It’s partylist time

By Marifi Jara

QUELIMANE, Mozambique–It’s summer and it’s sizzling hot. So let’s imagine stepping into a big, specialty ice cream shop. All around there are glass-paneled open chest freezers containing tubs of ice cream in all the possible flavors and variations you can think of: chocolate, fruits, nuts, cookies, coffee, etc. etc. With such enticing colors, everything would seem delicious. So unless you have an all-time favorite flavor or already craving for something in particular, making a choice would prove to be overwhelming.

It would be a similarly confusing experience when you go to your voting precinct on May 10 and come face to face with the 187 (!) partylist groups in the ballot unless beforehand you have already taken a pick through a conscious and careful decision.

Well in an ice cream shop, you can go on a crazy binge — how about three scoops of three different flavors! But with our partylist system, you can choose just one. And we need to understand that it is an important vote.

Each voter gets to choose two representatives in Congress: one for the district, which is determined by where we live (and that is more often than not dominated by the same-old-same-old politicians); and another for the partylist, which provides for a broader preference because it would be based on a cause or a sector that we care about.

It’s sad to know that seven out of ten voters are not aware of the partylist system, according to a Pulse Asia survey conducted in late January this year, barely four months away from election day (pulseasia.com.ph/pulseasia/story.asp?id=705). I am sure the number of people who have heard of the “partylist” are higher but I can believe that the survey result does reflect those who are not informed about what it means, how it fits into the political system, and the benefits that it could bring to them. It surely does not help any that there are so many accredited partylist groups, too many that it borders on the absurd. And some of the names of the groups are so ridiculous and bogus-sounding that they make the partylist seem like a joke.

We do have many marginalized groups in the country and there are plenty of worthy causes that need special attention and representation in Congress. Representation is beneficial not just in terms of influencing laws and government policies, but also financially because partylist representatives also do get their share of the rather notorious pork barrel, which could in fact be put to good use (through the hands of honest and bonafide representatives of the sectors, of course).

The partylist system (contained in Republic Act No. 7941, passed in 1995 and first implemented in the 1998 election) is very well-intentioned. It seeks to give space in Congress for alternative representatives who are outside the traditional local politics within the districts.

It’s not too late. It’s still about three weeks to go before election day. Think about what sector or cause you want to support. Streetchildren, farmers, fishermen, teachers, ethnic groups, OFWs, senior citizens, youth, women, arts and culture/artists, sports/athletes, sexual orientation, etc. etc. Then go look at the certified list of partylist candidates (comelec.gov.ph/2010%20National_Local/certlist_partylist.html). Narrow down your list to those groups that sound like representative of what you want.

Looking at the partylist candidates, it is apparent that our partylist system has yet to come of age in terms of having unified sectors that could have a strong and solid voice in Congress through one group instead of many small ones that really have very little chance of winning a seat and thus undermines what they stand for. Perhaps it will get better in a few more years with groups getting their acts together. In the meantime, our voters will just have to take on the responsibility of sorting through the 187 names and determine which would be worthy of their mark on the ballot.

My soul goes out to our teachers, particularly those serving in the public schools. And I would like a scoop of vanilla-chocolate ice cream with bits of nuts and marshmallows.

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