Genuine Party-list Group and Nominee Act

Denais Office of the secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 25 NOV 27 A10:40 SENATE RECEIVED BY: S. No. 1559 Introduced by Senator Bam Aquino AN ACT TO ENSURE THAT THE PARTY-LIST SYSTEM IS RESERVED FOR THE MARGINALIZED AND UNDERREPRESENTED AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7941 OR THE "PARTY-LIST SYSTEM ACT" EXPLANATORY NOTE The party-list system was created to give voice to Filipinos who belong to marginalized and underrepresented sectors who are often left out of decision-making. Unfortunately, the system has been misused by those who seek to circumvent our democratic systems and take shortcuts to power. Traditional politicians, political dynasties, and those with vested business interests— groups who have little or nothing to do with the sectors they claim to represent—undermine the purpose of the party- list system by prioritizing their own agendas and thus erode public trust in government institutions. In its 2025 study, Kontra Daya, an election watchdog group, analyzed the backgrounds of all accredited party-list groups and found that 86 of the 156 groups participating in the 2025 elections had ties to vested interests, including political clans and large corporations. Several nominees were revealed to be relatives of sitting politicians or known allies of influential business groups, having no clear track record of belonging to the marginalized communities they claim to represent. When Congress proclaimed 63 party-list groups as part of the 20th Congress on May 19, 40 of these were among those flagged in Kontra Daya's comprehensive 2025 report. These findings underscore an urgent and undeniable truth: the party-list system is being exploited by the powerful at the expense of those it was designed to uplift. Organizations like the John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues (ICSI) have repeatedly pointed out these abuses and have called for the return of dignity to the party-list system by bringing it back to its original purpose and intent.

This bill seeks to restore the party-list system to its original purpose by introducing safeguards to ensure that party-list groups are genuinely representative of marginalized and underrepresented sectors. Among the key reforms are: • Requiring public hearings to prove that groups genuinely represent the sectors they claim to serve; and • Ensuring nominees truly come from the sector they represent, while disqualifying persons from political dynasties and those with financial links to corporations that have benefited from government contracts, effectively preventing elite capture. Through these reforms, this measure ensures that the party-list system truly serves the many, not the few, and empowers ordinary Filipinos to have a real say in their Congress. It is a step toward a more inclusive, accountable, and meaningful democracy, and the kind of government the Filipino people deserve. In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. Ban Cquin

Senate Wiftop of the Secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 25 NOV 27 A1O:41 SENATE S. No. 1559 Introduced by Senator Bam Aquino AN ACT TO ENSURE THAT THE PARTY-LIST SYSTEM IS RESERVED FOR THE MARGINALIZED AND UNDERREPRESENTED AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7941 OR THE "PARTY-LIST SYSTEM ACT" Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Genuine Party-List

2 Group and Nominee Act."

Sec. 2. Section 5 of Republic Act 7941, otherwise known as the "Party-List

4 System Act," is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 5. Registration. Any organized group of persons may register as a

6 party, organization or coalition for purposes of the party-list system by filing with the 7 COMELEC not later than [ninety (90)] ONE HUNDRED TWENTY (120) days before the election a petition verified by its president or secretary stating its desire to participate 9 in the party-list system as a national, regional or sectoral party or organization or a coalition of such parties or organizations, attaching thereto its constitution, by-laws, platform or program of government, list of officers, coalition agreement and other relevant information as the COMELEC may require: Provided, That the sectors shall include labor, peasant, fisher-folk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, veterans, overseas workers, and professionals. The COMELEC shall publish the petition in its official website and at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

