OPINION
Ed Javier
COMELEC's Role In The Bastardization Of The Party-List System
Photo credit: COMELEC
In last week's column, we discussed how the party-list system—originally designed to amplify the voices of the marginalized—has been hijacked by powerful elites.
This week, we shift focus to how the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has allowed itself to become a tool for the very forces it was meant to regulate. The accreditation of dubious party-lists has become an alarming trend.
COMELEC is constitutionally mandated to screen party-lists to ensure they represent genuine marginalized sectors. Yet, time and again, it has accredited groups with no real connection to the disenfranchised.
Political dynasties, big business interests, and even figures with histories of corruption are being allowed to run under the guise of representing the poor. Who benefits from these approvals, and why is the screening process so lenient?
This is largely because of the Supreme Court decision on the party-list system, which we have already discussed in a previous column. It's worth reiterating our call for cause-oriented groups to challenge this ruling.
We have heard horror stories about how the party-list accreditation process works within COMELEC, including the significant expenses or "investment" involved just to be accredited and allowed to run.
It has become an open secret that getting accredited is very costly, a reality that favors wealthier groups and makes it harder for genuine marginalized organizations to participate.
The accreditation process should not be a financial hurdle, but rather an impartial system that upholds the spirit of the party-list law.
The problem extends to the lax vetting of nominees. Party-list representatives are supposed to advocate for the sectors they claim to represent, but many nominees are anything but marginalized.
Instead, we see scions of political dynasties, recycled politicians who failed to win traditional district or local elections, or individuals with questionable backgrounds, some even facing criminal charges.
How can these people represent the poor when many of them are entrenched in privilege, controversy and corruption?
One of the most egregious practices is the use of “dummy nominees.”
In this scheme, party-lists submit reputable individuals as nominees, only for them to resign after the election for flimsy reasons, clearing the way for the real, often less savory, candidates to take over.
These hidden nominees, often party-list financiers or individuals with tainted reputations, lurk behind the scenes until the coast is clear.
Why does COMELEC allow this bait-and-switch? This legal trickery undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
Another glaring issue is COMELEC’s approval of party-lists with names that mislead voters into thinking they are affiliated with government programs.
Consider, for instance, the "Pagtibayin at Palaguin ang Pangkabuhayang Pilipino (4Ps), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Pensyonado Party-list."
By co-opting acronyms of popular government assistance programs like the real 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program), many voters were deceived into believing that a vote for them was a vote for social welfare.
Despite objections from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) itself and various NGOs advocating for clean and honest election such as Partylist Watch and Kontra Daya, which sought to nullify the 4Ps Party-list's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration for allegedly naming itself after the DSWD's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), COMELEC still allowed it to run in the 2022 elections.
Partylist Watch, has identified several criteria for determining a fake party-list: if it is run by political clans, operated by multimillionaires or multibillionaires, has no track record of championing marginalized sectors, or is linked to corruption or human rights violations.
Under these guidelines, many accredited party-lists clearly do not represent the interests of the disenfranchised.
A prime example is the abovementioned 4Ps party-list, which Partylist Watch flagged for meeting all the criteria of a fake party-list.
Its first nominee, Marcelino Libanan, a former district congressman, immigration commissioner, has been implicated in corruption, having faced charges related to the 2004 fertilizer fund scam.
The NGOs highlighted that Libanan's party-list created confusion by using the 4Ps acronym and a logo almost identical to the DSWD’s 4Ps program, with similar colors and design.
The DSWD’s 4Ps is a social protection initiative providing conditional cash grants to poor households to support health and education expenses. Clearly, this is a clever way to deceive voters, which COMELEC should not have allowed in the first place.
Now that they have secured not just one but two House seats, with the other seat held by Jonathan Abalos, grandson of incumbent Mandaluyong Mayor Benjamin Abalos, Libanan's group now enjoys access to billions in government funds, such as TUPAD, AICS, and ACAP.
This scenario is especially unfair to genuine party-list groups that do not have similar access.
Meanwhile, Rolando Macasaet, who is the first nominee of the GSIS Pensyonado Party-list, also exemplifies this trend of party-lists being represented by individuals with ties to power and privilege.
Macasaet previously served as president of both the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS)—hardly the image of someone representing marginalized sectors.
Of course, these groups may claim that COMELEC has no exclusive legal right to these acronyms, but such shallow excuses do little to mask the fact that the intent is clearly to deceive voters and grab credit for government programs.
This blatant subversion of the party-list system’s original intent reflects a fundamental failure on the part of COMELEC.
My question is, why is the COMELEC, the very gatekeeper responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the system, allowing this political manipulation to run rampant?
Your guess is as good as mine.
We hope Chairman George Garcia can take these concerns seriously and not allow himself to be misled by his own people.
Until Chairman Garcia and the COMELEC take their mandate seriously and overhaul the party-list screening process, the system will remain a tool for political manipulation, serving the interests of the wealthy and powerful.
What was once a beacon of hope for the marginalized has now become a gateway for entrenched elites to tighten their grip on power, further eroding public trust in our democratic institutions.
If this continues, the very sectors the party-list system was designed to uplift will remain voiceless—pushed further to the margins by the very system that claims to represent them.
