MORE THAN HALF of the party-list groups participating in the 2025 Philippine midterm elections do not represent marginalized sectors, contrary to their mandate under the 1987 Constitution, according to election watchdog Kontra Daya.
In a statement on Wednesday, the watchdog said 86 of 156 party-list groups or for 55%, have links to political dynasties, big business or the police and military.
“It appears that 55% of those running do not represent the marginalized and underrepresented, especially in the case of those linked to political clans and big business,” it said.
Among the top-performing party-list groups in the December 2024 and January 2025 polls by Social Weather Stations (SWS), seven have been flagged by Kontra Daya for their connections to political dynasties, large corporations, or security forces.
These groups include 4Ps, ACT-CIS, Duterte Youth, Ako Bicol, FPJ Bantay Bayanihan, Tingog Sinirangan, and TGP.
“They are among the 86 party-list groups flagged by Kontra Daya. Aside from the three reasons — ties with political clans, big businesses or the police and military — the other grounds for flagging are cases connected to pork barrel, plunder, graft and corruption; dubious advocacy and not enough information,” Kontra Daya said.
It called for greater public scrutiny of party-list nominees.
Kontra Daya expressed concerns about the lack of transparency in the information provided by some nominees in their Commission on Elections (Comelec) filings.
It noted that many nominees only gave general details about their professions, leaving voters in the dark about their qualifications and affiliations.
The watchdog said Filipino voters should examine all 10 nominees per party-list group rather than just the top three, which typically receive the most attention due to the three-seat cap for party-list representation.
Hansley A. Juliano, a political science lecturer from the Ateneo de Manila University, said the party-list system is now dominated by political dynasties and their allies, with little effort to conceal their true colors.
“However, the fact that programmatic and organizational parties have failed to grow means this trend will persist and will continue to crowd out the parties,” he told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat.
The campaign period for party-lists started on Tuesday, but district representatives may only begin campaigning on March 28.
Up for grabs in the May 12 elections are 317 congressional seats and thousands of local posts. The biggest battle will be for 12 spots in the 24-seat Senate, a chamber packed with political heavyweights and wielding outsized influence. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana
