THE party-list system continues to be hijacked by political clans, big businesses, and even government-linked individuals, according to poll watchdog Kontra Daya which said seven of every 10 party-list groups running in the May 9 elections are related to political families, large corporations, and government agencies.
“Around 70 percent of party-list groups are being used as a backdoor to further entrench their political and economic interests,” Kontra Daya said, adding that it has already flagged at least 120 out of 177 party-list groups for being identified with political clans (44), big businesses (21), incumbent local officials (26), having connections with the government and military (32), with unknown or unclear advocacies and representations (34), and have pending court cases and criminal charges (19).
It said there are more questionable party-list participants this year compared to the 2019 party-list elections, when only 62 out of 134 party-list groups were flagged.
Kontra Daya said one of the party-lists it flagged was included in Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s exposé in 2017 about the web of corruption at the Bureau of Customs. Two others had nominees accused of graft while another is essentially a government red-tagging mechanism, Kontra Daya said.
Kontra Daya asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to explain the continuous hijacking of the party-list system.
“It should explain why it continues to allow dubious groups to hijack the party-list system, depriving marginalized groups from having a voice at the House of Representatives,” said Kontra Daya.
