Villanueva rejects calls to abolish partylist system

NEOPHYTE Senator Joel Villanueva added his voice on Tuesday to those against scrapping the partylist system in the country.

“Baka po ‘di ako sumang ayon dyan unless talagang may bago na po tayong Konstitusyon kasi nakasaad yan sa Konstitusyon,” Villanueva said when sought for comment on President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that he would push for the abolition of the partylist system.

“At napakahalaga na kapag tinignan mo ang track record ng partylist system especially yung contributions ng partylist groups, legitimate partylist groups, e napakadami pong mga batas na naisulong nyan at pinakikinabangan ngayon ng taumbayan,” he said.

Villanueva served three terms as member of the House of Representatives, representing the partylist group Citizens Battle Against Corruption (Cibac).

He recognized that the system had been abused by some groups, citing unconfirmed reports that the accreditation of partylist groups was being used to make money.

“Hindi bago sa ating lahat na may mga groups na umiikot ikot dyan na ginagawa na talagang raket ang pag accredit ng partylist tapos ibinebenta. May mga groups naman dyan na yung partylist yun nga napaka glaring alam na alam mo na pag aari ng isang pulitiko o malaking politician whether governor, congressman, or mayor,” said the senator.

“It’s up to both Congress to act on it and ako naman, I’m more than willing to participate anumang deliberasyon, anumang pagsisiyasat upang ma serve natin ang purpose ng partylist system.”

Villanueva said there must be a mechanism that would regulate the accreditation of partylist groups by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ensure that only the legitimate groups would be accredited.

“Yun bang representation na sinasabi dapat yung representative o nominee dapat yun yung marginalized sector o nirerepresent lang siya o binigyan sya ng authority ng buong grupo ng marginalized sector na ito na maging boses nila? Kung hindi klaro yun then we are not serving the purpose of partylist system,” he further said.

He said the partylist system should be reformed, and not abolished.