THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is pushing for major reforms to the party-list system, proposing that 70 percent of its seats in the House of Representatives be strictly reserved for marginalized and underrepresented sectors.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia emphasized the urgent need to amend the current law to clearly define eligible sectors and curb the dominance of major political parties.
Under Garcia’s proposed breakdown, 70 percent will be allocated exclusively to marginalized and underrepresented sectors like farmers, fishermen, women, youth, urban poor, overseas Filipino workers, and veterans with 20 percent open to political parties and 10 percent designated for other non-enumerated groups.
Rather than running against all groups nationwide, organizations would compete solely within their designated sector. ‘For example, if five seats were allotted to women, organizations seeking to represent that sector would compete only for those five seats,’ Garcia explained.
Garcia pointed out that well-funded political parties currently enjoy an unfair advantage owing to their established machinery and deep financial resources. The system, he argued, has strayed from its original purpose and is increasingly exploited by powerful interest groups.
He cited the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections as a successful model for sector-specific voting, which helps citizens elect representatives who directly reflect their communities.
While completely abolishing the party-list system would require a constitutional amendment, Garcia noted that amending the existing legislation is a faster, viable way to fix its critical flaws and restore real grassroots representation.