Monday, February 12, 2007
Aportadera: Multi-party system
By Atty. Billy Aportadera
Rights and Duties
SECTION 6, Article IX of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that "A free and open party system shall be allowed to evolve according to the free choice of the people, subject to the provisions of this Article."
Since 1987, the country experiences the proliferation of political parties. The pre-martial law period had the two party system composed of the Nacionalista Party and Liberal Party During the martial law period, multi-parties began to sprout which added the Unido and the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan.
The Edsa Revolution further encouraged the multi-party system by enshrining the same in the Constitution.
Now we have the Nacionalista Party of Senate President Manuel Villar, the Liberal Party of Senator Franklin Drilon, to Lakas-CMD of Speaker Joe de Venecia, Kampi of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, New People's Coalition of Businessman Eduardo Cojuangco, Partido ng Masang Pilipino of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, Aksyon Demokratiko of the late Senator Raul Roco, Bangon Pilipinas Party of Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Reporma of Retired General Renato de Villa, Promdi of Lito Osmena, People's Reform Party of Senator Miriam Defensor, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) of Senator Edgardo Angara, Kilusan ng Bagong Lipunan of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, and the PDP of Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.
The result of the proliferation of multi-parties is confusion and chaos. Political platforms are indistinguishable. Political Parties become individual and personality oriented. Political butterflies and moths gravitate around the political parties in power. Voters become confused on what the candidates stand for.
Voters cast their votes for candidates with movie-star complexes, good physical appearances and popularity. Political issues are disregarded. This constitutional infirmity of encouraging multi-parties in a presidential system of government is causing havoc on the political system and electoral process.
The political parties have become paper tigers. Replete with influential and popular politicians, political parties may look powerful on the outside but are ideologically weak and hollow on the inside. They are sold to voters not through social and political ideologies but through personalities.
What is happening is not the evolution of political parties but the regression of political party system.
Furthermore, the multi-party system has spawned another ugly head of this political hydra, "turncoatism." However, the House of Representatives has recently passed on second reading the proposed Political Party Act which, if enacted, will ban turncoatism and subsidize political parties and candidates for elective posts.
House Bill 5877, which is a substitute bill of 10 proposed measures, is aimed at strengthening the country's political party system by institutionalizing national parties and the adherence to and development of party platforms; institutionalizing reforms in the financing of electoral campaigns; and instilling party loyalty and discipline.
While awaiting for the legislative bill to be enacted into law, this is the season for "political turncoatism". Mass oath-takings of politicians with no ideological orientation are going on. Political parties that are personality, and not policy oriented, are forming coalitions and unity tickets fogging the political scene.
The political parties leave the Filipino voters with no free choice on the candidates they would want to elect and to lead them out of this political limbo. [Attorney Abelardo "Billy" Aportadera Jr., former Commissioner on Human Rights and former Assistant Ombudsman, is a practicing lawyer and a member of Philconsa, E-mail address: apo_lawoffice@pldtdsl.net; Web address: http://billyaportadera.com.ph]
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (February 12, 2007 issue)
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