Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
In a bid to prevent party switching and to “level the playing field” among political parties, outgoing Senate President Franklin Drilon has filed a bill seeking to strengthen the political party system in the Philippines and penalize political turncoats.
Drilon said Senate Bill No. 226 or the Political Party System Act was aimed at promoting “party loyalty, discipline and adherence to ideological principles, platforms and programs.”
“It is about time that we pass a measure that will institutionalize and strengthen political parties as pillars of the country’s democratic system. It is imperative that the country’s political party system should be strengthened in order to achieve genuine political development and democratization,” Drilon said in a statement.
“Most political aspirants change political parties for convenience, rather than because of conviction. This only shows the lack of ideological commitment of the members of party because they choose parties based on the rise and fall of the tide of opportunity,” he added.
Drilon said the bill will primarily penalize political turncoats by barring them to run under any party for any elective position in the succeeding election after changing party affiliations.
Turncoats will be also obliged to refund all amounts they received from their political party including a 25 percent surcharge, Drilon said.
“Political parties in our country are normally used as political vehicles to win an election. Political party system is centered on personalities rather than ideology and political platform. Political turncoatism should never be encouraged nor tolerated,” he added.
Drilon said that if passed into law, the measure will establish a state subsidy fund that can be used to augment campaign expenditures and operating funds of accredited national political parties “for party development, which include, among others, party administration and recruitment, research and policy development, and education and training of members.”
Drilon said the fund can also be used to fund “traveling expenses of the candidates and support personnel in the course of the campaign, hiring of personnel and secretariat, setting up of headquarters, production and distribution of campaign paraphernalia, and other relevant electoral expenditures.” IDL
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