Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
that they have two essential roles: interest articulation and interest aggregation
(Heywood, 2000) . They serve as the essential link between the government and the
people and are vital institutions for democratic consolidation. What makes a party a
party is that it exercises power behalf of the general public (Lawson 1989, 252-253). A
prevue to the nature of the political parties in the Philippines, Filipino party system is
largely composed of “transient parties” or those political parties that “are not founded on
some distal source, like political cleavage, issue or ideology” (Manacsa and Tan
2005:784). The Philippine parties are delineated in many ways but it seems that they are
often contrast to what political parties are supposed to be (Aceron). In other words when
we discourse about the parties in the Philippines there is a wide gap of practice and
standards. If we were able to follow how Nohlen (1844; 49) defines on how a party
distances of competing parties” in that sense, Philippine party system can thus be
ascertain with any political party nor could they even compare politicians with political
party and this is reflected to the low number of people who vote in the party-list and this
is also lead to the rampant turncoatism in the political arena. Political Turncoatism refers
to the politicians that tend to change different political party over time that thus not even
1
The importance of patron ties and the strength of regional and linguistic affinities
American author David Timberman the country’s political culture explains the lapses or
mal development of parties. And by that the citizen believes that the decisions and events
that shape their lives are determined more by a particular individuals than by impersonal
systems and institutions. Consequently, the maintenance of good personal relations with
those in power is critical. As a result of the personalization of public life there has been
relatively little concern with institution or ideologies. Both two scholars, John T. Sidel
and Patrico Abinales have proposed to pay more attention to the roles of the state and
Boddy-Evans, 2017). They often arbitrate conflict, make governmental policy on the
economy and social system and also provide representation for the populous. Institution
function as parameters defining the patterns of politics as rules of the game, in other
words the political institution has an impact in the law, culture and society as a whole.
According to the Commission of Election (COMELEC), there are over 100 political
parties registered and literally also hundreds of unregistered parties mostly very small
operating in the country. These parties represent views across the political spectrum. That
said, given the entire mosaic of Philippine politics, parties basically serve as bit players
2
The Commission on Elections Chair Sixto Brilliantes said that The Philippines
will never attain maturity not unless we stop basing political parties on personalities but
rather look at their ideological stance and effort to reform Philippine Political parties
which have been initiated in the Senate on the 12th Congress, the idea of having a
political party reform was accepted and recognized by the National Conference of
Political Parties.
different political parties. This branch exerts its efforts in crafting bills on the matter of
the political party reform aiming to strengthen the political party system, appropriate
funds and for other purposes. The Party Development Act of 2007 seeks to promote the
reform issues, namely on the matter of campaign finance reform, state subsidy to political
parties, a ban on party switching, and strengthening citizen-parties linkages. Through the
passage of this bill it is seen as a positive step towards reforming Philippine Politics,
however the struggle for a political party reform was initiated 10 years ago which
To sum up, the nature of the Philippine political party system reform is not yet
close to perfection but a progress that needs a concrete solution. There are already
existing studies on the Philippine political party system; however, there are no existing
studies about the Philippine political party system reform based on different institutions.
Thus, there is a need to establish a study because existing research had already pointed
3
out that there were already reforms about the political party system in the Philippines
however, as to presenting the factors that establish failures, success and motivation on
initiatives from different political institution on the matter of political reform remained
unstated.
To analyze the Philippine political party reform through local and national
political institutions
Specific Objectives:
Statement of Assumptions
This research study is anchored on the assumption that the political party system
in the Philippines is a flawed system and various political institutions face issues that
4
Statement of Hypothesis
The study hypothetically asserts that by analyzing political party system reform
including its evolution, motivation, challenges, and processes from different political
institutions in the Philippines we can say that they are noteworthy measures that stand to
strengthen the country’s democratic system but reforming this system may not be easily
accomplished.
Interest Groups: To provide these groups, with an understanding on how political party
system should function and to provide information on the ideas , reasons and explanation
significant issues and solutions presented that differ from each institutions selected in the
study.
Policymakers: This study would benefit policymakers to give them insight of several
reforms as to its lapses and challenges in order to promote a reform policy that focuses on
5
Academe: To contribute to the discourse of elucidating the challenges that faced the
political party system in the Philippines and to provide information on the efforts
6
Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study is descriptive in nature and focuses on the reform efforts to strengthen
and enhance the political party system in the Philippines. The research data will be
gathered from literature review on political parties in the Philippines and from all the
Commission on Elections (Provincial and the main office), Central Visayas Network of
BOPK and PDP-Laban. The primary data gathering method used were open-ended
interviews and documentary reviews relating to the nature of the political party system in
the Philippines. This research used purposive sampling for the interviews in which
membership and grade level among the respondents will apply. Verbatim quotes from the
This study is limited to the efforts of different political institutions to reform the
Philippine political party system. There is still no law aiming to enhance the role of
political parties that has been passed and this paper investigates why this is so. We limit
our study to the exchange of ideas from different perspectives and to address the
perceived structural deficiencies of the party system of the country and of other countries.
7
We would like to offer the readers information on the challenges which the
selected institutions are facing, the efforts undertaken to strengthen their position within
the political system and the gaps that still need to be addressed. The following papers do
not claim to represent the whole possible spectrum of analytical approaches. Rather, they
This study will also provide insights into how political parties in the Philippines
strive to overcome the fact that they are commonly identified as a central weakness of
Philippine politics and to also provide insights on reform efforts within political parties in
the country. However, in this qualitative study, the findings could be subject to other
interpretations.
8
DEFINITION OF TERMS
research, the following terms are defined below as they were used in the study:
Document. This refers to the record and interviews conducted to present a baseline data.
Identify. This term is used in the second objective and refers to the evolution, challenges,
their system.
Institutional design. The laws and policies governing the institution and as to how they
function.
Internal dynamics. It is the way which Congress analyze an issue and how they
9
Motivation. The reasons why political institutions pursue reform efforts on political
parties.
Political Institutions. Organizations which create, enforce and apply laws in the
Philippines.
Political party. Organizations of active political agents who are concerned with
controlling governmental power and competing for popular support with other groups
programmes.
Structural deficiencies. The impairment of the dynamics of the institution that led to the
Turncoatism. When a politician who runs for public office changes parties.
Verbatim quotes. Using the exact words of the respondents in the data.
10
ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
This thesis paper shows the evolution, initiatives, focus and challenges of the
political party reforms in the Philippines through the lens of different institutions.
Chapter 1 mainly consists of the introduction of our study and the concepts the
researchers would use. It is in Chapter 1 that the rationale is built it serves as an opening
to what the study is about. The researchers first identified our main objective, the need to
research the topics and the gaps of the study presented. The statement of the problem it is
in this part that we presented the specific objectives of this study , assumption of the
study what the researchers would like to assure, statement of hypothesis, the significance
of the study it is where different actors were identified that would benefit to our study and
the scope and limitations. This part presented the weaknesses and limitations of the study.
Chapter 2 introduces our theories and models in detail. The researchers first made
an introduction to different concepts by different authors that is related to our study and
be included in this chapter are the tools or instruments used to validate the statement of
the study. The researcher’s environment is also stated it focuses the particular place that
this study shall center on and it also includes the respondents selected for the research
and also identified how the treatment and gathering of the date will be.
11
Chapter 2
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
This chapter includes literature, theories and concepts that are significant in
reviewing the status of the Philippines political party system and the efforts in addressing
the problems of the system. The literatures gathered are based from scholarly articles,
Parties are inevitable: No free country has been without then and no one has
shown how representative government could work without them (Bryce 1921,119). How
about the important functions that political parties fulfill in a democracy? The first and
most obvious task is naturally to present programs and candidates for public office
through general elections, They also serve as links between the population and elected
assemblies in other contexts, Thus we expect that they should be able to integrate and
socialize citizens into political life and they can function as channels for an organized
Parties have been handful of institutions whose activities are absolutely essential
and relevant for the proper function of a representative democracy. Political parties
representative that should legislate meaningful policies for the civil society. Without
political parties, a modern representative democracy is not conceivable. Only, the parties
12
ensure that the citizens are permanently capable to act politically. They articulate and
integrate different interests, visions and opinions. They are also the main source for the
recruitment of political elites. They offer to the citizens the possibility to influence
politics and political decisions (Wilhelm Hofmeister and Karsten Grabow, 2011). The
formation and recruitment of the elites molding them to govern the body politics and this
is the crucial function of the party as mentioned above. The formulations of goals To
attract popular support for the programs of the government in order to be develop.
Socialization and Mobilization it is where parties formulate national agenda and conduct
public discourse to raise political awareness and lastly, the organization of government is
the power given to the political party in order to garner the necessary vote needed for a
government al elite to be constituted. It is important to study political parties and the roles
they play in modern democracies. To begin with, parties have always been among the
handful of institutions whose activities are absolutely essential for the proper functioning
parties, it is not surprising that students of democracy have since the very beginnings of
analyzing their evolution and the quality of their performance. There are list of functions
that a certain political party must execute, one crucial function is the selection of
candidate (Co 2005;75) in which a party must guarantee that those who join and
eventually run for electoral race are the best qualified for public office that is why it is
important for the party to undergo screening of candidates. The practice of political
parties is in line with their agenda that in order to function in carrying out the demands
13
from the people they must simply choose the most qualified to run for office and be the
representative that adheres the needs of the people whom they should serve. It also
imperative that one of their requirement is to have the same belief as of the principles of
transmission belts for diverse interests in the society.” He adds that political parties also
provide a clear vision and stand for specific policy positions, in addition to providing
financing and logistical support to the candidates they field for the elections.
