Jan 14, 2012
Party-list Winners: Whose Interests are Represented?
by Mary Ann Manahan
Five years after it was set-up to address the gaps of representational democracy in the country, has the party-list system broken the monopoly of big traditional politics and decreased the tendency for personality politics?
In 1995, it was seen as vehicle for the underrepresented and marginalized in Philippine society to have their voices heard in the halls of Congress. According to Republic Act 7941 (The Party-List System Act), citizens shall vote for parties rather than candidates, and parties are given electoral seats based on the proportion of votes that they get. To get a seat in the House of Representatives, a party-list group should receive at least two percent of the total votes cast for the party-list system. Those garnering more than two percent are entitled to additional seat, up to a third. According to the National Board of Canvassers resolution 10-009, the total number of party-list seats available for the May 10, 2010 automated national and local elections is 57, based on a formula of number of legislative districts (229)/0.80 x 0.20.
Out of the 179 party-list hopefuls in the May 2010 elections, 28 (with 35 total electoral seats) groups have been proclaimed winners in the first ever automated elections (see table below). Six of these groups are affiliated with the Arroyo administration—ABONO, Ang Kasangga, Bagong Henerasyon, Ang Galing Pinoy, Kakusa, and ALAGAD (see Kontra Daya list: http://kontradaya.org/?p=709) For lack of background or track record to represent a marginalized group, Ang Kasangga’s Teoderico T. Haresco, a businessman and known ally of Arroyo, and Ang Galing Pinoy’s Mikey Arroyo, presidential son and former Pampanga congressman, are being contested before the Comelec. While their parties have been proclaimed winnersthere is no certainty as to who will occupy their seats.
Comelec also deferred the proclamation of 11 party-list groups pending the final resolution of cases filed against them, namely petition for cancellation of registration: AKO Bicol Political Party (AKB), Buhay Hayaan Yumabong (BUHAY), 1st Consumers Alliance for Rural Energy (1-CARE), Citizen’s Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC), LPG Marketers Association, Inc. (LPGMA), Ang Asosasyon sang Mangunguma nga Bisaya-OWA Mangunguma, Inc. (AAMBIS-OWA), Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC), and Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD). There are also petitions for the disqualification of party-list nominees: 1-UTAK, Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment through Action Cooperation and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms (A-TEACHER), and Butil Farmers Party (BUTIL). Seven of these party-list groups have held seats in the 14th Congress.
Meanwhile, four of these groups have been accused of being created or affiliated by Arroyo as her means to ensure she would have allies in the House and secure the speakership. AKB, 1-UTAK, ANAD and BUHAY were included in Kontra Daya’s list, a poll watchdog that released a list of administration and military-backed groups. A-TEACHER was also included in the “negative list” due to its connection to Jesli Lapus, a mainstay in the Arroyo administration as former cabinet secretary for education, and now, in the trade and industry department.
Compared to the 2007 elections, there was an 85 percent increase in the number of votes casted for party-list groups, partly due to their higher visibility through political ads and various media including internet platforms, such as social network pages and blogs, and partly due to the higher overall voter turn-out rate for this election. Based on the 90 percent of the tallied votes or 29,750,041, a party-list group needs at least 549,568 votes to win a seat. – FOP
Below is a summary of the winning party lists, their sector, representatives and number of votes. For a complete list of the party-list groups and the votes each garnered, please go to this link
Table 1. Proclaimed Party-list Winners
| Party-list | Sector |
Representative |
Number of Received Votes |
|
| 1. | Coalition of Association of Senior Citizens in the Philippines, Inc. (Senior Citizens) | Elderly | · Incumbent Senior Citizens Rep. Godofredo Arquiza· David Kho-member of the board of mining exploration company Geograce Resources Philippines | 1,292,182 |
