How exactly does a party-list select its nominees?
MANILA, Philippines — Sprouting from Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade’s red-tagging spree is the claim that the members of the leftist Makabayan bloc in Congress are “card-bearing” members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
He claims further that no one would get nominated as a representative of the party-lists composing of the Makabayan bloc without the blessing of the CPP.
“There’s a problem in so many ways that Parlade is hurling baseless allegations around,” Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela party-list) told Philstar.com when asked for comment.
The real score, according to Brosas, is that the recommendation for nominees comes from Gabriela Women’s Party’s highest policy-making body, the National Women’s Council.
From there, the nominations are taken to the National Convention — Gabriela Women’s Party’s highest governing body. The National Convention, which meets every three years, gets the final word on who would be Gabriela party-list nominees.
The process is similar for the party-lists Kabataan and ACT Teachers.
Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers party-list) told Philstar.com that the regional chapters of her party meet to nominate candidates, who would be fielded during the general assembly where they choose their final nominees.
For Kabataan, Rep. Sarah Elago told Philstar.com that they elect party-list nominees during their national convention, following rules and regulations laid out by the Commission on Elections.
As for other party-lists, the process of selecting their nominees largely depends on what their constitution and by-laws dictate, as the Comelec did not lay down rules on how to select nominees for party-lists.
But they did say who can only sit as party-list representatives. According to Comelec Resolution No. 9366, a party-list representative must be:
- A natural-born citizen of the Philippines
- A registered voter
- A resident of the Philippines for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding election day
- Able to read and write
- A bona fide member of the party they seek to represent for at least 90 days before election day
- At least 25 years old
- A Filipino citizen who belongs to the marginalized and underrepresented sector which their sectoral party, organization, political party or coalition seeks to represent
- Able to contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole
In the case of party-lists representing the youth, the nominee must be between 25 to 30 years old on the day of the election.
The poll body also provides that those who are running for any elective office or anyone who lost their bid for an elective office in the immediately preceding election cannot be party-list nominees.
Those nominated to represent party-lists must accept the nomination in writing, paving the way for their participation in party-list elections.
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