Long before the country’s transition to a multi-party system, two major political
parties dominated the Philippine government: the Nacionalista Party and Liberal Party.
The Liberal Party is the oldest political party in the Philippines and Asia, having been
found in 1907, and the latter served as a breakaway from the Nacionalista Party.
However, in a 1967 journal entitled “The Philippine Political Party System” by Carl H.
Since the 1980s, the political parties in the country have grown in number.
However, for DLSU Lecturer Louie Montemar, from the Political Science Department,
the functions of political parties in the country still seem very limited. Political parties in
14
“Philippine political parties are not very ideologically defined. They are basically
Montemar explains. The more established political parties are trying to define themselves
primarily rely on powerful patrons to fund their campaigns. “We are left with candidates
who bank on their family name and/or resources of patrons or sometimes that of the
laments. These political parties lack progressive mechanisms in creating concrete policy
political parties in the country can be described as “temporary political alliances” and
mere “fan clubs” mainly because of the politicians’ “inability to go beyond their political
ambitions and vested interests.” The study suggests that there should be a review of the
and factional political ambition. Party systems in the middle of the 1990s resembles the
pre-martial law years when the Nacionalista and Liberal parties alternated in gaining
political power. Although they lacked coherent political programs, they generally
championed conservative social positions and avoided taking any position that might
divide the electorate. All political parties appeals to all regions, all ethnic groups, and all
15
social classes and fostered national unity by never championing one group or region.
Neither party had any way to enforce party discipline, so politicians switched
capriciously back and forth. The parties are models of patron-client relationships
stretching from the remotest villages to the rural areas of the territory. They existed to
satisfy particular demands, not to promote general programs. Because nearly all senators
and representatives were provincial aristocrats, the parties never tackled the fundamental
and aggregation, the situation in the Philippines is not much the same as it is defined in
ways that often contrast to what political parties are supposed to be ( Heywood 2000).
They do not fulfill the task of interest aggregation but instead serve mechanisms for
patronage politics to perpetuate vested interests. Parties do not select candidates, but are
instead formed by candidates themselves as vehicles for their own campaign. To sum up,
when we talk of parties in the Philippines, there is a wide gap of practice and standard.(
Lande ).Philippine political parties are unabashed 'old boys clubs'. There are non-elite
individuals, mostly men, who identify with one or another party, but all of them are
Ombudsman ). As what Lande stated theres is a clear gap between the ideal standard and
what is really practiced. Other distinct characteristics of Philippine political parties, the
16
shifting character of membership and leadership and the absence of ideological or
programmatic differences between parties are linked to the nature of differentiation in the
elite (Rocamora). These characteristics can be directly linked to the unprogressive and
weak state of the Philippines Political System. The introduction of the party-list election
in the 1987 Constitution was an institutional attempt to widen the narrow path to
several left traditions and blocs participated and succeeded in successive party-list
elections since 1998.Akbayan (Citizens Action Party) has emerged to be the most viable
the traditional political system while working to institute reforms. (Rocamora, 2008)
actually flawed and far from the ideal standard presented. Senator Angara also said that
the political party system in the Philippines is basically confined to personalities rather
than issues and political platform (Angara). The political party system as defined by
Meyer that “Parties are usually large organizations with a certain amount of centralization
and presence across the country. If they are well organized, they are able to combine the
17
development of political objectives in communities, cities and villages with a decision
making process on all levels of the political organization that the party members deem
fair. At the grassroots level, well- functioning party democracies are established in a
broad and active civil society. It was explained by Joy Aceron that with the Philippine’s
structures are weak and with low civic participation it hinders parties to function well as
they are a direct link to state and society . Unable to command party discipline, leaders
and government functionaries are therefore induced to gather legislative and local support
through the use of patronage, privilege and pork, and other forms of rent-seeking
activities.( Joy Aceron) .What has kept the Philippine state weak is that no one class has
been strong enough to bend the state to its will. Instead, the Philippine upper classes are
proves that the Philippines is a state of elites in which the power distribution among
classes are unequally divided resulting for the concentration of power to the elites.
“Because of its weaknesses, the party system,” according to Almonte, “has failed to offer
explains that due to a weak sake in result a weak representation and to add up a
characteristic in the Philippine political party system in which the selection of candidates
is not based on the platforms presented but instead is based on the personality. This
practice can result to what we call as clientelism between the political parties and the
18
personal alliances” (Kerkvliet 1995: 401). Politics in the Philippines revolves not with the
ideologies and agendas presented but with connections from personalities. Political clans
are the real political parties in the Philippines.(Simbulan 2007:33) Political clans promote
the candidate because of a particular family or clan. It is all about interpersonal relations
and “owing favors” that caused bias not because of preference in the platform but with
Political parties are also affected of such behavior thus it produces weak and unstable
political parties that do not function as what it should be. Political Turncoatism is the act
political culture as most aspiring politicians only use political parties as financial vehicles
regulating their behavior through the use of explicit rules and decision processes enforced
by an actor or set of actors formally recognized as possessing such power (Levi 1990).
19
and Electoral Reform, Congress, Center of Youth Advocacy and Networking, Ateneo
and accountable political party system and that includes support for initiatives on
governance reform both at the local and national level ( FES Philippines). Several
initiatives were made by these said institutions. Political Reform Exponent of the
and Electoral Reform. Institute of Political and Electoral Reform came into being as the
answer to the call of Filipinos after the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. The said institution
governance and development, with the end in view of having a more responsive, effective
and dynamic local government ,To act as a pioneering organization for the genuine
parliamentary and electoral struggle and to build a network and help coordinate citizen’s
action on political and electoral campaigns, and development advocacy ( IPER 2005).
(LOGODEF) ( Edmund Tayao, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Santo
Tomas (UST), Mr. Tayao also stated that PREP’s main objective is to discuss detailed and/or
specific issues on federalism and that federalism is more on “shared” rule than
“delineated” rule, meaning powers and authorities depends on capacity and capability of
the parties. PREP included that in order for Federalism to work there must be changes in
20
the political and electoral system. In order to democratize political power, we propose to
establish strong and cohesive political parties, Parliament shall be mandated to promote
the development of political parties as public institutions that shall serve as a mechanism
for communication and cooperation between the people and the government, facilitating
Citizen Reform Agenda 2010 or CReforms 2010 is a consultation process initiated by the
Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) through its PODER program that aims to bring
identify key reform agenda or issues that candidates and political parties that must
address com 2010 election. This initiative includes that the major political party reform
bill have been pending in Congress for the past seven years. It aims for the strengthening
of political parties through state subsidy, addressing political turncoatism and established
rules and regulations. Political parties need to be strengthened first vis-à-vis the
individual politicians and the political dynasties. Their proper functioning as the
mediating institution between the people and government should be secured (ASoG).
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung has been active in the Philippines since 1964. In its cooperation
with civil society organizations, labor groups, the academe and the government, it seeks
political system and a people centered development ( FES Philippines, 2013) . This
particular foundation partnered with ASoG of this initiative which is Elections Under
21
Repair 3.0, in partnership with the Political Democracy and Reform (PODER) Program
urgent political and electoral reform issues related to the 2013 elections. ( FES
Philippines, 2013). The Center for Youth and Advocacy Networking is an institution that
centers on societal change. This institution also presented an initiative on political party
system reform. The Youth Participation in Political Party Reform Debate Caravan is
students especially those involved in campus politics on party platforms and ideologies,
to raise awareness on the importance of political parties in schools and to help build
support among the youth for political party reform. The output of this initiative would be
Congress and Senate discussions on political party reform bills. (CYAN Philippines).
Electoral System
whose primary objective is to attain control of the government through the electoral
process.” (Tancangco, 1988: 97) In the Philippine setting, political parties are not
22
identified with visions or platforms but are seen as mere electoral vehicles of
political maturity of society. (Valdemer, 1952; Timerman, 1991; Wolinetz, 2002). They
are supposed to be important vehicles for collective action and empowerment of their
constituencies to influence and shape public policy where the masses can emerge from
the inertia of powerlessness to improve their lives and lift them from poverty. Political
parties are also expected to provide much of the political education of their
constituencies. They act as venues for the articulation of the concerns of their
divergent classes, specific groups or sectors in society are the natural constituencies of
political parties which mobilize them to nominate and elect candidates for government
office.
