

In party switching, Gonzales citing Barzaga, proposed the prohibition of the

changing of political party affiliation within six months prior to end of term, and after

25
a person has been nominated to run for a position (Gonzales, 2011). In the case

of political butterflies, Rodriguez as cited by Diaz states that political butterflies are

those who switch parties before, during or after elections, (Diaz, 2011). Lastly, in

turncoatism, the proposed law seeks to implement strict rules to curb the practice

of political turncoatism by promoting party loyalty and discipline (Teehankee,

2017).These circumstances triggered the proposers to shield the integrity of the

party system against the party switchers or opportunistic politicians who switch

parties for their own benefits or pleasures. The proposed law contains provisions

that promote a more transparent and democratic selection of party officers and

candidates, a more transparent and broad-based party finance system that

includes publicly financed incentives for grassroots organization and party

development, and provisions that would create sanctions to discourage and

penalize political party switching (IRI, 2004). Party switchers also tend to

bandwagon on the most powerful or famous party to sustain the party switcher

benefits, and the proposals were a good mechanism to create an agreement

between the politicians in the party system. Those who will disagree or violate the

proposals or bill can suffer the consequences or the punishments. Thus, the given

sanctions, dues, and penalties can push the politicians to follow the given

proposals; otherwise it will cost or affect them a lot.

26
2.3 Executive-Legislative Relations

The President has a major role in the creation of policies. In the context of

the Philippines, the president does not have formal legislative powers and that the

executive’s power has its limits due to the checks and balances of the legislature

and the judiciary. However, despite the absence of formal legislative powers, the

president still overpowers the legislature in the creation of policies through the use

of his/her executive powers. The President, the members of the Senate and the

House of Representatives are chosen through the votes made by the people. The

primary function of the Congress is to enact and amend laws or to repel previously

passed laws and may also rectify the Constitution. The major and most significant

job of the Congress is to pass the proposed annual national budget of the

government that will be used for public purposes, raising or lowering taxes and

others. The Congress is also tasked to conduct investigations in aid of legislation

and whenever the national public interest is at stake (Jumilla-Abalos, 2003). In

relation to policy making, the senators are inclined with the interest of the president

rather than the House of Representatives. Philippine politics, which includes

political dynasties and political patronage, are evident in the House of

Representatives and tends to hinder or slow the process of policy- making or

creating laws (Panao, 2016).

There are particular situations where there was a conflict between the

executive and the legislature. During the time of President Ramos, he made an

effort to improve the BIR which however failed due to the opposition of the

legislature. The legislature also authorized the board of investments to give special

27
tax incentives for investments in industrial estates and regions outside of Manila.

The special tax incentives include imports of equipment which were VAT-free,

exemptions on export tax, income tax holidays and many more. Due to the tax

incentives, there were attempts made by the president to change this system which

however was again hindered by the legislature (Eaton 2002). Another specific

example is during the administration of President Cory Aquino, the administration

was considered a process of bargaining and compromise between the executive

and the legislative. This situation happened due to the fact that Aquino became a

president through the help of political actors, which have different interests and

ideologies, in order to oust the dictatorship of Marcos. During the implementation

of the Agrarian Reform Act, the legislature prevented the decision of the President

due to the conflict of interests. Another instance is the coup that happened in

December 1989, in this particular situation the president requested for the

emergency powers of the president which the legislative branch refused (Caoili,

1993)

Related to the relationship of the executive and legislative branch is the

Pork Barrel. The Pork Barrel was of American origin, it was a ritual where a barrel

filled with pork would be given to the slaves to satisfy their hunger by their master.

This ritual was later compared to American legislators which then were considered

a way for the legislators to create and enact projects in their local constituencies

however at their own discretion (Belgica, 2013).

In the context of the Philippines, it was a huge sum of funds of the

legislature, alongside with the executive. The system is present in the allocation of

28
funds such as the Legislative Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and

the President’s Social Fund (PSF). The pork barrel was introduced in 1922 with

the passage of the Public Works Act separately from the General Appropriations

Act (GAA). Soft projects which included medical assistance and livelihood

programs and hard projects which included national buildings, roads and bridges,

were also identified by the legislators in the GAA. However before the projects or

the programs are enacted among the legislators’ discretion, a prior approval was

needed in the upper and lower house of the government or specifically the Senate

and House of Representatives (Nadate, 2013).

2.4Other Factors that affect the Party System: Age, Gender, and Preference

After tackling the names that was tantamount to party switching, behaviours

of the politicians, and the proposals or bills, the other factor that must be given

importance was the electoral system and its impact on the party system as well.

The required age for voters, the population, and the disqualifications are one of the

factors that can affect the electoral system and party system. In the age of voters,

if the required is twenty-five years old, the effect would be a lower voting

percentage. In part of the population, there are lots of non-voters thus, it cannot be

concluded that the higher population, the higher the voting turnouts. Mair as cited

by Grofman, provides that it is the change in the cleavage system which is the very

essence of the freezing hypothesis and not the degree of electoral stability or

instability (Grofman, 2002).

