Hontiveros files bill seeking to ban political dynasties, contractors from party-lists
A bill seeking to ban political dynasties and contractors from participating in the party-list system has been filed in the Senate.
On Jan. 12, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the author of the Revised Partylist System Act or Senate Bill No. 1656, provided details on the measure.
"I filed the Revised Parylist System Act, which seeks to bar political dynasties from participating in the party-list system and to prohibit party-list nominees and representatives who have interests in government contracts," she wrote on Facebook.
"Kung gusto nilang rumaket, huwag nilang gamitin ang partylist system."
A counterpart measure in the House of Representatives, House Bill No. 7074, has been filed by Akbayan Reps. Chel Diokno, Perci Cendaña, Dadah Ismula, and Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao.
Copies of the bills have yet to be made available on the Senate website, but a Senate press release stated that it will also prohibit registration of party-lists that are patterned after TV or radio programs, government assistance programs, and names of public officials, celebrities and other public figures. This is to ensure that "the system remains focused on genuine sectoral representation."
Moreover, the proposals seek to remove the three-seat limit to "enable full, democratic, and proportional representation."
Hontiveros and Akbayan also cited research by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism from December 2024, which found that 66% of party-list groups in the 19th Congress had at least one nominee from a political family.
Meanwhile, congressional inquiries into anomalous flood control projects revealed that a "substantial" number of party-list representatives are linked to the said projects as contractors. The hearings, including those of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, also bared that billions of pesos were lost to corruption.
“Someone who votes on infrastructure budgets while their company bids on those same projects is a scammer. This blatant conflict of interest has no place in a democracy. After decades of abuse and loopholes, the sweeping reforms proposed in these bills hope to hand the reins back to everyday Filipinos,” Hontiveros added.