With the power structure of the political party system, Philippine democracy
remains weak, limiting, elitist, oligarchic and contested. Particular interests are upheld,
significant progress has been made in modernizing processes and procedures of the
electoral exercise, and on how they are being managed by the Commission on Elections,
significant reforms have yet to be seen to enable that shift in power-holders. Ironic as it
23
may sound, the system has yet to be democratized in order to regulate political monopoly
and promote competitiveness in the political arena. Such reforms in the electoral and
party system are critical not only in having the potential of changing the composition of
power, but also in sustaining the other ways power structure could be changed. In other
words, electoral and party reforms are most important because it is central in ensuring the
The notion of party reform was accepted and recognized by the National
Conference of Political Parties when it incorporated the idea in its own reform agenda in
2002. In July of the same year, a workshop was held in Clark convening major parties,
party list groups, civil society advocates as well as members of the COMELEC.
institutions of democracy and for this reason the drafted constitution of the CMF or the
current political party system, the political parties will be mobilize more political
(Abueva,2006). As for the citizen's vote for their chosen leaders and also their political
parties, they will eventually be more conscious of the important role of the political
parties in the governance in the arena of the National Government and the autonomous
territories and regions. The people can hold the ruling party responsible and accountable
for the successes or even the failure of its governance and exercise of power. Thus,
political parties will become more important in relation to individual politicians and
24
personalities. Political parties shall be able also to be mobilize the participation of the
people or the citizens in the affairs of government at any level. Not only in the looming of
the election season but rather also in making policies and decisions. Through reforming
the political parties, we shall make the National Government, the government in the
autonomous region and other local governments effectively responsible and as public
office is a public trust they shall be remain accountable to the people for their conduct
and performance in or out of office. The citizens will become more informed, interested
and involved in government and public affairs for political parties to be more effective
Running for office cost too much, expenditures provide a playing slots among
political parties for a seat in government. Political Parties are required to submit to the
Expenditures or SECE. The COMELEC failed to monitor or validate the items reported
and recorded in the SECEs. The proposed senate version of the bill there should be a
implement sanctions to those who will violate. Through this it limit the playing field
among the political parties, with the proposed act to address the essential reforms in the
matter of campaign finance reform, state subsidy to political parties therefore, the
campaign expenditures are exposed wherein the political parties are required to public
25
Electoral reform advocates, as put forward in a forum sponsored by the Institute
for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER) in 2008, are certain that the bills addresses a lot
of the perceived ills of the political and electoral system, as it is a key measure that sets
the behavior of political players. Ramon Casiple, Executive Director of IPER, affirms
that on the whole, even though the bills have been subjected to various compromises and
pressures leading to the weakening of its original provisions, the bills are real electoral
of the oldest political foundations in Germany. This foundation focuses on the core ideas
The foundation also exerts its effort to support civil society organizations,
and effective political system. A particular attention is being paid to electoral reform and
in developing a more inclusive and accountable political party system. This includes
support for initiatives on governance reform both at the local and national levels.
One the political system reform projects and program conducted by the
with the Political Democracy and Reform (PODER) Program of the Ateneo de Manila
University to highlight the urgent political and electoral reform issues related to the
elections. The program problematizes the link of governance reforms and elections and
the critical role of reform in the Philippine electoral system as well as the development of
26
party politics in sustaining the reform gains that have been achieved by the
administrations. The first Elections Under Repair 3.0 forum with the title “Reforms:
What Have We Achieved And How Can it Be Sustained?” was conducted in August to
introduce the said project of the FES and its series topics with a general stock-taking of
the reforms so far achieved in anti-corruption, peace and local governance and will throw
initial thought on how these reforms can be sustained by beyond the year 2016.
Delineating how other countries support to strengthen their political parties and
made with the engagements that exist in Germany, USA the United Kingdom and the
Netherland. The NDI or the National Democratic Institute for the International Affairs
and the IRI or the International Institute of USA, common to these institutions is that they
work within the brad filed where to support the political parties is only a part. The IRI
perhaps works with the development of political parties and parliament and centered its
activities on educational issues at grassroots level. On the other hand, The NDI has a
more diversified portfolio, with different forms to support the party work, the civil
society, legislations, and elections and also to support the local self-government. These
South Africa, the political parties in the Netherlands recently created a fund for support to
parties in a wider circle of countries, the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.
27
IMD aims is to support democratic development in younger democracies through
contributing to creating a functional, sustainable, pluralistic system for party policies. The
institutions also underlines that, to guarantee ownership by the recipient, demand steers
the work, i.e. political parties in partner countries approach the IMD with proposals for
different projects.
disillusionment in many institutions and made political target as central target for
criticism. Thus, the distrust in parties and their leaders on the issue of reform has been
connections, rather than through promoting issue-oriented platforms based on the interest
and the need of the citizens. The will to reform within parties is needed if parties are to
play an effective role in national reform efforts. Furthermore, there must be greater public
Many of the countries recently adopted laws that regulates parties and campaign
example, in South Korea and Thailand has a extensive legal frameworks, but still money
continues to dominate political competition while in Taiwan on the other hand have a few
28
laws regulating parties, but greater efforts are made by the parties themselves to meet the
Thailand , This country introduced new party, political finance and election laws through
their 1997 Thai Constitution. These laws strictly regulate party operations and accounting
practices in order to enhance the transparency and accountability within the party system
also they wanted to strengthen parties as ideological bodies and broaden their
membership bases in order to reduce the prevalence of patronage and vote buying in the
country. The main theme of this reform is disclosure, all party officials must present and
declare their assets and liabilities to the Election Commission of Thailand or ECT and
In South Korea, The 1987 Korean Constitution perhaps requires political parties to be
democratic in their own organization and operations and if they violate the Constitutional
Court can require for a dissolution. South Korea has its own political party reforms called
The Political Parties Act which was amended in the year 2000 which requires the parties
to register with the National Election Commission in order to hold or conduct party's
leaders and officials, and also to establish branch offices and this law also places a
Another reform in this country is the Political Fund Act that was also amended in the year
2000. This reform includes provisions on fundraising, expenditures, and also the party
29
reporting. Limiting both the income and the parties expenditures at all time. Lastly
another reform established from South Korea is the Act on the Election of Public
Officials and the Prevention of Election Malpractices that was also amended in the year
2000 which made the National Election Commission or NEC in korea as the oversight
body for all electoral processes . This commission set the campaign, incomes and limits
maintain a record of all financial transactions and all the receipts or record for expenses
and contributions but be recorded upon and be made available for the public inspection
In the case of reform in the other Asian countries such a Cambodia, Indonesia and
Malaysia they also have initiated efforts in order to establish a reform in their country.
Starting with Cambodia, this country has its own Cambodia's Political Party Law in 1997
specifying minimum requirements for parties which they are require to be registered with
the Ministry of Interiors also to provide a party name and to have 4000 citizens to sign or
have their signatures. What makes cambodian political reform different from other
countries mentioned above is that there are no limits on spending or even donations,
disclosure for the public its sources of funding is not even required nor even a mandatory
Election Law(1997) requires the parties to at least submit their campaign expense but do
not somehow reveal the sources of funds and expenses to the public even the campaign
30
Indonesia on the other hand has two laws the first was on the political parties and the
other was on general elections. Distinguishing with the two laws, the political party law
establishes a set of criteria for party competitions limits the contribution. Just like other
countries they are required to file financial reports with the list of all donors and conduct
annual audit while the Election laws in the other hand sets the contribution and limits its
spendings that would require parties to present and call for campaign audits for the
parties by the election commission. The challenge of indonesia in passing such legislation
that requiring full financial disclosure and party accountability, these has not been
effectively implemented.
governs NGO's associations and charities in the country and all of these organizations
must register with the Registrar of Societies under the Ministry of Home Affair. Just like
the other countries experiences they are required to submit financial reports and accounts
to the Registrar but what makes it different from other countries mentioned just like
Cambodia it is not disclosed to the public and there is not a requirement for the parties to
reveal the sources of their fund. The current law in the malaysia does not prevent the
political parties from owning and managing financial enterprises and limits on spending
and contribution does not apply in this country under this law.
In the Philippines, political parties are governed only by the Omnibus Election Code
because there is no laws governing it even no laws regulating political finances outside
31
the period of campaign. As the Political Party Development Act of 200 still remained
pending in the congress , there is no limits on spending and contributions nor required to
declare such assets of liabilities even the disclosure of financial records to the public and
to the government body does not apply in the country. Several political parties and civic
organizations have advocated for the passage of a political party law to regulate party
practices and finances between elections but failed to do so. Just like the Philippines,
Nepal has currently no law governing the political parties nor a political finance
regulations. Nepal's Election Code of Conduct sets the limitations for campaign
expenditures and requires all the candidates and parties to maintains its record for their
has not yet enacted a law on the matter of political party to govern such registrations ,
finances and also on the operations of the political parties. But for the first time there is a
pending Political Contributions law that can regulation the party finances and the parties
To sum up, even there where strict laws and regulations that have been implemented, the
parties themselves has a responsibility to adopt and practices such internal reforms.
Loopholes and circumvention of laws exists if the parties do not commit themselves to
reform and involuntarily adapt such monitoring mechanism. There is a need to reform in
order to complement and reinforce the legislative requirement and can have the
32
Theoretical Framework
This paper seeks to provide a review of the main theoretical approaches to policy
reform. While there is a growing body of literature on policy reform and implementation,
this review can only engage with a few selected theories which were deemed the most
institutions, the bureaucracies and the legislature, most involved in national policy
making. This study evaluates the role of theory formation in the study of political parties.