29
 The next factor to be discussed is the member’s preferences and the family

of parties. For instance, the aggregation of national parties into families raises a

number of problems due to the differences existing between parties of the same

family but of different countries (Caramani, 2004). The other instance is when the

members do not want the proposed ideals or principles, the members tend to shift

in the other party where they will relate with their own interest and principles. While

in the competing parties against gender inequality can have an effect to which

party is going to win. If the party won because of the gender biases, the policies,

agendas, and proposals can also be affected by the gender preferences. The

policies, agendas, and proposals have outcomes. For instance, in the spending

policy, the funds for the agendas of the parties and in the welfare policy, obviously

when the neoliberal parties would have win the decision, the welfare policies will

be set aside. But if the liberal parties would have won the decision, welfare parties

will be in part of the agendas.

2.5 Synthesis

In the first theme, the articles provided an evidence of the existence of party

switching in different countries, although party switching exists in their state, the

reasons for it happening is different but their actions point out to one motive,

attaining power. It does not matter what actions they do which includes bribery or

cheating during the elections, as long as they win a seat in the government. By

attaining political power, the party can control the decisions in policy making and

thus has the possibility to dictate what the government will be. It is related to the

30
study because by knowing the status of the other countries, it provides hindsight

of what are the causes of party switching and how does party switching affect the

legislative process of policy making. The second theme provides a background of

Philippine politics. It is vital to know the background for it acts as a way to

understand how party switching started in the Philippines and also by determining

the political culture or behaviour of the political parties, it could explain why such

acts are still present in the country’s context. With the articles presented, there is

no doubt that party switching has happened in the state. Many of the articles

presented the politicians and the political parties with a bad reputation, for they

show no concerns for the general public and are more concerned with the profit or

the advantages provided by their occupation. This attitude could explain as to why

party switching still occurs in the country and might even still persist in the near

future.

The relationship of the executive and legislative branch is mentioned in the

study for it is considered relevant since the two branches provide checks and

balances with each other when it comes to policy making. In addition to this, both

branches consist of politicians which are possibly affiliated with different parties

and because of their differences, there might be a conflict when it comes to policy

making like how the presidents tend to bargain with the legislative branch during

their administration. However, as seen in the articles, political patronage is present

in the context of the Philippines and therefore the pork barrel system also serves

as a medium for corruption and therefore could be a factor why political actors in

the Philippines lack ideology and resort to party switching.

31
 In relation with political parties and policy making, there have been

proposals in order to address the issue of party switching or turncoatism and the

political culture of the parties. These articles or cases however have not been

approved because the politicians, as stated in the several articles, are personalistic

and since these proposals are proven to be a threat to their power, they are likely

to reject the idea, which in turn, would prove that the relationship of the politicians

could determine whether or not a bill or policy could be passed. The last theme

provides the other factors that could affect the party system; it is relevant to the

study because the party system tends to show what and why different problems

such as party switching occur in different countries. In the context of the Philippines,

the politicians are more concerned with their own interests and because of such,

they will move to a party which provides a great advantage to them. Thus the

articles provide a hindsight of what kind of policies the party dictates whether

economic policies or gender policies or others policies where they, the politicians

would profit in.

Parties must be viewed alongside with its respective leaders, the politicians

and legislators to be exact. Also, the relationship of the voters and the legislators

should be taken note of (Hicken, 2009). Each individual’s decision of the legislators

in the said party plays a vital role in it. Party switchers may trigger the voter’s

turnout which may help the incumbent be left aside and the other party switched

upon, in the status quo. Party switching also shapes the policy making. Party

switching in a sense may vary from one another. Party system weights Philippine

electoral system or the democratic processes in the Philippines can be rooted on

32
the mishaps of patron-client relationship, factionalism, clientelism (Kasuya, 2009).

The mere competition for office now defines the battle of the two contesting,

prominent families of the political arena, whether it would be in color or in terms of

wealth, the rival families or simply the ruling class, and all of these may seem

problematic; some elements of instability of the state have had sticked to the

political agendas of these so called leaders and politicians. Instead of addressing

it, they tend to use it as machineries in order to garner support and to furthermore

boost their capacity to be elected and they call it democratic (Gastil, 2016).

With the widespread act of various party-switching, events, instances and

issues as well as controversies, may be the concurring problem of why the concept

of party-switching commenced in the first place. It is within the diverse concept of

its personality that really immerses and widen up our understanding that the action

is possibly the turning point of every individual towards their goals and aspirations

which fill their interest and with most they will be beneficial with. With all the themes

being discussed by the researchers, the turning point of the discussion brings the

researchers the idea of a collaborative factor that emerged with the exercised of

party-switching, and that would be the discovery and explanation of the recurring

patterns in different times and places and will possibly imply lessons for the present.

According to Norris (2011), parties serve multiple functions: simplifying and

structuring electoral choices; organizing and mobilizing campaigns; articulating

and aggregating disparate interests; channeling communication, consultation and

debate; training, recruiting and selecting candidates; structuring parliamentary

divisions; acting as policy think tanks; and organizing government. (Norris, 2011)

33
Not only are parties one of the main conduits of political participation, they also

strengthen electoral turnout. If mass membership is under threat, as many suspect,

and if party loyalties are eroding, this could have serious implications for

representative democracy.

34
 Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter focuses on the discussion of the methods utilized in the study.

It also contains procedures, techniques and instruments which the researchers

used in gathering the data and together discusses how the key informants were

determined in conducting the study.

3.1 Research Design

The researchers used the qualitative approach and descriptive method in

conducting the study.

