Op-ed: Is the party-list system beneficial for the Philippines?

The 48 members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission (Con-Com) appointed by then-President Corazon C. Aquino to draft a new Charter decided to include an entirely new section providing for the development of "a free and open party system according to the free choice of the people." In accordance with this aim, the Con-Com chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Cecilia Munoz-Palma agreed to retain the 24-member Senate of the Congress of the Philippines but introduced a very significant change, a "first" in the composition of the House of Representatives, and this gave birth to the present party-list system of elections in the country. [ . . . ] As the Comelec begins preparing for the conduct of the next midterm elections on May 12, 2025 (slightly more than just 10 months away), perhaps it is time for the Filipino voters to ask the poll body and the members of Congress to put a stop to the proliferation of the party-list participants in the country's elections. Many sectors of the Filipino population are now asking: "Is the party-list system a boon or a bane for the Filipino voters? Is it beneficial for the people as perceived by the drafters of the 1987 Constitution?"
Read the full article here: Philippine News Agency