THE National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has welcomed the filing of bills in both the House of Representatives and the Senate seeking to reform the Party-List System Act of 1995.
Namfrel said House Bill 9906 and Senate Bill 2090 are “complementary” and “not contradictory.”
“These bills do not contradict each other. They are complementary instruments addressing the same crisis from different angles,” Namfrel said in a statement.
“The filing of House Bill No. 9906 and Senate Bill No. 2090 in the 20th Congress is a serious and welcome legislative response,” it added.
The poll watchdog said lawmakers should act swiftly to pass the proposed reforms, expressing hope that both chambers would move quickly to amend the 30-year-old law.
“The party-list system belongs to the Filipino people. Pass a reform law that is genuine, comprehensive, and enforceable before the next election cycle,” Namfrel said.
“The window is open now… Namfrel urges Congress to see this work through to a conclusion worthy of the Filipino people,” it added.
HB 9906 seeks to reorganize the party-list system into three tracks -- Sectoral, Advocacy and Regional -- while disqualifying dynasty-linked nominees, government contractors, incumbent officials and former defeated candidates from nomination.
Meanwhile, SB 2090 proposes reserving 50 percent of party-list seats for traditional marginalized sectors and requiring nominees to genuinely belong to those sectors.
Namfrel said the final measure should cover relatives of all incumbent elective officials at every level of government, rather than only those within the second degree of incumbent senators and representatives.
It also said the disqualification of contractors should remain in effect for as long as a government contract, concession, franchise or public-private partnership agreement is in force, instead of being limited to a five-year ban.
The group further said nominee substitutions should be allowed only in cases of death or permanent incapacity, with no replacements permitted after the close of the filing period.
Namfrel urged the Bicameral Conference Committee to reconcile the two measures into a stronger law that adopts the strictest and most effective provisions from both bills.
“The Bicameral Conference Committee must adopt the highest common denominator across both bills on every disqualification, transparency, and enforcement provision,” Namfrel said. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