Creswell (2007), defined qualitative method as the study that commence

with assumptions, a worldview, the possible use of theoretical lens and the study

of research problems inquiring into the meaning of individuals or groups ascribe to

a social or human problem. Koch, Niesz, & McCarthy (2014) explained the

qualitative findings as those analyzed through data that are elaborate on personal

experiences, opinions and meanings. In studying the problem, the researchers

used qualitative approach to inquiry, the collection of data in a natural setting

sensitive to the people and places under study and data analysis that is inductive

and establishes patterns or themes. The final written report outcome includes the

voices of participants, the reflexivity of the researchers and a complex description

35
and interpretation of the problem and it extends the literature or signals a call for

action.

With regard to descriptive approach conducted in the study, it helped

validate the findings. The design was used mainly on the respondents of the study.

The perspectives of the key informants helped solidify the researchers’ study. Their

answer helped the researchers to describe and explain how party switching affects

the policy making process of the selected House Members from the House of

Representatives.

The method that will be used is best suited in this study as it will tackle the

previous documents and the issues of the House of Representative performance

and their policy making decision result outcome and together describes the factors

relating to party-switching. The researchers were able to analyze whether there is

an impact with regards to party-switching through the legislative process in the

House members from the House of Representative, and this can be done through

the collection of secondary and primary data thru interviews of personalities and

individuals who have proper knowledge and are selected by the set criteria of the

researchers. In addition, aside from interview methods that were used in the

collection of data in this study, the researchers used a documentary analysis. The

documentary analysis will help examine, analyze and interpret the data the will be

collected so as to elicit meaning and also gain understanding throughout

developing empirical knowledge (Corbin & Strauss, 2008).

36
3.2 Data Gathering Procedures

The data gathered were sourced from primary and secondary resource data.

From the collected data, the researchers were able to analyze and determine if

there is an effect towards the policy making from process of the selected House

members from House of Representatives with regards to party-switching.

 The primary data that were used in conducting the study were from the

semi-structured face-to-face interviews that were recorded through

digital means and are transcribed by the researchers.

Semi-structured interviews as Rubin & Babbie (2011) put it as that of the

use of guides that are listed in the outline form of the topics and issues at hand,

but which gives the interviewer the chance to be informal, flexible and

conversational and to adapt the style of the interview and the wording of questions

to each particular interviewee.

The key informants that was conducted in the interview were chosen from

the selected participants thru purposive sampling thus, the researchers made a

letter of consent to gain permission from the selected interviewees to proceed with

the consultation regarding the topic.

 The secondary data that were used in the study were sourced from

related and relevant documents such as, books, journals, articles and

other related sources. The said documents will be obtained through

extensive inquiries and researches in libraries outside the Far Eastern

University.

37
 Documentary analysis is also included in helping the researchers to verify

and analyze the problem imposed. Documentary analysis as defined by Bowen

(2009) is a form of qualitative research in which the documents that will be retrieved

will be interpreted by the researchers to give voice and meaning around an

assessment topic. In this study, the researchers were able toretrieveda selected

document that would be useful in the study. In addition, the retrieved documents

will be interpreted with codes that are within the process of organizing and sorting

the data that will be collected.

3.3 Key Informants of the Study

The key informants that were selected through purposive sampling

technique, in regards to their expertise, consists of (a) fifteen (15) House members

from the House of Representatives, and (b) two (2) member of the Academe from

selected colleges and universities throughout Metro Manila. The selected

respondents were able to answer the question of the interview conducted since

they are the experts on the issues by this research.

38
3.4 Sampling Technique

The researchers used the purposive sampling technique for the selection of

the key informants in gathering of necessary and relevant data for the benefit of

the study.

Purposive sampling technique is a type of non-probability sampling in which

the researchers select and or choose the participants on the basis of judging which

the most fitted participant would be useful in representing their field. In addition,

the researchers focused on selected participants with the knowledge relating the

issue at hand, so that even having selected participants, the results of their

contribution in the study will be beneficial since they are the selected participants

with knowledge in the topic (Babbie, 2005). In addition, a non-probability sampling

technique is a type known for being judgmental, selective or subjecting sampling.

It also focuses on sampling techniques where the units that are investigated are

based on the judgment and or the selection of the perspective of the researcher.

The researchers used a purposive sampling to limit the key informants based on

the criteria set by the researchers to ensure the quality and credibility of data

source. In addition, the researchers easily selected the key informant interviewee

in the study since the individual that were chosen were those with enough

knowledge and understanding towards the topic.

39
3.5 Research Instruments

The researchers used an interview questions as their instrument in

gathering their data. This help the researchers to entirely analyzed how does party

switching affect the policy making process by the selected House members from

the House of Representatives in the Philippines.

Monette et al. (1986: 156) states that, ‘an interview involves an interviewer

reading questions to respondents and recording their answers’. According to Burns

(1997: 329), ‘an interview is a verbal interchange, often face to face, though the

telephone may be used, in which an interviewer tries to elicit information, beliefs

or opinions from another person’. Any person-to-person interaction, either face to

face or otherwise, between two or more individuals with a specific purpose in mind

is called an interview.

The interview questions contain twelve open-ended questions based on the

objectives and statement of the problem of the study. Moreover, the researchers

analyzed the documents, the policy making process in general obtained in the

House of Representatives Library.

3.6 Procedure

Pre Data Collection Phase

The researchers utilized an interview in gathering primary data needed for

the results of this study. The researchers prepared a formal letter to be given to

40
the selected participants, specifically the selected House members from the House

of Representatives and selected members of the Academe in selected universities

in Manila.

