DILG: Revisit party-list system ‘taken over’ by vested interests, political clans

MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Thursday it is “time to revisit” the party-list system in the country, which he claimed has been marred by vested interests and political clans.

Jonathan Malaya, DILG spokesperson and Undersecretary for Plans, Public Relations, and Communications, said the current party-list system should be “redirected” towards the “original intent” of the 1987 Constitution.

“I think it’s about time that we revisit the party-list system kasi (because) the party-list system, as it involved in the Philippines, has been taken over by certain interests and some political families,” he said in an interview with reporters at the sidelines of the Millennial Youth for Constitutional Reform (CORE) event of the DILG in Makati City.

According to Malaya, the counterpart of the party-list system in other countries is called proportional representation system, where party-lists for different sectors are not disassociated with political parties.

“You vote for the mainstream political parties. ‘Yung sinasabing (What they call) marginalized and underrepresented, they are supposed to be sectors within the party. For example, [in the case of the] Liberal Party or PDP Laban, you don’t have to create another party for the youth, another party for the women, another party for the farmers,” he explained.

“Within those political parties, meron na doong sector na youth, may sector na farmers (there are already sectors for the youth and farmers). That’s the original intent of the 1987 Constitution na (that) somehow evolved into what we have right now,” he said. /je