EDITORIAL - Overhaul the party-list system

So did you vote for a party-list representative? Or were you so confused by the system – and that daunting list of 162 parties vying for your vote – that you simply decided, as you did in 1998, not to write down the name of any party on your ballot?

Voter turnout in the May 14 elections was impressive, but voter participation in the party-list system appears to have improved only slightly. One reason could be the controversy that continues to hound the groups seeking election as party-list representatives. The Constitution provided for the party list system to give better congressional representation to marginalized sectors. Congress passed an enabling law, allowing the system to be launched in 1998.

Even at its launching, however, certain groups that represented anything but marginalized interests saw in the system an opportunity to enter Congress through the backdoor. In the past three years the idea has caught on, which is why the current crop of organizations vying for party-list representation includes even major political parties from both the administration and opposition. A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court, seeking the disqualification of the group Mamamayan Ayaw sa Droga or MAD, which appears to be garnering enough votes to win a congressional seat. MAD receives government funding, according to the petitioners. It represents people who are against drug abuse. Is that a marginalized sector in this country?

The Supreme Court has promised to resolve all petitions about the party list within a week. Apart from this, however, the incoming Congress should give priority to fine-tuning the enabling law on the party-list system. The fine-tuning should include spelling out which sectors can be classified as marginalized and deserve special representation in Congress.

Making this system work should be part of the electoral reforms that the incoming Congress must tackle. In three years the nation goes to the polls again. A complete overhaul of the electoral system may not be possible by 2004, but the chaos can at least be minimized. The reforms can start with the party-list system.