Actual Data Collection Phase

The researchers went to the offices of the selected participant of the study

to conduct the interview. While conducting the interview, the researchers used an

audio recorder to record the answers and thoughts of the participant. The

questions that were asked to each participant were all the same. The first section

of the questionnaire will cover the necessary information of the key informants. It

also included a brief background history of prominent individuals in the national

government who exercised party-switching. The second section focused on the

insights and of views and opinions of the member of Congress in line with the

question on party-switching and its effect on the policy making process. The last

section addressed the result of performance of the member of the Congress once

they shift party affiliation.

Post Data Collection Phase

The researcher transcribed the interviews from the digital devices. The

languages that were used other than the Filipino language was translated into

English. The researchers re-listened to the records so as to identify the participants’

feelings that will come when responding to the questions. The data that were

analysed by the researchers in the qualitative research through reading and

41
reviewing of the notes in the findings were reflected to those organizing themes

and patterns.

3.7 Ethical Consideration

Since the study pertains to a sensitive topic, the data collected in the

interview were held confidential. If the participant wishes to maintain anonymity, it

will be respected. The researchers have to pre-empt the disclosure of the

individual’s identity thus; this research aims to protect the privacy and anonymity

of the individuals. In addition, some individuals will feel that the party-switching

have a negative impression on the idea of party-switching. The researchers did not

subject the individual to any kind of prejudices, yet were assured that their dignity

won’t be violated and ensure data protection.

3.8 Data Analysis

For the purpose of this study, the data gathered by the researchers were

held with confidentiality and security issues, and the key informant interviewee of

the study, if wishes to maintain anonymity will be granted since the topic at hand

is sensitive to the profile of the participants.

The researchers utilized the semi-structured interview and thematic

analysis method in analyzing and interpreting the data that will be collected. Based

on the observation of Boyatzis (1998) towards thematic analysis, he established

42
and explained the thematic approach as somewhat concurs with conceptualization

and it also help formalize the identification and development of themes. In addition,

it will help the researchers to move from broad reading of data toward discovering

patterns and framing specific themes. In line with this, the researchers will collect

data through primary data such as interviews from the selected participants in the

House of Representatives, and member of the Academe in the Universities in

Manila with knowledge towards the topic at hand. And also towards secondary

data such as books, articles, and other related materials that will help contribute in

conducting the study.

43
 Chapter 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter provides the results and discussion of the collected and

gathered data from the semi-structured interview. In this chapter, the researchers

discuss the interview response of the key informants in relation to the effect of

party switching on the policy making of the representatives of selected House

members from the House of Representatives through simplified corresponding

themes.

The key informants consists of fifteen (15) House members from the House

of Representatives and two (2) members of the Academe from the faculty of

University of the Philippines, Diliman, and Technological Institute of the Philippines.

4.1 Existence of Party Switching

After the Marcos regime, the Political Party System has opened to and

introduced a Multi-Party System that led to rampant exercise of party-switching. In

order to show that party-switching exist in the House of Representatives as of this

moment, below is a table that shows that there are House Representatives today

that switched party affiliation, and it justifies that party-switching exist in the

Philippines.

44
 Congressman/woman 2007 2010 2013 2016 Current Party
Baby Aline Vargas-Alfonso NUP NUP NUP NUP
Isidro Rodriguez Jr. NPC NPC NPC NPC
Edward Maceda NPC
Robert Ace Barbers Lakas-CMD NP NP
Nancy Catamco Lakas-CMD LP PDP-Laban PDP-Laban
Luis Campos Jr. UNA UNA
Rogelio Roque NPC PDP-Laban PDP-Laban
Ronaldo Zamora NP UNA NP PDP-Laban
Emmi De Jesus GABRIELA GABRIELA GABRIELA GABRIELA
Carlos Isagani Zarate Bayan Muna Bayan Muna Bayan Muna
RozannoRufinoBiazon LP PDP-Laban PDP-Laban
Romeo Acop LP NUP NUP NUP
EstrellitaSuansing LP PDP-Laban PDP-Laban
Cecilia Leonila Chavez BUTIL BUTIL
Maria Lourdes Acosta-Alba LP LP NP

(Figure 2. Party Affiliation)

The table shows that party-switching exists in the Political Party System in

the Philippines as it justifies from the randomly selected respondents, from 2007

to 2016, eight out of fifteen key informants shifted party from time to time. It clearly

shows that while the Philippines adopted a multi-party system, connotations like

“political butterflies” and “balimbing” become prominent and easily exercised, and

the ideological bases of the party has become. As one of the key informants said:

It’s not about the ano... the ideology or like na.. because we are not in a two
party system where.. where one is liberal and one is uhh what do you call..uhh
conservatives di ba? So ganun so hindi ganun yung political system natin it’s
because of the 1987 Constitution when they introduced a multi party system ‘no?
(C7)
Translation:
It's not about the ideology or the like because we are not in a two party
system where one is liberal and one is conservative, right? That's not the political
system that we have, it's because of the 1987 Constitution when they introduced
a multi-party system.

45
 4.2 The Benefits of the Political Party System in the Philippines

The key informants have different answer when asked the question, why is

party switching necessary in the policy making process? The themes that emerged

from their responses are: Political Survival, Numbers Game, Benefits for the

District, Inconsistency with the Ideals and Principles of the Previous Party, and

Party Funding.

