Challenges and

Opportunities in the Party-

List System
Rep. France L. Castro
ACT Teachers Party-List Representative
Deputy Minority Leader, 19th Congress
Opportunities
• The existence of the party-list system by constitutional fiat and
legal mandate is in itself ONE HUGE OPPORTUNITY for the
marginalized and the underrepresented to be directly and truly
represented in government and to be legislators themselves.
• Kaya bulto ng mga batas, polisiya, at institusyon ng bansa ay tagibang kontra
sa maralita at inaaping mga sektor ay dahil hindi sila ang nagsusulat at
hindi sila ang pinanggagalingan ng mga ito.
• Orihinal na layunin ng Sistemang Party-List: para sa MARGINALIZED AT
UNDERREPRESENTED
“The party-list system is a social justice tool designed not only to give
more law to the great masses of our people who have less in life, but
also to enable them to become veritable lawmakers themselves,
empowered to participate directly in the enactment of laws designed to
benefit them. It intends to make the marginalized and the
underrepresented not merely passive recipients of the State's
benevolence, but active participants in the mainstream of representative
democracy. Thus, allowing all individuals and groups, including those
which now dominate district elections, to have the same opportunity to
participate in party-list elections would desecrate this lofty objective
and mongrelize the social justice mechanism into an atrocious veneer
for traditional politics.”
- Justice Panganiban in Bayan Muna vs. COMELEC (June 26, 2001)
Opportunities
• The Party-List System was effective in the introduction of laws and
policies that benefit sectors such as workers, farmers and fisherfolk,
the urban poor, women, children, students, and the LGBTQ+, to name
a few.
• Some examples:
• Ending endo in the education sector through the insertion of a Special Provision in the
DepEd, since the 2012 GAA, that mandates the prioritization of contractual and volunteer
teachers in the hiring and filling up of vacant plantilla items
• Issuance by the PSLMC of rules in 2011 that finally allowed the unionism of public
school teachers
• Passage of the Free Higher Education Act
• Women-centered legislation such as the Magna Carta of Women and the Reproductive
Health Act
Opportunities
• Also, the Party-List System was, and continues to be effective in
bringing into the national spotlight the issues which should have long
been addressed by government.
• Some examples:
• Salary and wage increases for workers and employees in the public and private sectors
• Job generation; job security
• Progressive system of taxation
• Genuine land, agrarian reform
• Greater budgetary priority for basic social services such as health, education, and housing
• Defense of human rights
• Territorial and economic sovereignty
• Good governance; anti-corruption
Opportunities
• Kaya hindi dapat hayaang palabnawin o tuluyang mawala ang party-
list system!
• Continued dilution by opening it up entirely to traditional politics and
politicians, and completely edging out genuine party-lists for the marginalized
and underrepresented
• Removal or abolition of the PL System by chacha
The main challenge in the Party-List
System
• Jurisprudence has fully admitted to the PL System even the rich,
political dynasties, and traditional politicians.
• As result, the poor, powerless, marginalized, and underrepresented are
now elbowed out from the little space in Congress reserved for them
by the Constitution.
• Malaking pag-atras ito mula sa mga naunang desisyon ng Korte
Suprema na nag-interpret ng mga probisyon ng Saligang Batas ukol sa
party-list system.
Other challenges
• Red tagging, fake news, black propaganda, dirty tactics employed
against genuine party-lists for the marginalized and underrepresented.
• This includes illegal campaigning conducted by members of the military and
police, and agents of government like NTF ELCAC.
• The threats that COMELEC rules and regulations may be used against
genuine party-lists.
• While this may be technically not illegal, this makes the lives of genuine PLs
for the marginalized and underrepresented harder as compared to PL
candidates fielded by national and regional organizations (especially major
parties).
Our calls
• Reform the Party-List System, including reserving it for the
marginalized and underrepresented
• No to the Party-List System being used as backdoor or cheaper road of the
wealthy and the trapo into Congress
• No to ChaCha, including political amendments and amendments in
other provisions like those providing for the Party-List System
• Yes to genuine Party-Lists for the marginalized and underrepresented,
and to public officials who will serve the people, not themselves, their
dynasties, and business and economic interests
Maraming salamat po!