Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia speaks before the media in an ambush interview on Thursday, August 22, 2024. INQUIRER.net photo / DIANNE SAMPANG
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will introduce a new election guideline where partylists will be required to submit 10 nominees to represent them, according to the poll body’s chairman George Garcia on Thursday.
Garcia said in an ambush interview that this is a new development in the Republic Act 7941 or the Party-list System Act. The law originally mandates a registered party to submit not less than five names that will serve as representatives in the Congress if they secure the required number of votes.
“May bago tayong development… na pagbabago sa 7941 o sa Partylist Law. Ang inyo pong Comelec, sa atin pong guidelines na ilalabas ay magrerequire ng sampung pangalan lamang sa listahan ng mga nominado na isusubmit nila sa Comelec,” he said.
(We have a new development… in the changes of 7941 or the Partylist Law. Comelec, through the guidelines it will release, will require ten names in the list of the nominees to be submitted to Comelec.)
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Garcia explained that partylists and nominees, once they won, can no longer resign all together and submit replacements.
“Ang desisyon natin, ng Commission en banc, sampu ang pangalan ng mga nominado at kung lahat nagresign, eh di wala na pong magiging representante yung mismong partylist sapagkat hindi po kami tatanggap ng kaukulang karagdagan o bagong listahan,” he added.
(Our decision, of Commission en banc, ten names will serve as nominees and if they all resign, then a partylist will no longer have representatives because we will not accept additional names in the list.)
The Comelec chief also urged partylists to choose a genuine member of the sector they are trying to represent.
“Pakiusap namin, sana makapagpili sila ng mga tunay at lehitimo na mga myembro ng sektor kung ano ‘yong nirerepresenta. At the same time, kasi kahit na sabihin nating exclusive prerogative ‘yan ng partylist, yung mga mismong nominees na kanilang isusubmit sapagkat ‘yan ay party matter,” he said.
(We ask them to choose genuine and legitimate members of the sectors they are representing. At the same time, even if they say that it is an exclusive prerogative of the partylist, it is a party matter.)
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He also added that Comelec can intervene if someone files a petition to disqualify a nominee or question the entire nominees of a partylist.
Garcia shared that approximately 200 partylists have registered to Comelec for the 2025 midterm polls and the ones they have accredited so far are around 30 partylists, in which he regarded as the lowest record “since time immemorial.”