| 2. | Akbayan Citizens Action Party (Akbayan) | multi-sectoral | · University professor and incumbent Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello· Arlene Bag-ao-Executive trustee of the Mindanao-based law group BALAOD Mindanao | 1,058,691 |
| 3. | Gabriela Women’s Party (Gabriela) | women rights | · Incumbent Gabriela Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan· Former Gabriela secretary-general Emerenciana de Jesus | 1,001,421 |
| 4. | Cooperative NATTCO Network Party (COOP-NATTCO) | Cooperatives | · Former National Confederation of Cooperatives chair and incumbent COOP-NATTCO Rep. Jose Ping-ay· Incumbent COOP-NATTCO Rep. Cresente Paez | 943,529 |
| 5. | Abono | agri-based sector | · Incumbent Abono Rep. Robert Raymund Estrella· Incumbent Abono Rep. Francisco Emmanuel Ortega III | 766,615 |
| 6. | Bayan Muna | political party | · Incumbent Bayan Muna Rep.Teodoro Casiño· Incumbent Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares | 746,019 |
| 7. | An Waray | · Incumbent AnWaray Rep. Florencio Noel· Incumbent AnWaray Rep. Neil Benedict Montejo. | 711,631 | |
| 8. | Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) | agri-based | Acting chair of Audacious Services and incumbent AGAP Rep. Nicanor Briones | 515,501 |
| 9. | Alliance for Baranggay Concerns (ABC) | baranggay development | Leyte baranggay chairman Arnulfo Molero | 469,093 |
| 10. | Anakpawis (AP) | multi-sectoral | Incumbent AP Rep. Rafael V. Mariano | 445,628 |
| 11. | Kabataan Partylist (Kabataan) | Youth | Incumbent Kabataan Rep. Raymond V. Palatino | 417,923 |
| 12. | Abante Mindanao (ABAMIN) | regional group | Maximo Rodriguez, Jr,- works at the district office of Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and previously served the National Police Commission, Bureau of Customs, and Bureau of Immigration. | 376,011 |
| 13. | Act Teachers | Educators | Act Teacher national chair Antonio Tinio | 369,564 |
| 14. | You Against Corruption and Poverty (YACAP) | anti-corruption and anti-poverty | Businesswoman and YACAP founding president Carol Jayne Lopez | 335,635 |
| 15. | Kasangga sa Kaunlaran, Inc (Ang Kasangga) | small entrepreneurs | Businessman Teoderico Haresco, known for his involvement in thePresident’s Bridge Program and who sits in the Board of Directors of PNOC | 296,368 |
| 16. | Bagong Henerasyon (BH) | multi-sectoral group | Quezon City 1st District Councilor Bernadette Herrera-Dy | 292,875 |
| 17. | Ang Galing Pinoy | multi-sectoral representing security guards, tricycle drivers and vendors | Pampanga congressman and presidential son Mikey Arroyo | 269,009 |
| 18. | Agbiag! Timpuyog Ilocano (Agbiag) | regional political party | Former Cagayan 1st district Rep. Patricio Antonio | 262,298 |
| 19. | Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) | Athletes | Mark Aeron H. Sambar | 258,498 |
| 20. | Arts, Business, and Science Professionals (ABS) | Professionals | Incumbent Catalina G. Leonen-Pizarro | 257,301 |
| 21. | Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) | Labor | Raymond Democrito Mendoza, former Philippine National Oil Company board member and son of TUCP president Democrito Mendoza | 244,623 |
| 22. | Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya para Mamamayan (Agham) | science and technology | Radio reporter Angelo B. Palmones | 241,898 |
| 23. | Democratic Independent Workers’ Association, Inc. (DIWA) | Labor | Emmeline D. Aglipay, former student council president at De La Salle University | 238,675 |
| 24. | Kapatiran ng mga Nakakulong na Walang Sala (Kakusa) | penal system | Incumbent Rep. Ranulfo Canonigo | 234,717 |
| 25. | Kalinga Advocacy for Social Empowerment and Nation Building Through Easing Poverty, Inc. (Kalinga) | anti-poverty | Abigail Faye Ferriol-daughter of Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ bishop Arturo Ferriol | 229,198 |
| 26. | Alagad party-list (Alagad) | urban poor | Incumbent Rep. Rodante D. Marcoleta | 227,116 |
| 27. | Ang Pamilya (1-Pamilya) | multi-sectoral group | Department of Agrarian Reform Senior Agrarian Reform Officer Reena Concepcion Obillo | 217,032 |
| 28. | Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE) | Educators | Eulogio R. Magsaysay | 214,760 |
(Published in Focus on the Philippines June 2010: http://focusweb.org/oldphilippines/content/view/428/52/)