Party-list charades
Consider the following:
The eldest son of a former president is in Congress representing the tricycle drivers and security guards;
A son of a well-known religious leader, who owns tracts of land in Metro Manila and elsewhere, became a congressman representing allegedly a poor sector of Philippine society;
A retired general, infamous for alleged illegal arrest and detention of perceived activists when he was still in military service, was allowed by the Commission on Elections to be the top nominee of a party-list group;
A son of another religious leader, who owns a college in Central Luzon, won a party-list seat in the House of Representatives, claiming he was representing a marginalized sector;
A former presidential sister-in-law, who belongs to a very wealthy clan in the Visayas, managed to represent an economically-challenged segment of the Filipino masses; and
A former councilor is now a party-list representative representing a marginalized sector although she belongs to a very rich family of real estate developers.
These personalities, and many others, are supposed to represent marginalized and underrepresented sectors of Philippine society. In whatever stretch of imagination can we consider them, particularly the former presidential son who now faces tax cases along with his wife, as truly and really representing the above-cited sectors.
But such is the stark reality in Philippine politics. Republic Act 7941, which became a law on March 3, 1995 purportedly to give poor and marginalized sectors the opportunity to be represented in the legislative branch of government, is observed more in breach than in contract.
This is one reason why well-intentioned quarters want Congress to review RA 7941 and plug the loopholes through some amendments. Privileged, influential and well-connected people should not be allowed to make a mockery of this law. It is high time we put a stop to this charade in the House of Representatives.
勇USEBIO S. SAN DIEGO, founder,
Kaguro and former president, Quezon City Public School Teachers Association
