Party-list rules tightened

Party-list groups that win the required number of votes in 2013 and are awarded seats in the House of Representatives may not replace their nominees or change the order of nominees, according to the Commission on Elections.

The poll body said that under Republic Act No. 7941, or the Party-List System Act of 1995, as well as a relevant Supreme Court ruling, a nominee expelled by a party-list group remains a nominee and is eligible to represent the party-list group in the House.

“[T]his arrangement may result in an odd situation where one remains a member of the House under the banner of a particular party list of which he is no longer a member. Odd as it is, it is the law that mandates it. Thus, until the [RA 7941] is amended, we have no other recourse but to implement its provisions as we find it,” the Comelec en banc ruled. Jerome Aning