President Rodrigo Duterte was never a fan of the party-list system. Early in his presidency, Duterte said the party-list provision should be stricken off the Constitution because the system favors only the rich.
With a few months remaining in his term, he repeated what he didn’t like about the system–that only the rich or those who can afford a national campaign can win. In his taped talk to the people Tuesday, March 29, 2022, he mentioned again the rich running under as party-list candidates to enrich themselves once in Congress. Not only that. He spent more time talking about five party-list groups acting as “legal fronts” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
“Alam mo, they are, totoo iyan, nakapasok sila sa Congress. And no doubt about it. They have used the party-lists. Alam mo, bright kasi yung gumawa noon eh,” he said. (You know that’s true that they have infiltrated Congress... Who did that was bright.) Money that went to these party-list groups was used to support rebels, he added. “They were able to blossom into something. Matagal na ito. Ang problema, ginagamit nila ang pera, kinukuha nila ang pera ng gobyerno at binubuhay nila ang mga (rebels).” (It’s been a practice. The problem is they are using the government’s money for the... They are supporting a bunch of (rebels).”
A look at the criticism of the party-list system, including Duterte’s disapproval of it, rests on how people or groups are taking advantage of the law that allows marginalized sectors to participate in legislation.
A study of their criticism of the system would indicate they have no gripe about the law itself because there’s nothing wrong with Republic Act 7941, known as the Party-List System Act. The law says, “The State shall promote proportional representation in the... House of Representatives to... enable Filipino citizens belonging to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties, and who lack well-defined political constituencies but who could contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole, to become members of the House of Representatives.”
Such a beautiful law but it raises a challenge for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to enforce the provisions on a “full, free and open” party system.
Back to Duterte’s gripe, he named the five party-list groups he said were CPP fronts and it does not look accidental that these groups are supporting Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo and her running mate, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan. And Duterte’s statements came as Robredo has been getting big crowds at campaign rallies despite claims she has links with the CPP.
It then raises the suspicion that the naming of the groups and the raising of allegations against Robredo are meant to discourage local officials and the public from supporting her bid in the May 9 elections.