The framework that we will employ to analyze political party reforms contains
two relevant elements. First, an understanding of the changing reform initiatives from
each of the political institutions. Second, an analysis of the interests and strategies of the
state is important. The reform of a system requires some initial pressure for making the
change, but it does not develop automatically. Rather, actors perceive pressures for
change and then initiate a search process (Campbell et al. 1991). Thus, structural
constraints limit the range of interests and opportunities that actors select. Reforming the
political system occurs over time when legislators, whose choices are limited under
structural constraints, adjust to pressure for change. This study is concerned with how the
state’s ideal framework of political parties are constrained by its preexisting institutional
33
conditions. When analyzing the question of policy reform or lack thereof, one can draw
on the literature on path dependence (Pierson 2000). This model argues that it is
generally difficult to change policies because institutions are sticky, and actors protect the
existing model even if it is suboptimal (Greener 2002). Path dependence is when ‘once a
country or region has started down a track, the costs of reversal are very high’ (Levi
1997). As Pierson (2000) notes, public policies and formal institutions are usually
dependence is established only when it can be shown that policy change was thought of
but neglected for reasons that cannot be explained without the structure of costs and
incentives provided by the original policy choice. In order to introduce a major change,
policy-makers have to wait for a critical juncture (Capoccia and Kelemen 2007) or a
networks, rather than through issue-oriented platforms based on the needs and interests of
the citizens. Many parties are opaque in their internal operations and undemocratic in
their decision-making. They are set on clientelistic, parochial, and personal interests
rather than focus on ideologies and party platforms. Policy makers try to create reforms
The main strength of the theory is that it is able to explain why policy continuity
is more likely than policy reform. Once a country already has projected plans for their
policies, it will be difficult to change this path because policy-makers and policies have
become institutionalized that necessitates great efforts and costs by actors who aspire for
34
change. However, the theory’s weakness is that it is difficult to show the costs and
incentives created by the original policy choice and how it affects decisions about future
policy choices.
Capoccia and Kelemen (2007) states that critical junctures are relatively short
periods of time during which there is a substantially heightened probability that agents’
choices will affect the outcome of interest. This means that actors face a broader range of
feasible options during a brief period of time, and their choices will likely have a
significant impact on subsequent outcomes. The role of political actors and their
decisions during critical junctures is thus important (Capoccia and Kelemen 2007).
Jones 1991) which proposes that once an idea gets attention it will expand rapidly and
become unstoppable. Many ideas are competing for attention but then something happens
at some point. The process comes about from external events that disrupt the political
system, particularly the ones that are big enough to disrupt or punctuate its equilibrium.
First, one has to show that punctuations occur and second that they occur because of
values concerning particular policy with the existing set of political institutions. It
explains both times of extreme stability and short periods of rapid change.
The presented theories have highlighted so far that introducing, sustaining and
assessing policy reform is a political process’ because it addresses issues of conflict and
35
formulation and implementation of public policy especially when significant changes are
involved (Reich 1995). Reforms are possible when there is political will and when
changes to a sector are designed and implemented by capable planners and managers.
A strong and narrow political party improves the capacity of political leaders to
resist the pressures of economic costs. Reich (1995) argues that for reform to succeed,
policymakers need effective methods to analyze relevant political conditions and shape
key political factors in favor of policy reform. According to him, different models for
policy reform exist, and they provide three political conditions under which policy reform
can occur.
• Political will model: decisions by political leaders are necessary and sufficient for a
policy reform. This model shows a technocratic approach with a rational actor model of
model is more likely under political circumstances such as ‘a strong mandate, strong
• Political Factions model: politicians seek to promote the wants and needs of different
groups. Rational analysis is the main means to serve organizational interests. Reform
• Political Survival model: government officials protect the society’s interests as power
holders in order to maintain and expand their advantage over resources. It assumes that
36
manipulate policies to achieve desired means. Reform occurs when it provides the
personal political survival or the personal interests of political leaders (Reich 1995).
Policy reform can possibly have negative consequences due to the classic
collective action problem like multiple individuals would benefit from an action, but
costs make it unlikely that any individual can or will solve it alone. These problems can
be resolved by alliances with other political elites and compensatory benefits. Bargains
reached with external actors have to be politically acceptable and sustainable in the
domestic political game. As a result, passing a new policy requires a well-organized and
37
Conceptual Framework
38
Chapter 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study will be conducted through the qualitative method in which the researcher will
freedom for both the interviewer and the interviewee to explore additional points. In
order to acquire the data that is needed to address the problem in this study, most of the
respondents in this research are institutions therefore, the instruments that shall be utilize
questionnaires and other qualitative based tools. At the end of the study, it will provide
party reform. Through a document review of the data that was gathered, reviewing
documents on the passed bills and was further validated through an informant interview.
Research Environment
The research environment of this study will took place in the the nearest local
institution wherein it would at the branch of COMELEC Cebu which would be at WDC
Bldg. Cor. P. Burgos St. Osmena Blvd. However, we don’t limit our environment for the
research within the Cebu city area only but also outside Cebu depending on the location
of the institutions that may provide available data which is related to our research and to
the problem of the study. Moreover, the results of this study will aid the gap as to the
39
Research Respondents
The respondents of this research are selected political institutions that has relation
or linked with the political party reform and will help us in answering the objectives of
this research.
COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
The criteria for elections are simply to be free and fair. Recognition is given to the
individuals who come out to participate in the process either as voters, media watchdogs,
monitors, citizen-voter educators, and even citizen arms. Yet there are major areas of
interest that threatens the very existence of free and fair elections in the Philippines.
actions and by the Commission on Elections. However, many others can be traced to the
Advocacy for electoral reforms cover a broad range of subject matter: from the rules of
the electoral process itself, to reforms in the electoral administration, to reforms in the
political party system and conduct of electoral contestation, to electorate behavior and
sections of the body politic. With all of this, the researchers will have the right data for
40
the study especially on their advocacies for electoral reform and reforms in the political
party system.
CONGRESS
Political parties in our country are normally used as political vehicles to win an
election. Political party system is centered on personalities rather than ideology and
political platform. Most political aspirants change political parties for convenience, rather
than because of conviction. This only shows the lack of ideological commitment of the
members of party because they choose parties based on the rise and fall of the tide of
opportunity. For these reasons, efforts to reform Philippine political parties have been
Congress has the power to pass a measure that will institutionalize and strengthen
political parties as pillars of the country's democratic system. It is imperative that the
political development and democratization. Bills that have been proposed over the years
by both houses are aimed at promoting party loyalty, discipline and adherence to
bills to improve the political party system in the Philippines, the researchers can gain
41
Institute of Political and Electoral reforms (IPER)
elections and to maintain the credibility and legitimacy of the electoral process. It also
organization that partners with United Nation’s global development network. This NGO
researchers intend to trace and analyze the political party system reforms in the
Philippines in local and national institutions. The researchers will elucidate information
through crafted specific questions that answers the objectives that were stated in this
paper. Institute of political and electoral reform have programs and activities that are
about the Philippine political party system such as Consortium for political party reforms
(CPPR) core group that work group meetings. The said NGO is a qualified respondent for
this paper because they have influence in the development of the Political party system
reforms in the Philippines. To further know their challenges and dynamics on Political
party system reforms the researchers will reach out to the said institution through a
formal email requesting for an approval on answering the questions that the researchers
set up. The researchers can only acquire the needed information through online
interaction because they are based in Manila City and is also a national institution.
42
CENTRAL VISAYAS NETWORK OF NGO’s
serving the different sectors in the region that includes youth, agrarian reform, people
organizations and academe they are also engage with local governance, The network's
members are composed of civil society members who work for different advocacies such
as legal rights, democratic reforms, volunteerism and peace. Other than that, they are
affiliated with the other active NGO around the country that assess the country’s level of
democracy based on the functions and performance of political parties and NGOs. This
NGO is qualified to provide data for the objective of this paper be answered, in addition
to that, NGO has an influence on political parties such that NGOs are established for
citizens to exercise their right to association and to pursue goals set by the founders and
proponents. NGOs may either pursue a public or a mutual interest. Although political
parties are established under the same right to free association, their goal is to legally
accede to power by selling their governing programs to the electorate. That is exactly
why very frequently political parties are considered to be some sort of interface between
the society and state bodies. By including NGO’s as one of our institution the researcher
can determine the initiative and and the role NGO’s take part in reforming the Philippine
43
LIBERAL AND AKBAYAN PARTYLIST
Political parties are central to any political system as they serve as the essential
link between the government and the people and are vital institution for democratic
consolidation. Philippine political parties as what Aceron said that they are delineated in
many ways. One of the know parties in the country is the Liberal party, aside from being
the progressive and oldest continually-active political party in the country it is the second
oldest extant political party in the Philippines, Akbayan is also noted to be a leading
member of the Democratic Left community in the Philippines that seeks to contribute to
These two political parties had made history in the Philippine politics and by that they
can be a pillars on reforms through overseeing their initiatives and role in reforming the
Philippine Political Party System based on their ideology or views that compels
mechanisms. The researchers in touch with the political parties as one of the respondents
44
BOPK AND PDP-LABAN CEBU
Taking into consideration the local political parties such as BOPK and
PDP-Laban which have been the progressive party in the province of Cebu may
contribute inputs on their different views on the matter of reforming the Philippine
political party in a local level. The researchers can also determine in which part of the
Research Instrument
The instruments that this study will be utilizing will be participant/member check,
interviews and documents review in establishing validity and reliability in this qualitative
research. Below are the needed data for this research and stating as to why such data is
Boddy-Evans, 2017). They often arbitrate conflict, make governmental policy on the
economy and social system and also provide representation for the populous. The
researcher conceive that by determining the political institutions we can also determine if
45
there is an initiative of reforming the political party system in the county and ascertain on
Through determining the initiatives of the various institutions, the researchers would be
able to accomplish one of its objectives to present the evolution, motivation and
document review, a checklist will be provided through this, the researchers can conduct a
comparison as to how these reforms from different institution differ from each other and
Research Procedures
This paper will first investigate the initiatives of different political institutions
which are relevant to the reform of the political system in the Philippines. The
researchers shall document review and look at the factors of the success and failures of
proposals made. The researchers shall also look at the evolution of political party reform
of each institutions that would be mentioned in the study and analyze the factors of how
political party system reforms undergo in each institutions that would establish the
46
Gathering of Data
The researchers shall gather datas through documents review from different political
institutions that engage in the Philippines political party system reform. The researchers
shall also interview member/s from the institutions presented in the study. The
researchers will also review documents from other countries in order to point out how
Treatment of Data
The documents review gives us a perspective on the political party system reform
through different political institutions in the Philippines. The available data was analyzed
per institution mainly using the lens of political institutions such as the Congress,
Stiftung Foundation, Institute of Political and Electoral Reform and political parties such
as BOPK, Liberal Party, Akbayan and PDP-LABAN. To further achieve the objectives of
this paper, the documentary review and the responses of the Key Informant Interview
provides us the data on the factors of how political party system reforms undergo in each
institutions that would establish the commonality and differences of the other, the
variables that contributes to the degradation of political parties in the Philippines and the
challenges in pursuing to legislate the reforms. To sum up, these instruments aided us in
determining the problems on why reforms to enhance and strengthen political parties in
47
Chapter 4
This chapter of the study intends to present the data which have been gathered by
the researchers through the procedures specified in this study namely: Key Informant
Interviews and Documents Review. This chapter will provide the analysis and
Further, the data generated from both methods fall within the scope and limitations
The data gathering proper took place in the whole month of June extending to the second
week of July. To emphasize, the researchers had to do a step-by-step process of: (1) Key
To complete this study properly, it is necessary to analyse the data collected in order to
test the hypothesis and answer the research questions. As already indicated in the
preceding chapter, data is interpreted in a descriptive form. This chapter comprises the
analysis, presentation and interpretation of the findings resulting from this study.
