In a bid to prevent party switching and to “level the playing field” among political parties, outgoing Senate President Franklin Drilon has filed a bill seeking to strengthen the political party system in the Philippines and penalize political turncoats. It is imperative that the country’s political party system should be strengthened in order to achieve genuine political development and democratization,” Drilon said in a statement. Political party system is centered on personalities rather than ideology and political platform. Turncoats will be also obliged to refund all amounts they received from their political party including a 25 percent surcharge, Drilon said. ADVERTISEMENT“Most political aspirants change political parties for convenience, rather than because of conviction.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 16, 2016 08:26 UTC