4.2.1 Political Survival

Political party serves as a foundation for a representative to continue and

preserve his advocacy for his/her constituent and it serves as a tool, and a benefit

for a House member to survive in politics, that is what one of the key informant

believed about, he said:

Well uhh, this is for survival. This is the, this is the, political weapon. Simply
because the Province of Rizal uhh and the City of Antipolo where I ran, dadalawa
lang ang districts sa Antipolo rito eh. There were, there are only two (2) parties
there. One, the Nationalist People Coalition, and the National Unity Party. Dalawa
ang partido doon. (C12)
Translation:
Well uhh, this is for survival. This is the, this is the, political weapon. Simply
because the Province of Rizal and Antipolo where I ran, there are only districts
here in Antipolo. There were, there are only two (2) parties there. One, the
Nationalist People Coalition, and the National Unity Party. There are two coalitions.

46
 4.2.2 Numbers Game

The freedom to make decisions independently of the district representatives

will vary on how influential, how huge and how funds are resourced. The

conscience-based decision of the House members according to C1 is through

“numbers game” she said:

“Yes, that was also the reason why the Congresswoman is still in the party.
Ah it was never in conflict with the party. There are times where the parties is not
in conflict with the party, pinapabayaan ka nilang bumoto.” (C1)
Translation:
“Yes, that was the reason why the Congresswoman is still in the party, it
was never in conflict with the party. There are times where the parties are not in
conflict with the party, they just let you to vote on your own.”

She added:

“Ang Congress, numbers game ang labanan dyan, the larger the ano the
party the more cut of the beef you can get, right?” (C1)
Translation:
“Congress is a numbers game, the larger the party the more cut of the beef you
can get.”

A systematic voting on certain bill that needs to be passed in due time and

numbers of votes decide whether a certain bill would prosper or not.

4.2.3 Benefits for the District

The decision of a district representative is to consider its constituents in the

district-based, so the decision that he/she acts will reflect and or benefit its people.

One district representative that we interviewed said:

47
 “Well I make decisions independently depende sa needs sa district because I
cannot do it on my own I have to always go back to the district.” (C5)
Translation:
“I make decisions independently depending on the needs of my district
because I cannot do it on my own I have to always go back to the district.”

Acting for the benefit of the many is what a district representative uphold in making

decisions for the good of his district people through a district-based decision.

4.2.4 Inconsistencies with the Ideals and Principles of the Previous

Party

Political parties in the Philippines as stated in the 1987 Philippine

Constitution is a multi-party system. Coalitions were made by the parties,

inconsistency of the previous party was established, and it created a confusing

identification of the ideals and principles it upholds. One of the key informants said:

Right now, I am with PDP. Uh, the current Administration party. Now, you
ask the reason why. Ako, I would, I ran under LP in the last elections. I stayed with
that party until this year. There were reasons for us uhh leaving the party. And uh,
one of which is the uhh, differences in the treatment of certain issues. So we felt
that the there was a uhhh…, a conflict that we can’t resolve with the party. I was
appointed as the Bureau of Customs Chief. Now, I also felt that there was ahh,
because of the performance in that function, we ran into some vested interests
there. There was a move in the administration to get me out. I felt it was unfair.
Especially ‘yung method that they used to get me out. So I felt that I could no longer
be with the personality, so I’m leaving the party, because of that. So kaya nabuo
‘yung loob ko na, after completing my obligation nung 2016 Elections to the party,
I campaigned for the party, ayun, I decided that it was time for me to cut-off. (C11)
Translation:
Right now, I am with PDP. The current Administration party. Now you ask
the reason why. Me. I would, I ran under LP in the last elections. I stayed with that
party until this year. There were reasons for us leaving the party. And one of which
is the differences in the treatment of certain issues. So we felt that the there was

48
a conflict that we can’t resolve with the party. I was appointed as the Bureau of
Customs Chief. Now, I also felt that there was, because of the performance in that
function, we ran into some vested interests there. There was a move in the
administration to get me out. I felt it was unfair. Especially the method that they
used to get me out. So I felt that I could no longer be with the personality, so I’m
leaving the party, because of that. So that's why I came to the decision that after
completing my obligation last 2016 Elections to the party, I campaigned for the
party, that's it. I decided that it was time for me to cut-off.

4.2.5 Party Funding

Political parties are important for House members to function effectively

because large parties would easily support and fund the projects of the

representative, as one of the key informant said:

Bakit Nacionalista Party? Bakit di ibang Parties diba? Sa projects naming

kasi sino ba ang head ng Nacionalista Party ngayon? Si Cynthia Villar, si Mark
Villarna DPWH secretary kasi kung magstick kami sa Liberal Party may possibility
na maipit yung mga projects sa Bukidnon. (C15)
Translation:
Why Nacionalista Party? Why not other parties? It is because of our projects.
Who's the head of the Nacionalista Party today? Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar who is
the DPWH Secretary. If we stick to the Liberal Party, there's a possibility that our
projects in Bukidnon would fail.

House members from House of Representatives who receives their salaries

and allocated funds are necessary to create projects for their representing sector.

Thus, it shows that money became the main tool to win the election and function

effectively in creating projects supported by the party in the Philippines.

