Comelec, Sotto push party-list system reformsMANILA, Philippines — Election officials and Senate President Vicente Sotto III are pushing for sweeping reforms to the party-list system to eliminate loopholes that allow traditional politicians to hijack seats meant for marginalized sectors through nominee substitutions. At yesterday’s Senate electoral reforms committee hearing, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia urged lawmakers to pass strict legislation governing the substitution of party-list nominees, revealing how groups exploit the current rules. Some groups secure accreditation by submitting a list of legitimate sectoral representatives, such as the urban poor, only to have all winning nominees simultaneously resign after the election, he explained. Ban political partiesSotto, whose bill takes a hardline stance on party-list reform, questioned why major political parties are allowed to participate in a system originally designed for the underrepresented. Sotto is pushing to revert the system to its original intent, limiting participation strictly to defined marginalized sectors: labor, peasants, farmers, fisherfolk, urban poor, indigenous peoples, elderly, persons with disability, women and youth.

Source: Philippine Star March 02, 2026 16:34 UTC