Senator vows to push reforms in party-list system

MANILA, Philippines — With over 70 party-list groups seeking a seat in the House of Representatives in the May 2025 midterm elections, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III has vowed to push for reforms in the country’s party-list system.

Pimentel noted that political families, having exhausted available elective positions within their strongholds, are now turning to the party-list system as a way to accommodate other members of their clans.

“(Party-list groups) have even increased. That means the political family is growing, and the elective positions in one area are not enough for them. How to increase it? Turn to party-list. That’s what happens,” Pimentel told Senate reporters at a press conference.

“We really have to reform the party-list system,” he added.

So far, 73 party-list groups have filed their respective certificates of nomination and acceptance before the Commission on Elections, according to reports. Most of the nominees are members of political families.

Pimentel, however, cautioned that the reform of the party-list system should be done through constitutional amendments, and there should also be efforts to protect the provisions on term limits and term length.

“We are against amendments of term limits and length of terms,” he emphasized.

For the senator, the amendment to the party-list system should be similar to the approach used in the amendment used in the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

In September 2023, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, exercising its legislative powers under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, approved the Bangsamoro Local Governance Code, which includes an anti-dynasty provision disqualifying local candidates related to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from running for office.

Asked whether there would be a chance for an enabling law on the constitutional prohibition on political dynasties, Pimentel answered: “Never give up. No. 1 in the SK law and BARMM, we put provisions… So we should never give up, especially if we are seeing good models. That’s how we’ll see this BARMM election. We can cite the BARMM experience and you will see. The composition of their assembly improved. The quality of their laws improved. So we should await the positive experience of BARMM in their anti-dynasty electoral coalition.”

Pimentel, who is on his second and last term as a senator, filed his certificate of candidacy to represent the first district of Marikina in the House of Representatives.