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Comelec Board of election Inspectors and poll clerks begin the counting of ballots as voting ends at the Paranaque Elementary School Central in Paranaque City on October 30, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Sherrie Ann Torres

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Former Elections Commissioner Luie Tito Guia has expressed deep concern about the country’s weak political party system, which is marred by politicians’ non-stop changing of parties. Meanwhile, organizations that pushed for their bets’ candidacy fail to keep their campaign promises.In today’s situation, politicians joining a sitting administration’s political party has become a norm, Guia said.“Ang masama pa dyan yung mga personalities eh naglilipat-lipat ng political parties based on convenience. So, hindi talaga nagagampanan ng ating political party system yung dapat nyang gampanan sa isang demokrasya,” Guia, co-founder of Democratic Insights Group, told ABS-CBN News on Tuesday.(What’s bad is that personalities keep on changing political parties based on convenience. So, our political party system really fails to play its active role in a democracy.)According to Guia, a political group needs to have a clear advocacy and candidates for it to be accredited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).&quot;Groups supported by a foreign government, religious-based and those promoting violence or aim to overthrow a government, will be barred from being accredited as a political party,&quot; Guia said.The group, meantime, must also prove to the Comelec that it has members before it can be registered as a political party.Guia said efforts to reform the country’s political party system seem to have failed.Many politicians no longer have party loyalty, Guia said.“Ang nangyayari tuloy, parang uniform lang sa basketball o sa sports yung political party ano ba ayung isusuot? Saang team na ngayon si ganitong kandidato sa conference na to,” Guia said.(What’s happening is that politicians are like part of the basketball or sports that just change their uniform. So one would wonder, where is this candidate this conference?)Senator Jinggoy Estrada, chairman of Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), admitted that political  parties are only good during elections.Asked if he believes that political parties are still important, Estrada said: “Tuwing eleksyon.”“Pagkatapos (ng eleksyon) parti-partihan na yang mga yan eh,” Estrada said.(After elections they (members) are just dividing the resources.)Asked how can the voter account for the party’s campaign promise, Estrada said: ‘Kaya they have to be true to their work.”“Kung ano ang ipinangako nila sa taumbayan, dapat tuparin nila,” Estrada stressed.(They should keep their promises to the people.)Speaking for himself and the PMP, Estrada said he has been pushing for pro-poor and pro-workers bills, as part of his commitment to advance their interests.Among them are a bill that pushes for wage increase that was already approved by the Senate, as well as the Caregivers’ Act, the senator said.Guia meanwhile commended the Comelec for “pushing the boundaries” when it comes to amending the Omnibus Election Code.He was referring to the Comelec&#x27;s decision to coincide the October 1 to 8 filing of certificate of candidacy by 2025 political aspirants, as well as the withdrawal of COC or the entry of substitute candidates on the same dates.Still, there is a likelihood that such ruling will be legally challenged later on, Guia said.Lawmakers should actually move to amend the weak provisions of the Code to strengthen the election law, he said.“It’s admirable but let us see how people will kwan because siyempre magkakaroon ng problema pag may mga hindi nagawa yung gusto nilang gawin at ia-argue nila na hindi naman ipinagbawal ng bataas ito,” Guia said.(It’s admirable, but let us see how people will react because of course, there will be a problem. Those who do not agree will argue that that is not prohibited by law.)“Which is good because you would also want to tell the people that ‘hey, better behave. Kung meron kayong ino-nominate dapat final na yan.. kung hindi gagapang kayo. Kailangan nyo pang mag-file ng kaso,” he added.(If you will nominate someone, that should be final. Or else, it will be difficult for you. You need to file a case.)While saying that “two-party system” cannot necessarily be seen as one that is advantageous to the people when it comes to choosing who to vote, the “multi-party system” today pushed in the 1987 Constitution, is actually aimed at giving the electorate a variety of choices, candidates wise, Guia said.The system allows smaller parties to also freely participate in the electoral exercise although resources is also a big issue to promote them equally to voters, Guia said.

Former Elections Commissioner Luie Tito Guia has expressed deep concern about the country’s weak political party system, which is marred by politicians’ non-stop changing of parties.

Former Elections Commissioner Luie Tito Guia has expressed deep concern about the country’s weak political party system, which is marred by politicians’ non-stop changing of parties.

Ex-Comelec official rues political turncoats, systems

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Ex-Comelec official rues political turncoats, systems

Sherrie Ann Torres,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 07, 2024 09:11 PM PHT

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