| Former
ConCom member cites dilution of Party-list system
The
Party-list system has been “diluted, misinterpreted, and prostituted.”
With
these words, Dr. Wilfrido V. Villacorta, a member of the 1986 Constitutional
Commission (ConCom), chided the intrusion of traditional politics
into the Party-list system whose vision was to make Congress inclusive
giving voice to the marginalized sectors.
Villacorta,
former Deputy Secretary General of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and professor emeritus of De La Salle University
(DLSU), was main speaker at CenPEG’s final roundtable discussion
in connection with the First National Comprehensive Assessment of
the 10-Year Party-list System in the Philippines. The roundtable
was in partnership with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and
was hosted by the Institute for Government and Law Reform (IGLR),
which is headed by former Commissioner of the Presidential Commission
on Good Government (PCGG) and law professor, Victoria Avena. IGLR
is attached to the UP Law Center in Diliman, Quezon City.
Villacorta
also recalled deliberations by the ConCom members on the Party-list
system as a constitutional provision saying that the principle of
proportional representation was not a debatable issue. But, he said,
today’s extra-judicial killings of Party-list members and
attempts to subject it under traditional politics has caused its
dilution and “prostitution.”
Because
of this, the DLSU professor agreed that Party-list members in the
House of Representatives are considered as “second-rated citizens.”
The
other speaker, Atty. Leila de Lima, Chairperson of the Commission
on Human Rights (CHR), talked about the CHR’s “0-Voters
Disenfranchisement in the 2010 Elections” advocacy. She attended
the recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva where
she reported on the state of human rights violations in the Philippines.
The
third and final RTD of CenPEG on the Party-list system was joined
by Nominees and representatives of 16 Party-list groups and 99 others
from the grassroots organizations, academe, interfaith community,
the Commission on Elections (Comelec), and media.
CenPEG
Senior Fellows Felix Muga II and Bobby Tuazon presented short briefing
papers on the 3-M voters’ disenfranchisement under the First
Party Rule formula and on human rights violations in the Party-list
system.
Lawyer
Cleto Villacorta acted as the Moderator while the invocation was
led by UCCP Bishop Gabriel Garol. Edgardo Clemente, MD, member of
CenPEG Board and Fellow gave the closing remarks.
Among
the panel discussants were Comelec’s Commissioner Rene Sarmiento
and Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan, Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, Bishop
Deogracias Yniguez of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’
(CBCP) public affairs commission.
The
Party-list groups included: Gabriela Women’s Party, Buhay,
CIBAC, Coop-Natcco, Migrante Sectoral Party, Bayan Muna, Partido
Manggagawa, Akbayan, Disabled Party-List, Senior Citizens, An Waray,
Kabataan, Aging Pinoy, Buhay, Anakpawis, and ABS Party list
CenPEG
is headed by Executive Director Evi-ta Jimenez while National Artist
for 2006, Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera, chairs its Board of Directors.
(3
million voters were disenfranchised by the First Party Rule
by. Dr. Felix Muga II) |
