COMELEC proclaims 32 new Party-List House members

The Commission on Elections (Comelec), convening as National Board of Canvassers, on Friday proclaimed 32 party-list groups to occupy congressional seats.

The proclamation came two days after the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the 2-percent threshold in the distribution of party-list seats in the House of Representatives.

Proclaimed were Buhay with three seats; Bayan Muna, three; Cibac, two; Gabriela, two; APEC, two; A Teacher, two; Akbayan, two; Alagad, two; COOP-NATCCO, two; Butil, two; ARC, two; Anakpawis, two; AMIN, two; Abono, two; Yacap, two; AGAP, two; An Waray, two; UNI-MAD, one; ABS, one; Kakusa, one; Kabataan, one; ABA-AKO, one; Senior Citizens, one; AT, one; VFP, one; ANAD, one; Banat, one; Ang Kasangga, one; Bantay, one; Abakada, one; 1-UTAK, one; and TUCP, one.

Except for Buhay, APEC and Gabriela, which are occupying the seats allocated for them, all party-list groups proclaimed by Comelec would either be adding a representative for their group or would seat in Congress for the first time based on the ficial “recomputation” done by the poll body.

The party-list groups would be occupying legislative seats only a year before the 2010 national elections take place.

According to Comelec Chairman Jose Melo, the decision of the Supreme Court paved way for the granting of additional party-list seats in Congress.

Basis for proclamation

Friday’s proclamation was grounded on “the percentage of party-list votes garnered based on the National Board of Canvassers [NBC] Party-list Canvass Report No. 32 and [B] Fifty-five [55] party-list seats are available for allocation since there are 220 legislative districts.”

The 2-percent threshold refers to the contested Panganiban formula that stated only the top two party-list vote-getters are qualified for three congressional seats while all the others cannot have more than two seats in the House of Representatives.

Party-list groups argued the Panganiban formula and urged the High Court to rule in favor of the 2-4-6 formula, entitling those groups who got 2 percent of the total votes, one seat; 4 percent, two seats; and 6 percent, three seats.

But Melo clarified that since the Supreme Court ruled as void the Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 201, which created the province of Shariff Kabunsuan, it has also effectively reduced the number of legislative districts from 220 to 219 and, thereby, trimming to 54 the originally 55 available seats for party-list groups.

And because of the reduction of available legislative seats, Cocofed or the Philippine Coconut Producers Federation Inc., according to the Comelec chief, can no longer be accommodated, disputing earlier reports of its inclusion in the additional party-list groups.

Proclamations on hold

Also, Melo put on hold the proclamation of three party-list groups. According him, FPJPM (Filipinos for Peace, Justice and Progress Movement) is disqualified because it had accumulating stray votes. The Bagong Alyansang Tagapagtaguyod ng Adhikain ng Sambayanan (Batas) and Ang Laban ng Indigong Filipino (ALIF) both have pending cases in the Comelec, which resulted in their shelving.

The party-list groups that were proclaimed are yet to announce the names of their representatives, although Comelec media director James Jimenez told reporters that the poll body has procured a list of possible names.

“The nominees will depend on the party-list groups but they also have to follow the current list they have submitted to the Comelec. For now, the proclamation is focused on the groups themselves, not on who will represent these groups,” Jimenez said.

Another Arroyo

Because of the recent proclamation made by the Comelec on the additional seats that would be occupied by party-list group Ang Kasangga, a fourth member of the Arroyo clan would soon be taking her place in the House of Representatives.

Ma. Lourdes Arroyo, younger sister of President Gloria Arroyo’s husband Jose Miguel Arroyo, would be representing Ang Kasangga until next year.

In Congress, President Arroyo’s sons Juan Miguel represents Pampanaga and Diosdado Jr., Camarines Sur.

Meanwhile, Akbayan Chairman Emeritus Etta Rosales in an open letter to Melo and the commissioners of the Comelec urged the en banc to study further the proclamation of party-list group Bantay and its representative, retired Army Maj. Jovito Palparan.

“We are deeply disturbed that the entry of certain new groups and specifically, Bantay and its representative, seems to violate not only the eight-point guidelines of the Supreme Court but more significantly, the recommendations of the ‘Independent Commission to Address Media and Activist Killings’ created under Administration Order 157, which you headed [referring to Melo],” the letter said.

It added that the poll body should consider the findings of the Melo-headed commission to determine the qualifications of Palparan to represent the people.

Palparan, branded as berdugo (butcher) by activists, was involved in several cases of extrajudicial killings since 2001, and although not proved, “heavy circumstantial evidence” was allegedly found to link him to the cases.

Party-list system

A party-list system is any system of proportional representation in which voters choose among parties rather than among candidates. Votes are awarded to parties in proportion to the votes they receive.

In the Philippines, voters have two votes for their congressional representatives. The first elects a district representatives. The second elects a party-list representative. Twenty percent of the 260 seats in the House of Representatives are reserved for party-list groups. Every 2 percent of total party-list votes cast gets a seat in the House.

A party-list system is seen to help create a healthy democracy providing a citizens’ voice in Congress and in local government units. It aims to increase the representation, particularly of “ marginalized and underrepresented” sectors.

Party-list representatives are national candidates elected by voters nationwide and thus are deemed to have a broad vision for national good. They sit in the House of Representatives for a party that is elected to Congress on the basis of its electoral platform and thus push their party’s progress.

The party-list system is based on Republic Act 7941, which was signed into law on March 3, 1995.
— Bernice Camille V. Bauzon, Reporter with Eric Canlas, Manila Times