4.3 Problems of the Political Party System in the Legislative Process

49
 There are different problems that plague the Philippine Political Party System

in the Legislative Process. The key informants were asked to identify if there are

are conflicts/problems in the legislative process in connection to party switching.

The key informants were asked the question, what are the effects of party

switching in the policy making process?

The problems of the political party system in the legislative process are:

Marginalized and Underrepresented Sectors, Priority Development Assistance

Fund (PDAF), Sheer Opportunism, and Disintegration of Party Ideologies and

Party Compromise.

4.3.1 Marginalized and Underrepresented Sectors

Oftentimes, there are districts that are way behind unlike the others, worst

is that, they are being neglected by the national government. Services, programs,

and efforts are being laid out by the District representative, yet there are times that

it can’t be reached out nor can’t be touched. For example, as one of the key

informant said during the interview:

“I am from Mindanao so alam naman natin na most of Mindanao areas are

neglected for a long time so uhh..kulang na kulang kami sa infrastructure, roads
isa yun sa platform natin na maayos yung mga infrastructure ng gobyerno and
then education kasi most uhh..uhh most kabataan dun is mostly pinaka.. What do
you call this uhm mataas ang grade sa casualty ‘no sapag-aaral.” (C7)
Translation:
“I am from Mindanao, we all know that most Mindanao areas are neglected
for a long time. We are short in infrastructure, roads. That’s one of the platform
that we implemented to build the infrastructure of the government there and the
education. Youth in our district have high-grade casualty in education.

50
 Under-represented sectors need also to be heard, for they play a vital role

in addressing such issues, be it in local or in the national level. As one of the key

informant answered when asked the question, “What was your campaign platform

when you were elected?”

Food security is farmer's security. Basically, it's farmer's interests.

Farmers are often associated in the under-represented sector, that’s why

the agenda is geared through the proliferation of support to them. As they help to

maintain the agriculture grow in the country.

4.3.2 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)

In the context of the Philippines, it was a huge sum of funds of the

legislature, alongside with the executive. As one of the member of the academe

said when asked the question: “In your opinion, is there a difference between

traditional politicians who shifted party affiliation fifty (50) years ago from a

politician who shifted party today?”

“Not much, this is just the continuation, of uh, the, as I mentioned, the political
pathology that begun during the American period.”

The pathology of political turncoatism is very evident with this, as the Legislative

Priority Development Assistance Fund, otherwise known as PDAF, this gives

Congressmen to propose their said projects on their districts, allocating resources,

aiding such legislation, the costs for the national government, thus, fueling the

highly programmatic political party in the political arena.

51
4.3.3 Sheer Opportunism

Party affiliation in the Philippines is considered as loosely-based. Citing the

Presidential elections when Fidel Ramos’ party, National Union of Christian

Democrats-Union of Muslim Democrats of the Philippines (NUCD-UMDP) won the

presidency, a number of the members of from the opposition, Lakas ng

Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), shifted to his party. It was also in Estrada’s

Administration where the opposition bloc sided with the ruling party, and that was

the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (LAMMP). One of the key informant

from the academe said:

“Pinaka prominente siya pang may nanalong president, yan ang signal natin na
mag si switch ang politicians, most of our politicians will go, will jump to the party
of the elected chief executive.”

Translation:

“It is very prominent when a President wins, that's the signal when a politician will
switch parties, most of our politicians will go, will jump to the party of the elected
chief executive.”

A clear signal that party switching exists in the House of Representatives is

when election time comes, and when a new Chief Executive is elected. Since the

President has the ruling party, it should be taken note of that the majority of the

members from the House of Representatives would change their boats in favor of

the President.

52
 4.3.4 Disintegration of Party Ideologies and Party Compromise.

Party Ideologies are no longer present when it comes to the legislative

process, the only aspects that are considered in a decision when making the bills

or policies are the beliefs or principles of the politician, while these are their beliefs,

it is not in line with the party’s ideology. A representative once said:

“There are. That's why when you are on the floor even when the majority
sponsors the bill, member of the majority participate in the debate process because
they look for members with the same belief to support their bill”

Another representative said that:

“Conflicts are a natural occurrence in the House of Representatives. The issue

is hardly ever about political parties. It is usually about a clash of ideologies.
Example, one person believes in divorce while another believes in the sanctity of
marriage, and they argue quoting the Constitution and other relevant sources to
convince the majority of the soundness of their cause.”

The statements prove that as long as the politician is able to convince the

individuals or other members of the House of Representatives to change their

perspective, even when they are in a certain party, they will vote based on their

own belief or ideology.

Party compromise is usually the result of the different opinions made by

different parties or the members of the House of Representatives during the

previous administrations in the process of policy making, however, in the present

administration, party compromise is not usually present. A chief of staff said:

There are conflicts when creating a bill but it is a different scenario now
since the coalition in Congress for the first time have a super majority, descent
political parties disappeared.

53
 In relation to the statement given, a representative also stated that:

Under the present Congress, there is Super Majority that's why there's no
conflict. The coalition, it's still a coalition, is largely in agreement in all most of
issues.
Since the House of Representative at the present time have a super majority

made by party coalitions, the decisions are either a yes or a no, the politicians no

longer need to meet half-way, however an implication of such is that while it

provides a quick process of policy making, a number of the bills, despite being

checked through three different readings, have a possibility of being flawed

because there are no need for reservations on the provisions of the various bills.

