Comelec urges lawmakers: Overhaul party-list system

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections called on lawmakers to push for the complete overhaul of Republic Act (RA) 7941 or the Party-List System Act to address the concerns of different sectors, especially the marginalized.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said amending the law would make it more responsive to the requirements of party-list representation.

“In my opinion, it should be given a complete overhaul so that it can reflect the decisions of the Supreme Court, concerns on marginalized and underrepresented would be reflected, address qualification of nominees and even (check) how to compute their representation in Congress,” Garcia said on Friday.

“We really hope that it will be updated, revised, amended and fixed, this party-list system, especially since it was passed way back in 1995,” he added.

Garcia said the overhaul is necessary since all the party-list groups, their nominees and even the Comelec are facing numerous criticisms.

“The issues, the problems and the criticisms being thrown to party-list organizations are all rooted in this law that is being implemented by the Comelec,” Garcia said.

RA 7941 was signed into law by then-president Fidel Ramos in March 1995. The law aims to promote proportional representation in the House of Representatives through a party-list system of registered parties or organizations of Filipinos belonging to marginalized and underrepresented sectors.

Critics of the law argue that it is being exploited by political aspirants who do not genuinely represent the marginalized and underrepresented sector.