Poll chief bats for ‘overhaul’ of party-list law
It’s about time to overhaul Republic Act No. 7491, or the Party-list Law, to finally address all the issues of what the Commission on Elections (Comelec) conceded to be a flawed system.
Comelec chair George Garcia said that revising the almost 30-year-old law would make it more responsive to the current requirements of party-list representation.
“Instead of an amendment, a complete overhaul would be better. A revision [of the law]. So that we can reflect the Supreme Court’s decisions, and so that the concerns of others, concerns of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors, address the qualification of nominees and even clarify the process of computing their representation in Congress,” he told reporters on Friday.
“We really hope that it will update, revise and fix this party-list system, especially since the law was passed way back in 1995,” Garcia added.
The poll body chief noted that the issues, problems, and criticisms being thrown at party-list organizations were all rooted in this law that was only being implemented by the Comelec.
For instance, Garcia said that the Comelec was being blamed for allowing some undeserving party-list groups to file their certificates of nomination and acceptance (CONA). Unless a petition is filed, the commission cannot cancel a party-list motu proprio (by itself) according to the law, he said.
Most active lawmakers
In a separate radio interview over the weekend, Garcia said that he did not support the call of certain groups to abolish the party-list system, saying that party-list representation in Congress is enshrined in the Constitution.
“Besides, the party-list representatives are among the most active in the Congress in debates and committee hearings. They are needed to make sure that the sentiments of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors will be heard in the Congress,” he added.
The first ever electronic raffle of numbers was conducted to determine which party-lists would be listed in the official ballots for the 2025 midterm elections and 156 party-lists were included among the 190 aspirants.
At least 42 new party lists have been accredited under the current Comelec leadership, the lowest in recent years, he added.
This week, the Comelec will release the names of the 10 nominees for each of these party-lists.
Garcia noted that any registered voter may file a petition to revoke a party-list’s accreditation or disqualify nominees from these party lists.
Read: Comelec releases list of 156 party-list groups vying for House seats