The data gathering process also included the identification of research respondents. The
selection of respondents was based on their works and efforts in reforming the political
48
party system in the Philippines. The respondents introduced in this study are political
Congress /
Institute of Political /
and Electoral Reform
(IPER)
Akbayan Citizens' / /
Action Party
Liberal Party /
Commission on / Repetitive
Elections (National) follow ups
were made
Commission on /
Elections (Cebu)
49
Political Party System Reforms in the Philippines
It is worthy to note that the chosen political institutions have different ways in improving
the political party system in the Philippines. Besides from what has been mandated by the
law, these institutions exert much effort to go beyond what is on the law.
These institutions observe similar programs, policies, practices and initiatives when it
comes to reforming the political party system in the Philippines. However, these
The table below shows a summary of the different initiatives and policies on reforming
the political party system in the Philippines made by the institutions that were chosen by
13th Congress
● House DATE NATIONAL
Bill/Resolution FILED :
NO. HB00190 2004-07-01
(Political Party Act of
2004)
50
DATE
● House FILED :
Bill/Resolution 2004-07-01
NATIONAL
NO. HB00244
(The Political Party
Development Act of 2004)
14th Congress
● HBO 3655
(Political Party
Development Act of 2008)
DATE
FILED :
15th Congress 2010-07-01
● House
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB00049
(The Political Party
DATE
Development Act Of NATIONAL
FILED :
2010)
2010-07-01
● House
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB00403
(AN ACT
51
STRENGTHENIN
G THE
POLITICAL NATIONAL
PARTY SYSTEM,
APPROPRIATING
FUNDS
THEREFOR AND
FOR OTHER
PURPOSES)
DATE
FILED :
2012-09-11
● House
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB06551
(The Political Party
Development Act Of
2012)
DATE
16th Congress
FILED: NATIONAL
2013-07-01
● House
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB00308
(AN ACT
STRENGTHENING THE
POLITICAL PARTY
SYSTEM,
APPROPRIATING DATE
FUNDS THEREFOR FILED :
AND FOR OTHER 2013-07-01 NATIONAL
PURPOSES)
● House
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB00389
52
(AN ACT
STRENGTHENING
THE POLITICAL
PARTY SYSTEM,
APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR, DATE
AND FOR OTHER FILED : NATIONAL
PURPOSES) 2013-10-23
● House
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB03242
(AN ACT
STRENGTHENIN
G THE
POLITICAL
PARTY SYSTEM,
APPROPRIATING
FUNDS DATE
THEREFOR AND FILED :
2014-02-20 NATIONAL
FOR OTHER
PURPOSES)
● House
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB03978
(The Political Party
Development Act of
2014) DATE
FILED :
2016-06-30
17TH CONGRESS
● House
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB00490
53
(AN ACT GRANTING NATIONAL
AMNESTY TO
MEMBERS OF THE
COMMUNIST PARTY
OF THE
PHILIPPINES-NEW
PEOPLES
ARMY-NATIONAL
DEMOCRATIC FRONT
(CPP-NPA-NDF) AND
OTHER INDIVIDUALS DATE NATIONAL
AND GROUPS FILED :
INVOLVED IN PAST 2016-06-30
POLITICAL
CONFLICTS)
DATE
FILED :
● House 2016-06-30
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB00522
(The Political
Party
Development Act
Of 2016) DATE
FILED :
● House 2016-07-19
Bill/Resolution
NO. HB00697
(AN ACT
STRENGTHENING THE
POLITICAL PARTY NATIONAL
SYSTEM AND
APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFORE)
54
● House DATE
Bill/Resolution FILED :
NO. HB01695 2018-02-01
( AN ACT
STRENGTHENI NATIONAL
NG THE
POLITICAL
PARTY SYSTEM
AND
APPROPRIATIN
G FUNDS
THEREFORE)
● House
Bill/Resolution NATIONAL
NO. HB07088
FULL TITLE : AN ACT
STRENGTHENING THE
POLITICAL PARTY
SYSTEM,
APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
NATIONAL
55
COMELEC Governmental
● IPER engages
various
governmental
institutions such as
the Philippine
Congress, the
Executive
Department and its
agencies,
constitutional
bodies, as well as
the local
governments
regarding the
legislation and
implementation of
political and
electoral reforms.
● Participation in the
56
first and only
National Party
Conference and
supported its
resolution to
strengthen the
political party
system in the
Philippines.
● IPER participates
in the project of the
PDP-Laban and the
administration
Duterte to pursue
federalism through
charter change
wherein among the
proposals was to
include provisions
in the new
constitution on
political party
reforms.
● Promotes higher
awareness among
57
the politicians,
public officials,
and the general
public on the need
for political party
reforms.
● IPER has
succeeded in
putting political
party reforms in the
national agenda.
58
Institution Laban Model of
PH
Federalism
BOPK Political
Institution
CENVISNET Non-
Governmental
Analysis
Table 1 and 2 shows that all the researchers intended by the respondents have agreed to
answer the questions set by the researchers that would enable them to answer the
objectives of the study. In table 2 it shows that numerous bills were repetitively passed
but none were successful to have passed the committee meeting. Political Party
Development Act which was drafted on 2002 was an enacted bill supported by IPER
which aims to strengthen the political party system in the Philippines but later on
crumbled due to the Gracillano tape scandal that prevented the former president GMA to
further develop the bill. Multiple political party reform bills were passed from the 13th
Congress until the 17th Congress. The table also shows the different institutions which
were involved with the specific bills stated therein which reflects the work or effort each
have contributed for the strengthening of the political party system in the Philippines.
Each bill having the same purpose but with different focal points.
59
Data Interpretation
In order to understand the whole phenomena of the study, the theoretical framework will
Path dependency model argues that it is generally difficult to change policies because
institutions are sticky, and actors protect the existing model even if it is suboptimal
(Greener 2002). Path dependence is when ‘once a country or region has started down a
track, the costs of reversal are very high’ (Levi 1997). As Pierson (2000) notes, public
policies and formal institutions are usually designed to be difficult to change so past
decisions encourage policy continuity. Path dependence is established only when it can
be shown that policy change was thought of but neglected for reasons that cannot be
explained without the structure of costs and incentives provided by the original policy
choice. In order to introduce a major change, policy-makers have to wait for a critical
conjuncture (Wilsford 1994). In this analytical context, critical junctures are cast as
political agency and choice to play a decisive causal role in setting an institution on a
certain path of development, a path that then persists over a long period of time.
Institutions strive to reform the political party system in the Philippines but,
unfortunately, not one of their initiatives has actually changed the system. This is either
because the system is difficult to change, political actors tend to protect to existing
60
system because of its advantages, larger political issues such as incoming elections or
The main strength of the theory is that it is able to explain why policy continuity is more
likely than policy reform. Once a country already has projected plans for their policies, it
will be difficult to change this path because policy-makers and policies have become
institutionalized that necessitates great efforts and costs by actors who aspire for change.
However, the theory’s weakness is that it is difficult to show the costs and incentives
created by the original policy choice and how it affects decisions about future policy
choices.
Different institutions both from national and local were chosen by the researchers in
order to determine their efforts in reforming the political party system in the Philippines.