In relation to the previous statement given, a member of the academe, stated

that:

“Party switching has become the vehicular platforms for personal ambition
rather than being ideological, program-based, and people- driven organizations.”

Having a weak political party system makes the democratic rule of the

Philippines as surrealistic democracy that is ruled by a few. The personalities are

the ones who bring the name of the party and not the party per se. The solution

therefore is to have a stronger party but this cannot be done until the politicians

become serious about the role of the party they belong to.

54
 4.4 Discussion

This portion includes the discussion of the gathered and collected data from

the key informants of the study, focused on the perspectives of the key informants

and in connection with the (a) Theoretical Framework, (b) Conceptual Framework,

and (c) Review of Related Literature.

The researchers relate and give meaning to the theoretical framework of

the study which is the Rational Choice Theory by Pollack (2016) in connection to

the data that was gathered.

Political Party System in the Philippines with regards to the nature and the

social construction of political institutions creates an element of predictability,

which is they establish and constrain the individuals or the political actors to act in

line with reasoning creating a barrier that hinder the individuals’ point of view. The

nature of political parties could be philosophically-centered, as well as ideological

oriented (Pollack, 2016). If for instance you are not in line or connected to any

philosophical system in the political party, it means you’ll have no principles in

practicing politics.

The Rational Choice Theory comes in and can be related to the individual

reasons of the House members from the House of Representatives. The

individualistic, and utility-maximization of an individual affect it’s conscience-based

action and the action of the many as well as the institution, and it produce a conflict

in the legislation process.

55
 The theory is used so as to identify the House Members’ individual decision-

making in the policy making process with regard to party-switching. Politicians

tends to act in their own conscience to survive in the process. Party-switching is

merely used as a political tool by the politician to shift parties in order to gain

benefits. The political actors will then push what is in favor with their own interest,

in this case, political survival and power.

The conceptual framework in connection to the data collected produces a

problematic political party system. The hypothesis that was shown in the

conceptual framework was that the Philippines has a relatively weak political party

system because individual do not vote based on ideology but bases their vote on

the popularity and the charismatic personality of the politicians. In connection to

the policy making process of the House members, the individualistic reason

becomes a sheer opportunity for them because they focus their attention to their

own benefit and not on the benefit of the many.

The individual decision-making of the House Members will then determine

what is best for their own interests. Political survival and power which is the

benefits necessary for their continuous service. As a politician they’ll go to a party,

if necessary switch to a party where they will gain benefits and power to survive in

the system.

By personal reason and norms, the House members switched because of

political survival. It gives new opportunity to continue to represent their respected

sector which is funded by the party. To sum up, most House Representatives from

56
the House of Representatives in the Philippines are opportunistic and continue to

serve for political survival in the political arena.

Politicians switch parties for several reasons, and it somehow affect the

policy making process in the House of Representatives. One reason could be the

politicians’ views are no longer in congruent with those of its present party.

Secondly, politicians tend to gain influence and power. It is more likely for a

politician to gain power and influence by switching to the side of the majority party.

Lastly, politicians want to get elected. This is arguably the primary reason for

someone to switch parties.

The data collected in connection with the researchers’ Review of Related

Literature can be seen and sum up as a weak kind of party system. From the

proliferation of the constructed idea which is ‘party switching’ exist not just in the

Philippines but all over the globe.

In the Philippines, after the Marcos regime, a multi-party system was

introduced. Even before the time the multi-party system was established, party

switching already existed, however, it was within two running political parties, the

Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party. Since the tradition of party switching

happened before and still remained even in contemporary times despite being

stopped during the Marcos regime, it showed the fluidity of the political parties and

politicians which is the reason why Quimpo (2007) described the political party

system in the Philippines as “wishy-washy” and a weak kind of system.

57
 The House members are also regarded as traditional politicians, individuals

that come from different political dynasties and are often described to have a

charismatic personality. The Philippine political party system and the parties’

ideologies are blurred and the parties are perceived to be mere ‘fans club’ due to

the fact that they use them for their own vested interests such as retaining and

boosting their personal gain or political power.

Because of the state being able to acquire resources that they could get

from their constituencies, the House members tend to exercise patronage politics

(Magno, 2008). They would provide or offer goods and services to their

constituents or the voters so that they will be recognized and will be able garner

the support of the locals which provides them a position or seat in the legislative

body, performing their duties in line with the district needs.

The relationship between the executive and the legislative also affects the

process of policy making, the house members often comply with the bills proposed

by the party from which the president came from. Mainly due to the reason the

executive uses its power in order ensure the passage of the bills which they favor,

the use of power includes providing the budget for the legislators and the removal

of chairmanship or other position of a certain politician from a certain department.

The other factors in the party system such as gender or age does not

necessarily affect the party system in the Philippines due to the fact that the

politicians’ ideology are uncertain and also since they are considered personalistic,

they are often concerned about their vested interests such as gaining political

power or surviving the political arena.

58
 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

The superseding objective of this study is to analyze the effect of Party

Switching on the Policy Making of the Representatives of Selected House

Representatives in the Philippines. In detail, it studied the existence of party

switching, the benefits of the political party system in the Philippines, and the

problems of the political party system in the legislative process.