NO GROUP, ORGANIZATION OR POLITICAL PARTY SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR 2 REGISTRATION AS A PARTY-LIST GROUP UNLESS IT HAS PROVEN IN AN 3 EVIDENTIARY PUBLIC HEARING THAT SHALL BE CONDUCTED BY THE COMELEC 4 THAT IT TRULY REPRESENTS MARGINALIZED AND UNDERREPRESENTED SECTOR/S 5 AND ITS NOMINEES BELONG TO THE SECTOR/S THEY SEEK TO REPRESENT; 6 PROVIDED, THAT COMELEC SHALL NOTIFY ALL DULY REGISTERED AND 7 ACCREDITED PARTY-LIST GROUPS, ORGANIZATION OR POLITICAL PARTIES OF THE 8 HEARING AT LEAST TEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE SAID HEARING. The COMELEC shall, after due notice and hearing, resolve the petition within 10 fifteen (15) days from the date it was submitted for decision but in no case not later than ninety (90) days before election.

Sec. 3. Section 7 of the said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 7. Certified List of Registered Parties. The COMELEC shall, not later

than [sixty (60)] NINETY (90) days before election, prepare a certified list of national, regional, or sectoral parties, organizations or coalitions which have applied or who have manifested their desire to participate under the party-list system and distribute copies thereof to all precincts for posting in the polling places on election day. The names of the party-list nominees shall not be shown on the certified list.

Sec. 4. Section 8 of the said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 8. Nomination of Party-List Representatives. - Each registered party,

organization, or coalition shall submit to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) not later than [forty-five (45)] SIXTY (60) days before the election a list of names, not less than [five (5)] SIX (6), from which party-list representatives shall be chosen in case it obtains the required number of votes. THE LIST OF NOMINEES TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE COMELEC MUST BE 26 APPROVED BY THE HIGHEST DECISION-MAKING BODY OF THE PARTY-LIST GROUP. A person may be nominated in one (1) list only. Only persons who have given their consent in writing may be named in the list. The list shall not include any

1 candidate for any elective office or person who has lost [his] THEIR bid for an elective 2 office in the immediately preceding election. No change of names or alteration of the 3 order of the nominees shall be allowed after the same shall have been submitted to 4 the COMELEC except where the nominee dies, [or withdraws in writing his nomination] 5 or becomes incapacitated, in which case the name of the substitute nominees shall be 6 placed last in the list. Incumbent sectoral representatives in the House of 7 Representatives who are nominated in the party-list system shall not be considered 8 resigned.

Sec. 5. Section 9 of the said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 9. Qualifications of Party-List Nominees. No person shall be nominated

as party-list representative unless [he is| THEY ARE a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, a resident of the Philippines for a period of not less than one (1) year immediately preceding the day of the election, able to read and write, a bona fide member of the party or organization which [he] THEY seek[s] to represent for at least ninety (90) days preceding the day of [the election] THE FILING OF THEIR ACCEPTANCE OF NOMINATION, and is at least twenty-five (25) years of age on the day of the election. In case of a nominee of the youth sector, [he] THEY must at least be twenty-five (25) but not more than thirty (30) years of age on the day of the election. Any youth sectoral representative who attains the age of thirty (30) during [his] THEIR term shall be allowed to continue in office until the expiration of [his] THEIR term. ALL NOMINEES, INCLUDING THOSE OF THE YOUTH SECTOR, SHALL NOT BE QUALIFIED TO BECOME A PARTY-LIST NOMINEE IF THE PERSON: (a) IS RELATED BY AFFINITY OR CONSANGUINITY TO THE THIRD DEGREE TO ANY INCUMBENT ELECTED OFFICIAL; OR (b) IS OR HAS BEEN A CONTRACTOR IN ANY GOVERNMENT PROJECT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, WHETHER AS AN INDIVIDUAL OR AS AN INCORPORATOR, DIRECTOR, OR OFFICER.

Sec. 6. Separability Clause. If any section or provision of this Act shall be

2 declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 7. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations and

other issuance inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are deemed modified, revoked or repealed accordingly.

Sec. 8. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days

following the completion of its publication in the Official Gazette, or in a national 9 newspaper of general circulation. Approved,