The mentioned institutions may have similar title of their initiatives but somehow differ
in their target point of reform in which they want to change in the political party system
The table shown below is profiled based on the scope of the institutions, the substantive
61
Table 3. Initiatives of Political Institutions in the Philippines
● HBO 5877
Previously The bill seeks
HB00190 to minimize PASSED AS A
(An Act Strengthening political SENATE BILL
the Political Party patronage and
System and Providing develop a
Funds Thereof) strong political
party system
62
SHORT TITLE : by prohibiting
"Political Party Act of turncoatism.
2006"
14th Congress
● HBO 3655
(Political Party
Development Act of
2008)
REFERRAL TO
THE
15th Congress COMMITTEE
ON SUFFRAGE
● House AND
Bill/Resolution Strengthens ELECTORAL
NO. HB00049 political REFORMS ON
(The Political Party parties by 2010-07-27
Development Act Of introducing
2010) reforms in
campaign
financing and
providing
financial
subsidies to
political
parties
63
● House REFERRAL TO
Bill/Resolution THE
NO. HB00403 COMMITTEE ON
(AN ACT SUFFRAGE AND
STRENGTHENIN ELECTORAL
G THE REFORMS ON
POLITICAL 2010-07-27
PARTY
SYSTEM,
APPROPRIATIN
G FUNDS
THEREFOR AND
FOR OTHER
PURPOSES)
● House PASSED AS A
Bill/Resolution SENATE BILL
NO. HB06551
(The Political Party
Development Act Of
2012)
16th Congress
REFERRAL TO
THE
● House COMMITTEE ON
Bill/Resolution SUFFRAGE AND
NO. HB00308 ELECTORAL
REFORMS ON
64
(AN ACT Aims to 2013-07-23
STRENGTHENING THE strengthen the
POLITICAL PARTY political party
SYSTEM, system in the
APPROPRIATING country in order
FUNDS THEREFOR to develop,
AND FOR OTHER achieve genuine
PURPOSES) political
development
and
democratization
. REFERRAL TO
THE
COMMITTEE
ON SUFFRAGE
● House AND
Bill/Resolution ELECTORAL
NO. HB00389 REFORMS ON
(AN ACT 2013-07-23
STRENGTHENING
THE POLITICAL Seeks to
PARTY SYSTEM, institutionalize
APPROPRIATING and strengthen
FUNDS THEREFOR, political
AND FOR OTHER parties in the
PURPOSES) country by
introducing
reforms in
campaign
financing and
provide
financial REFERRAL TO
subsidies to THE
political COMMITTEE ON
parties to SUFFRAGE AND
● House augment their ELECTORAL
Bill/Resolution expenditures REFORMS ON
NO. HB03242 for campaign.
65
(AN ACT 2013-11-18
STRENGTHENIN
G THE
POLITICAL
PARTY
SYSTEM,
APPROPRIATIN
G FUNDS
THEREFOR AND
FOR OTHER
PURPOSES)
REFERRAL TO
● House THE
Bill/Resolution COMMITTEE
NO. HB03978 ON RULES ON
(The Political Party 2014-02-24
Development Act of
2014)
To strengthen
the political
party system
Institutionalize
reforms in the
financing of
electoral
campaigns, so
as to promote
accountability
and
transparency;
promotes party
loyalty and
discipline; and
encourages
and supports
66
17TH CONGRESS continuing
voter’s REFERRAL TO
● House education and THE
Bill/Resolution civic literacy COMMITTEE ON
NO. HB00490 programs PEACE,
(AN ACT GRANTING through the RECONCILIATIO
AMNESTY TO political N AND UNITY
MEMBERS OF THE parties. ON 2016-07-26
COMMUNIST PARTY
OF THE
PHILIPPINES-NEW
PEOPLES
ARMY-NATIONAL
DEMOCRATIC FRONT
(CPP-NPA-NDF) AND
OTHER INDIVIDUALS
AND GROUPS
INVOLVED IN PAST
POLITICAL
CONFLICTS)
REFERRAL TO
● House THE
Bill/Resolution COMMITTEE
NO. HB00522 ON SUFFRAGE
(The Political AND
Party ELECTORAL
Development Act REFORMS ON
Of 2016) 2016-07-27
REFERRAL TO
THE
COMMITTEE ON
SUFFRAGE AND
67
● House ELECTORAL
Bill/Resolution REFORMS ON
NO. HB00697 2016-07-27
(AN ACT
STRENGTHENING THE
POLITICAL PARTY
SYSTEM AND
APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFORE)
REFERRAL TO
● House THE
Bill/Resolution COMMITTEE
NO. HB01695 ON SUFFRAGE
( AN ACT AND
STRENGTHENI ELECTORAL
NG THE REFORMS ON
POLITICAL 2016-08-02
PARTY
SYSTEM AND
APPROPRIATI
NG FUNDS
THEREFORE)
REFERRAL TO
● House THE
Bill/Resolution COMMITTEE ON
NO. HB07088 SUFFRAGE AND
FULL TITLE : AN ACT ELECTORAL
STRENGTHENING THE REFORMS ON
POLITICAL PARTY 2018-02-06
SYSTEM,
APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
68
COMELEC NATIONA
L
● IPER engages
various
governmental
69
institutions such as
the Philippine
Congress, the
Executive
Department and its
agencies,
constitutional
bodies, as well as
the local
governments
regarding the
legislation and
implementation of
political and
electoral reforms.
● Participation in the
first and only
National Party
Conference and
supported its
resolution to
strengthen the
political party
system in the
Philippines.
70
● IPER participates
in the project of
the PDP-Laban
and the
administration
Duterte to pursue
federalism through
charter change
wherein among
the proposals was
to include
provisions in the
new constitution
on political party
reforms.
● Promotes higher
awareness among
the politicians,
public officials,
and the general
public on the need
for political party
reforms.
● IPER has
succeeded in
putting political
party reforms in
the national
agenda.
71
turncoatism
● HB no. 3200
(Promoting Women REFERRAL TO
Participation and THE
Equitable Representation COMMITTEE ON
in and by Political Parties WOMEN AND
giving incentives GENDER
therefore, creating the EQUALITY ON
women in political parties 2016-08-30
empowerment fund, and
for other purposes)
72
institutions that
shall serve as a
mechanism for
communication
and cooperation
between the
people and the
government,
facilitating
political
organization
and
representation.
BOPK LOCAL
CENVISNE LOCAL
T
Analysis
Table 3 shows that the number of bills passed supported and contributed by various local
and national institutions passed only up to the committee level before it was all
consolidated. The COMELEC did not have any initiatives it was explained by the
institution that they can only support a reform or any policy that is of their area of
expertise. They will only be referred to by the Congress if it is about the institution itself.
The table shows that from the 13th Congress until the 17th Congress they did not have
any direct involvement of any political party system reform proposed in the Philippines.
The table also showed that numerous bills passed but with different main focus point
73
such as a reform about the political party system issue on political turncoatism,
Data Interpretation
In order to understand the whole phenomena of the study, the theoretical framework will
In the Political Survival model, government officials protect the society’s interests as
power holders in order to maintain and expand their advantage over resources. It assumes
manipulate policies to achieve desired means. Reform occurs when it provides the
personal political survival or the personal interests of political leaders (Reich 1995).
describes parties as the “weakest link” because they always characterize what he calls as
power hungry elites, who only pursue their own interests or those of their rich financial
backers and not those of ordinary citizens. Parties multiply behaviors of corrupt financing
as they increasingly work hard to win votes, which fuel their need for money to finance
their campaigns.
Reforming the political party system in the Philippines depends on the decisions of the
policy-makers wherein their decisions rely on the advantages they would receive from
their actions. Political parties are supposed to perform the important functions of
74
candidate selection, leadership formation, interest aggregation and agenda development.
But in the Philippines, parties can be best described as “temporary political alliances.”
Some would even go to the extent of saying there are no real parties in the country and
what we have are mere “fans club” of politicians. This is usually blamed on our political
leaders and politicians, and their inability to go beyond their political ambitions and
vested interests. The people are also sometimes blamed for not participating in partisan
politics and for not voting according to party affiliations. Pundits even claim that the
political parties’ lack of ideological orientation are due to the politicians who behave the
way they do because people do not vote according to party platforms or programs.
