Losing party-lists to be barred from 2025 polls

MANILA, Philippines — Party-list organizations that lost in the past two elections are to be barred from participating in the May 2025 polls.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the poll body will soon issue a resolution removing losing party-list groups from the list of accredited organizations allowed to participate in next year’s midterm elections.

“As for existing party-lists that joined in the past election, the Comelec will come out with a resolution where those who joined twice and did not win can be removed from the list based on the Party-list Act,” Laudiangco said during the Bagong Pilipinas public briefing yesterday.

“Please be assured that this will be released by Comelec,” he said in Filipino.

Under Republic Act No. 7941, only parties, organizations or coalitions registered with the Comelec may participate in the party-list elections.

Under the law, registration of a party-list may be canceled if it fails to participate in the last two preceding elections or fails to obtain at least two percent of the votes cast under the party-list system in the two preceding elections.

At this time, Laudiangco said the Comelec is screening those organizations that have applied for registration.

“We will see if they are really representative of the sector they wish to represent, and if they have complied with the requirement of the Party-list Act,” Laudiangco said.

Last week, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the Comelec intends to cut down to around 130 the number of groups participating in the May 2025 polls.

A total of 177 party-list organizations participated in the May 2022 elections.

Garcia said out of 200 applicants for registration, the Comelec has already dismissed 130 petitions for registration and has accredited only around 17 party-lists.