The researchers used comparative research method as their research

design and employed a qualitative type of research. They gathered information

through fifteen (15) House Representatives, and two (2) member from the

Academe, namely from the University of the Philippines, Diliman and from the

Technological Institute of the Philippines, Manila.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

1. Political party system in the Philippines holds a big impact in the policy

formulation, thus it creates a “political butterfly” or “Balimbing” connotation.

There are various problems that these parties are facing; one is the

continuous parties of the families or political dynasty. With the application

of multi-party system stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, several

59
 parties had been created and it created a clash of ideologies from these

parties. However, in the recent years, a party’s ideology is no longer

essential because the parties are observed to be personality oriented.

Lastly, “political turncoatism” is somewhat rampant and is being exercised

by lots of House members.

2. Power is one of the reasons why Party- switching happens in the Philippine

Political party setup. It is to gain influence and power. It is more likely for a

politician to gain power and influence by switching to the side of the majority

party. Politicians tend to switch parties because they want to survive in their

term of office, although given in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that there

would be term limit for a Congressman to follow, term limit of three (3) terms,

that after it he could not run, not unless, there would be a certain provision

that would allow a certain politician to be re-elected.

3. Political parties act as associations for influencing the content and conduct

of public policy. This usually means adhering to a set of ideological

principles or advancing certain group interests. In order to do such, parties

prepare platforms or programs. They are expected to allocate public

resources to their preferred policies at hand. Thus, it is highly programmatic,

rather than ideologically based.

4. The present political landscape shows that the political and economic class

continues to hold on and to remain in state power; increasing their power

and might, thus became invulnerable to the key issues brought by the

phenomenon of the so called, “Party-Switching.”

60
5. Political agenda and reform, congressmen have their projects and policies

to be given out on their constituents. These projects and policies that they

are lobbying are congruent to the districts needs and to further give the right

services. These would serve as machinery for the politicians to have either

a long term or short-term development plans.

6. Personal Interest of a certain Congressman serves as one of the major

problems in a political party system. There are vested interests to each of

the Congressmen that for them seems to be favorable in such conditions.

7. Incentives and other forms, e.g. Bribery, offering higher position to a certain

Congressman to practice Party-switching still exists in the House of

Representatives. Funding on a certain district would mean that a politician

would practice party-switching, for the very reason that he is in alliance of

the ruling party, e.g. PDP LABAN as the Super Majority.

CONCLUSION

Upon gathering the data, it can be seen that party switching exist in

the political party affiliation in the House member of the House of

Representatives way back then up to the present. Party switching is also

necessary for the House members in the policy making process as it create

a benefits for the political party as long as they have an advocacy for their

respected sectors to represent.

The researchers used the Rational Choice Theory as its framework

in support for the individual beliefs, norms, and decision of the selected key

61
informants as it view the behavior and perspective of the individual or the

political actors (Pollack, 2016).

In effect, party switching with regard to the policy making process of

the House members from the House of Representatives creates a

marginalized and underrepresented sectors, the disintegration of the party

ideologies, and the compromise of the parties. Thus, this is where the

principle of institutionalism applies. At the end of the day, party switching is

used as a political tool for them to function in accordance of their respected

represented sectors, and used as machinery for their own benefits.

By looking at how party-switching contains an effect on the policy

making, the researchers then, and therefore provides that the effect of

party-switching on the policy making is, it destroys the unity and loyalty

within the political party. However, it may result to inconsistencies on the

policies being created in the government.

In conclusion, there is an effect in the policy making process when

the House members from the House of Representatives party switched and

it created an opportunity for them to use it as a way to maintain office.

Ultimately, party switching affects the policy making process by prolonging,

hindering or hastening the passage of a bill due to the fact that, according

to the gathered data, the government has a democratic process of passing

bills or referred to as “numbers game”, Since the passage of a bill heavily

rely on the votes of the house members, if the politicians join a certain party

62
 which has a great amount of members, they can, without any problems,

pass or deny a passage of a bill.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. Future researchers may use different time frame for their study; thus,

working on a time table that is not backwards. This would then help the

researchers analyze the data in an orderly manner; because there are

Congressmen who were not present by that given time, and there were

some who are not yet in office; lastly, there are Congressmen who served

their maximum terms, three (3) terms to say. Suffice to say that the new

study will increase the probability of looking to a new variable that would

lead to a fulfilling research. The basis of their study will be considered valid

in the manner of adding certain issues regarding party switching politicians.

2. Further research about the role of other politicians, local or in the upper

house in the policy making process with regards to party switching. Local

Politicians tend to affiliate themselves in a certain party before immersing

to a National Party. This only means that, they tend to practice party

switching oftentimes.

3. Further researches about the word “Political Turncoatism”, and Political

Party System, and identify when the party-based decision and conscience-

based decision should be applied.

63
4. Sending letters to the informants via email is not the only way to have their

response at hand. It is recommended for the researchers to go to facilitate

their work in the field, particular offices of the informants in order for them

to gather their data in the soonest time as possible, moreover to their

availability. Before formal data gathering procedure, might as well, call the

given telephone/personal contact numbers is also advisable.

5. The future researchers, when they’ll facilitate and interview with a member

of the academe should follow the protocol. Given that there are also

constraints when going to different schools, universities, and colleges.

6. The future researchers, especially the students should schedule their

desired interview as soon as possible, because Congressmen are high key

and busy personalities. Particularly, given that they are lawmakers, they

tend to do a lot of lobbying, sessions and hearing that would constrain the

ongoing research study.

64
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