AN election watchdog called Partylist Watch is urging voters to watch out for what it called as fake partylist groups.
Arjan Aguirre, a professor of political science at the Ateneo de Manila University and one of the convenors of the group, said the partylist system in the country continues to be abused because some partylist groups do not necessarily represent the weak or does not have the interests of the marginalized sectors in mind.
He likewise cited four ways on how to identify if a partylist group is fake by observing the following:
– if the partylist is run by political dynasties
– if the partylist is run by multi-billionaires / millionaires and their business interests
– no track record of the sector they represent
– there is a record of corruption and violation of human rights
Through a study conducted by Partlylist Watch, there are about 177 partylists vying for a slot in the upcoming national and local elections. 92 are new, 85 have participated in past elections, almost half of the partylist groups are run by dynasties, 36 are related to former politicians and ex-government officials, 26 are supposedly connected to big businesses, while eight are led by appointees of President Rodrigo Duterte.
That is why Partylist Watch is pushing for reforms in the partylist and political partylist system, the passing of an Anti-political Dynasty Law, the declaration of support for genuine political party and partylist groups and regulations on campaign financing.