COMELEC must act decisively to reform the accreditation process, enforce strict vetting standards, and hold accountable those who abuse the system. If they do not, they risk being remembered as the enabler of the party-list system's downfall.
This week, we shift focus to how the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has allowed itself to become a tool for the very forces it was meant to regulate. The accreditation of dubious party-lists has become an alarming trend.
COMELEC is constitutionally mandated to screen party-lists to ensure they represent genuine marginalized sectors. Yet, time and again, it has accredited groups with no real connection to the disenfranchised.
Political dynasties, big business interests, and even figures with histories of corruption are being allowed to run under the guise of representing the poor. Who benefits from these approvals, and why is the screening process so lenient?
This is largely because of the Supreme Court decision on the party-list system, which we have already discussed in a previous column. It's worth reiterating our call for cause-oriented groups to challenge this ruling.
We have heard horror stories about how the party-list accreditation process works within COMELEC, including the significant expenses or "investment" involved just to be accredited and allowed to run.
It has become an open secret that getting accredited is very costly, a reality that favors wealthier groups and makes it harder for genuine marginalized organizations to participate.
The accreditation process should not be a financial hurdle, but rather an impartial system that upholds the spirit of the party-list law.
The problem extends to the lax vetting of nominees. Party-list representatives are supposed to advocate for the sectors they claim to represent, but many nominees are anything but marginalized.
Instead, we see scions of political dynasties, recycled politicians who failed to win traditional district or local elections, or individuals with questionable backgrounds, some even facing criminal charges.
How can these people represent the poor when many of them are entrenched in privilege, controversy and corruption?
One of the most egregious practices is the use of “dummy nominees.”
In this scheme, party-lists submit reputable individuals as nominees, only for them to resign after the election for flimsy reasons, clearing the way for the real, often less savory, candidates to take over.
These hidden nominees, often party-list financiers or individuals with tainted reputations, lurk behind the scenes until the coast is clear.
Why does COMELEC allow this bait-and-switch? This legal trickery undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
Another glaring issue is COMELEC’s approval of party-lists with names that mislead voters into thinking they are affiliated with government programs.
Consider, for instance, the "Pagtibayin at Palaguin ang Pangkabuhayang Pilipino (4Ps), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Pensyonado Party-list."
By co-opting acronyms of popular government assistance programs like the real 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program), many voters were deceived into believing that a vote for them was a vote for social welfare.
Despite objections from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) itself and various NGOs advocating for clean and honest election such as Partylist Watch and Kontra Daya, which sought to nullify the 4Ps Party-list's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration for allegedly naming itself after the DSWD's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), COMELEC still allowed it to run in the 2022 elections.
Partylist Watch, has identified several criteria for determining a fake party-list: if it is run by political clans, operated by multimillionaires or multibillionaires, has no track record of championing marginalized sectors, or is linked to corruption or human rights violations.
Under these guidelines, many accredited party-lists clearly do not represent the interests of the disenfranchised.
A prime example is the abovementioned 4Ps party-list, which Partylist Watch flagged for meeting all the criteria of a fake party-list.
Its first nominee, Marcelino Libanan, a former district congressman, immigration commissioner, has been implicated in corruption, having faced charges related to the 2004 fertilizer fund scam.
The NGOs highlighted that Libanan's party-list created confusion by using the 4Ps acronym and a logo almost identical to the DSWD’s 4Ps program, with similar colors and design.
The DSWD’s 4Ps is a social protection initiative providing conditional cash grants to poor households to support health and education expenses. Clearly, this is a clever way to deceive voters, which COMELEC should not have allowed in the first place.
Now that they have secured not just one but two House seats, with the other seat held by Jonathan Abalos, grandson of incumbent Mandaluyong Mayor Benjamin Abalos, Libanan's group now enjoys access to billions in government funds, such as TUPAD, AICS, and ACAP.
This scenario is especially unfair to genuine party-list groups that do not have similar access.
Meanwhile, Rolando Macasaet, who is the first nominee of the GSIS Pensyonado Party-list, also exemplifies this trend of party-lists being represented by individuals with ties to power and privilege.
Macasaet previously served as president of both the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS)—hardly the image of someone representing marginalized sectors.
Of course, these groups may claim that COMELEC has no exclusive legal right to these acronyms, but such shallow excuses do little to mask the fact that the intent is clearly to deceive voters and grab credit for government programs.
This blatant subversion of the party-list system’s original intent reflects a fundamental failure on the part of COMELEC.
My question is, why is the COMELEC, the very gatekeeper responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the system, allowing this political manipulation to run rampant?
Your guess is as good as mine.
We hope Chairman George Garcia can take these concerns seriously and not allow himself to be misled by his own people.
Until Chairman Garcia and the COMELEC take their mandate seriously and overhaul the party-list screening process, the system will remain a tool for political manipulation, serving the interests of the wealthy and powerful.
What was once a beacon of hope for the marginalized has now become a gateway for entrenched elites to tighten their grip on power, further eroding public trust in our democratic institutions.
If this continues, the very sectors the party-list system was designed to uplift will remain voiceless—pushed further to the margins by the very system that claims to represent them.
COMELEC must act decisively to reform the accreditation process, enforce strict vetting standards, and hold accountable those who abuse the system. If they do not, they risk being remembered as the enabler of the party-list system's downfall.
Oct 21, 2024
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