I. Evolution
There had been a lot of efforts or initiatives exerted by the different institutions
selected by the researchers. The researchers look into the bills filed by the Congress, it
started with the Political Party Development Act of 2002 in the 13th Congress up to the
17th Congress. However as to the evolution of these bills there are a lot of bills filed by
the Congress but still these bills either passes as a senate bill or its status remained in the
committee level. Every bill filed has the same intention or substantive topic, in other
words there is a repetitive filing without taking into consideration the redundancy of the
initiative. Despite this, it still remained in the committee level and failed to be consistent
75
As to other institutions aside from the congress, to the political parties such as LIBERAL
and AKBAYAN, their members initiated efforts in reforming the political party system
not just as his duty as a legislator but also as a stalwart of the political party, as the
II. Motivation
play second fiddle to political families, clans and dynasties. According to the
COMELEC, there is no establishment of real political party system where its members
are loyal and committed to their parties. But the truth is, there is no real political party
system in the country, as members shift alliances out of convenience and survival, not out
With how the political parties delineated, The researchers was able to determine what
motivates them in reforming the political party system, institutions sees that there is a
need to reform and upholds to strengthen the political party system that is democratic,
broad-based, discipline and effective. Motivating that there is need for these political
parties to be treated as public institutions, with corresponding support from the state also
answerable to the peoples for their acts. There is a need for a party discipline among the
members of the parties and also what makes to motivate in reforming the system is that
76
promoting democratic internal party process, particularly in selection, training, and
campaign of candidates. Most of those interviewed agreed that even where strict laws and
regulations have been adopted, Taking into considerations the political parties such as
LIBERAL and AKBAYAN which initiated for an internal party reform. Parties
themselves have a responsibility to adopt internal reforms. There are always loopholes
and the laws can be circumvented if parties do not commit themselves to reform and
III. Challenges
questions that would enable them to identify the challenges of involving in political party
system reform initiatives. The researchers classified the information from Government
Institute of Political and Electoral Reform and a Political Party (LIBERAL). all
institutions mentioned thinks that there are still lapses in the Philippines political party
system. The researchers included political parties so that the opinion and also as an
affected party to the reforms being proposed. Political parties serve as means to carry out
programs and agenda that reflect people’s aspiration but right now, political parties,
particularly ruling political parties, are more significant to politicians, and less to
citizens( Liberal Party, 2018). One major factor that makes our political parties weak is
the dependence of political parties on personalities rather than on issues and political
77
platforms. Traditional politicians only use Political Parties as financial vehicles to win
elections. There is absence of party loyalty as well as adherence to the party's ideological
principles, platforms, and programs. There is, arguably, the absence of a real and
democratic Political Party System in the country (Congress). It was also mentioned by
the Institute of Political and Electoral Reform that the dominance of political dynasties,
the political patronage system and the remnants of the Marcos dictatorial regime. The
Political dynasties have supplanted the political parties in its role as the main channel for
political contestation, not on in electoral contests but even during the governance period.
They prefer personalistic and elitist politics over any participative democratic politics. A
political dynasty in power may not want a genuine political party to disrupt traditional
politics . The political patronage system include largesse base on holding the political
contracts, favors, and other privileges of power. Those who benefit from the patronage
system may not support a genuine political party system which stresses party discipline,
programs and rules. The remnants of the Marcos Dictatorship are still with us, not only in
the family , in politics, but also their cronies. They still control a large part of the nation’s
wealth and do not want a genuine political party reforms that requires agreement among a
critical mass of the various elite political families, clans and dynasties, if done through
legislations. If viable, charter change can achieve the same thing ( Institute of Political
and Electoral Reforms, 2018). Some challenges also mentioned that After the 2016
elections, the Liberal Party, despite having won several local and national posts,
including the vice-presidency, suffered a mass exodus of its members, switching to the
78
ruling political party. But their departure from LP only made the party strive to redefine
itself into a genuine people’s party where ordinary citizens and not just politicians get to
participate and have a voice in the discussions and processing of the party (Liberal Party,
2018). The Commission on Elections believe that a two-party system is a more efficient
and reliable method than the multi-party in the political party system it is treated as a
detriment rather than an effective method (COMELEC, 2018). The institutions also
pointed out the negative and positive aspect of the political party system in the
Philippines. On the negative side, historically, the balimbingan or party switching has
been a long time practice among politicians, Everytime we elect a new president,
politicians flock to the political party of the incumbent president until a new president
from another political party gets elected given the absence of strong party system, this is
expected (Liberal Party, 2018). The political party system is seen as personality-based,
financially dependent on financiers and wealthy members, lipservice to party ideals and
principles, prone to turncoatism and has a weak political base and membership
recruitment (IPER, 2018). On a positive note, The political party system allows for
anyone, including those who will not have a chance in a two party system, to participate
Analysis
The answer that the respondents were able to supply to the researchers were all
different but one things they have in common is the need to strengthen the political party
79
system in the Philippines. Each institution gave the respondents different reasons as to
why they find it weak and in need for improvement. The respondents mentioned
patronage politics as one of the biggest explanation as to the cause of the current
condition of the political party system in the Philippines. It already became a tradition
among the Filipino citizens that when election is fast approaching they do not decide for
a candidate based on their platform and aspirations for the community but instead vote
for someone that can be easily approached in times of troubles and can provide them
short term relief when they need it. Each institution’s involvement on political party
system reforms can be seen from year 2004 until present but the data shows that the
proposals are not consistent and strong enough to be able to pass successfully. The
motivations from different institutions strive to change different aspects of the political
party system. The institutions strive to strengthen the political party system it should be
Data Interpretation
Punctuated Equilibrium Model (Baumgartner and Jones 1991) which proposes that once
an idea gets attention it will expand rapidly and become unstoppable. Many ideas are
competing for attention but then something happens at some point. The process comes
about from external events that disrupt the political system, particularly the ones that are
80
big enough to disrupt or punctuate its equilibrium. First, one has to show that
punctuations occur and second that they occur because of political changes. Punctuated
equilibrium is the process of interaction of beliefs and values concerning particular policy
with the existing set of political institutions. It explains both times of extreme stability
relatively long periods of stability in their basic patterns of activity that are punctuated by
relatively short bursts of fundamental change" (Burnes, 2009). The method studies the
evolution of policy change, including the evolution of conflicts. The theory suggests that
most social systems exist in an extended period of stasis, which are later punctuated by
sudden shifts in radical change. The theory was largely inspired from the biological
Stephen Jay Gould. The model states that policy generally changes only incrementally
due to several restraints, namely the "stickiness" of institutional cultures, vested interests,
and the bounded rationality of individual decision-makers. Policy change will thus be
punctuated by large - though less frequent - changes due to large shifts in society or
government.
81
CHAPTER 5
This chapter of the study seeks to encapsulate the findings, conclusions and that
were generated under the specified tools of the study in response to the objectives
reflected herein. Further, recommendations are derived as significant actions points that
Summary of Findings
Parties have always been viewed negatively, but they still persist, because the
functions they perform are necessary. Political parties are central to any political system.
It is generally acknowledged that they have two essential roles: interest articulation and
interest aggregation. They serve as the essential link between the government and the
people and are vital institutions for democratic consolidation. None of these roles is
Parties are also used for other purposes such as the consolidation of a support base, and a
medium for patronage and clientelism. Parties are indistinguishable and unstable because
82
they are personality-based and have a weak institutional inclination. Platforms are not
The researchers have found that there are several political institutions in the Philippines
such as Congress, Institute of Political and Electoral Reform (IPER), Bando Osmeña –
Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), Liberal Party, that make efforts in reforming the
The negative characterizations apply in the Philippines where the political landscape is
dominated by political turncoats and where political parties do not represent ideologies.
A political party reform is therefore seen as to address the problem inherent among
The initiatives they have taken up aims to strengthen the operation of political parties in
the country and it also addresses what is rampant in the political culture of the country
Conclusions
Party politics is practiced in the Philippines yet it is no surprise that the impact of
political parties has not been favorable to democratization. Because of its lapses and its
inefficiency, it has failed to create useful policy choices and create better changes.
83
Parties do not do their tasks of interest aggregation but instead become as mechanisms for
patronage politics to perpetuate vested interests. In other words, when we talk of parties
in the Philippines, there is a wide gap between standard and practice. Consequently, the
This is perhaps the greatest challenge in changing the country’s party system. And yet,
both governmental and non-governmental institutions in the Philippines strive for change
wherein reform initiatives have been drawn up from different political institutions. The
expected outcome from these initiatives are to institutionalize and strengthen political
campaign financing for transparency; providing equal opportunity to all political parties;
governance.
Recommendations
The researchers shal have five (5) recommendations. The first recommendation is
that the political parties be treated as public institutions, with corresponding support from
the state and also answerable to the people for their acts. The second recommendation is
to ban political turncoatism and strengthen party discipline. The third recommendation is
to set up a state subsidy fund to ensure the viability of genuine political parties. The
84
fourth recommendation is to promote equal gender representation in political parties,
campaign of candidates.
85
BIBLIOGRAPHY
No Author
Electoral System, Parties and Bureaucracy: The Missing Links in the Charter Change
Debate. (2006).Senate Economic Planning Office
Jackson III, J., Bigiloo, N., & Green, J. (1992-2004). The State of the Party Elites:
National Convention Delegates.
Political Institutions and Governance. (2002). In World Development Report 2002 (pp.
99-116).
Books
Brillantes, A. B., Jr., & Fernandez, M. T. (2011). Restoring Trust and Building Integrity
in Government: Issues and Concerns in the Philippines and Areas for Reform (2nd ed.,
Vol. 12). International Public Management Review.
Lande, C.H. (1965). Politics in the Philippines (East Asian Series). Kansas: East Asian
Studies, University of Kansas.
Co, E., Tigno, J., Lao, M.E., & Sayo, M., (2005). Philippine Democracy Assessment
(Free and Fair Elections and the Democratic Role of Political Parties. Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung
Periodical Articles
Agenda on Political and Electoral Reforms For Candidates and Political Parties of the
Upcoming 2010 Elections. (2010). Citizen Reform Agenda 2010: Political and Electoral
Reforms. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://ateneo.edu/sites/default/files/political
and electoral_final.pdf.
86
Montinola, G.R. (1999). Politicians, Parties,and the Persistence of Weak States: Lessons
from the Philippines. 30(4): 739-774.
Rocamora, J. (2004). Party Building and Local Governance in the Philippines. 3: 51-68.
Electronic Publications
Abueva, J. V. (2003). Why Reform Our Political Parties and Electoral System—A
Primer. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
https://joseabueva.blogspot.com/2006/05/why-reform-our-political-parties-and.html
Aceron, J., Teehankee, J., Encinas-Franco, J., & Leonillo, G. (2009). Reforming the
riedrich
Philippine Political Party System: Ideas and Initiatives, debates and dynamics. F
Ebert Stiftung
Aceron, J., & Leonillo, G. (2009). Perspectives of the Reform – Minded on the Political
Party Reform Legislation. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)
Boddy-Evans, A. (2017, November 2). The Complete Story Behind Powerful Political
Institutions. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
https://www.thoughtco.com/political-institutions-44026
Butler, R.L. Party Leadership in the Republican House. Rowan University. Retrieved
February 23, 2018, from uakron.edu
Casiple, M. (2008). Clarifying political party reform. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
https://moncasiple.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/clarifying-political-party-reform/.
Cutting Edge Global Public Innovations Conference. (2013, October 3). Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung (FES). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
http://www.fes.org.ph/events/cutting-edge-global-public-innovations-conference/
Hofmeister, W., & Grabow, K. (2011). Political Parties: Functions and Organization in
Democratic Societies. Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
Kuhonta, E.M. The Institutional Imperative in Reforming the Philippine’s Political Party
etrieved February 23, 2018, from academia.edu
System. R
87
Rocamora, J. (1998). Philippine Political Parties, Electoral System and Political Reform.
Retrieved February 23, 2018, from http://www.philsol.nl/
Lande, C.H. (1965). Leaders, Factions and Parties: The Structure of Philippine Politics.
Southeast Asia Studies, Yale University
Manikas, P. M., & Thornton, L. L. (2003). Political Parties in Asia. Retrieved March 29,
2018, from https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/1681_asia_polparties_050404_0.pdf
Other Projects. (2017, June 07). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
https://cyanpilipinas.com/projectsandactivities/other-projects/
Shift to federalism discussed in the second day of 15th CES Conference. (2016,
November). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
http://www.cesboard.gov.ph/anniv2016/art10.html
88
LYNIELLE ZAIRAH R. CRISOLOGO
Personal Information
● Age :19
● Date of Birth :September 3,1998
● Place of Birth :Cebu City
● Gender :Female
● Civil Status :Single
● Nationality :Filipino
● Religion :Roman Catholic
● Languages spoken :English, Tagalog, Surigonon
Education Attainment
TERTIARY (2015-PRESENT) University of San Carlos
89
Member, Constitutional Convention of the Carolinian Political Science Society
Constitutional Reform, Department of Political Science, University of San Carlos
(2017)
1st Placer School Press Conference District Level Journalism ( News Editor)
1st Placer School Press Conference Division Level Journalism ( News Editor)
3rd Placer School Press Conference District Level Journalism ( Editorial Cartooning)
References
gmbualat@usc.edu.ph
rejene_tanlakibul@gmail.com
90
Mr. Owen Dela Victoria, LLB
oodelavictoria@usc.edu.ph
Personal Information
● Age :18
● Date of Birth :June 29, 1999
● Place of Birth :Cebu City
● Gender :Female
● Civil Status :Single
● Nationality :Filipino
● Religion :Roman Catholic
● Languages spoken :English, Tagalog, Bisaya and
Waray-Waray
Education Attainment
TERTIARY (2015-PRESENT) University of San Carlos
91
Councilor (2018-2019) – University of San Carlos Supreme Student Council
References
gmbualat@usc.edu.ph
rejene_tanlakibul@gmail.com
92
Mr. Owen Dela Victoria, LLB
oodelavictoria@usc.edu.ph
ASHLEY KATE S. PATALINJUG
Personal Information
● Age : 18
● Date of Birth : July 15, 1999
● Place of Birth : Cebu City
● Gender : Female
● Civil Status : Single
● Nationality : Filipino
● Religion : Roman Catholic
● Languages spoken : English, Tagalog, Bisaya, Spanish
Education Attainment
TERTIARY (2015-PRESENT) University of San Carlos
93
Participant (2016) , USC Advance Algebra Quiz bowl
References
gmbualat@usc.edu.ph
rejene_tanlakibul@gmail.com
oodelavictoria@usc.edu.ph
94
Ms. Jovita B. Augusto
APPENDICES
95
96
TRANSMITTAL LETTERS (B)
97
98
99
TRANSCRIPTIONS (C)
COMELEC
Respondent: COMELEC only implement laws .. the fact and ila jud mandate is to enforce
and administer all laws related to elections which includes political parties. But as to
reforms, COMELEC has no say in it.
Kay ang ato political party is mandated by the constitution and the law governing it. Ang
trabaho rajud sa COMELEC when it comes to political parties is for accreditation and
regulation. Once wa accredit siya anha pa ang comelec maka acquire of jurisdiction niya.
Sama ang BOPK, BOPK is gikuan nila na political party but BOPK was not registered
with COMELEC as a political party until now still strictly and legally speaking kung
wala sila nagpa register sa COMELEC they are not covered by election laws thatis
enforce and administer. So imo tan awon BOPK , during election dili sila pwede magpa
nominate, dili sila maka issue og wala silay CONA, Certification. Kanang ila groupo they
usually ally with a national party, mu affiliate sila so mugawas pananglitan katong last
election, ang ilahang COC ang ila I attach is Liberal Party
Researcher: Mao attorney kay ang BOPK attorney is affiliated by the liberal
Respondent: Affiliated by liberal, so walay sila maka register sa COMELEC dili sila
under sa jurisdiction sa COMELEC
As to kanang, kung di ka ma political party , dili jud ka ma regulate sa comelec . what are
the disadvantages of political party? You are entitled of a copy of the election returns,
the certificate of canvass , result sa election entitled ka ana , you are entitled to a
watcher during election. You are entitled to nominate through a CONA
(POSTITIVE RESPONSE) . So in return your obligation is after the election you much
file a Certification of contribution and expenditures. Separate na siya sa kandidato as a
political party mu while sd ka ana kay entitled and usa ka kandidato ibutang ta ang
national election kay 3 pesos per voter kung dili ka independent naa kay CONA sa
political party the same entitled pud syag 3 pesos.
Ang atong political party naay national ang iyang kuan is national political party tibook
pilipinas pwede sya makakuha og members naa paju local, pananglitan kanang kang
Gullas , local political party na alayun bana? Naa poy sa lilioan si congressman benjor
santiago naa sd syay iya own political party within sa district sa liloan.
COMELEC pag accredit anang political party is just file ka ngadto sa manila and we
would verify your existence and your jurisdiction. Kung national kung diri ba if you
exist . naa bay kay mga officer na members sa imo jurisdiction mao nay role sa
COMELEC when it comes to political parties. Accreditation ang regulation .
100
Researcher: What do you think of a political party system here in the philippines sir?
Respondent: Well, sauna we started sa oanahon nila macapagal , nila arroyo , two party
now pag start katong kang Cory we have the 1987 consti. Nahimo nata na multi party
system First katong party sytem that was adopted pareha sa american system .The multi
party system was consituted kay ila purpose is para wider participation kay sauna kugn
dili ka kasulod sa duha mag independent lng ka. So kanang within the party masulod jud
ngadto mahulog na malimit ang participation sa uban.
Respondent: Oh, mao to na ga multi party ta the difference is when we have the multi
party system wala natay majority president plurality ra kay sa dghan na political parties
usually taas na gani ng maka 30% sa presidente, I think the lowest we had the time ni
ramos mubo ra kay to 16% percent ra iya nakuha sa total number of voters who cast their
votes during election no.
So ,kada election we have a minority president tapos ang problema sa party system
nato kay dili strong( NEGATIVE RESPONSE) They are political parties that do not
have ideology its not strong . usualy every after election who ever the president
mamalhin tanan (NEGATIVE RESPONSE)
Respondent: Oo turncoatism, so why ngano ingon mana siya because the party
system now is dili kaayo strong ang ideology(NEGATIVE RESPONSE)
Respondent: Yes ofcourse, kabalo ka pareha karon unsa may nahitabo sa ato ron ,
personally lng ha because we in the COMELEC we can only ang enbanc can only
recommend or were just one of the many na panaglitan mag himo ang congress if
congress makes a reform or changes in the consti to make it a two system parties the
COMELEC is one of the many kanang resource person na ila ipatawag
Researcher: so then, naa bay time sir na gi kuan mos congress na to be part of the reform?
Respondent: Yes, kanang pananlitan sa usually ana kanang ila mga working group ana
inviteton pud nila ang comelec but we are just one of the many . dili gud na na ang
comelec ang mismo mu initiate until now gani we recommend the codification of all
election laws and its changes/amendments
Until now we started that 2010 pa until now It never pass congress wala pa gihpon.
Ang kuan ana ang mga election laws katag katag. There are provisions in the omnibus
code that was already amended super seated by later enactment of laws. Sama sa fair
101
elections ha have already amended the omnibus code when it comes to campaigning. We
wanted that to be codified na mausa ra usa ray tun an , na usa ray balaod ang tun an it
happen until now. So we have just want na personally, ako rasad na ganahan ko sa two
party system is because I would have wanted the president have a majority in the
votes to really show that he has teh mandate of the people(POSITIVE RESPONSE)
If he has the majority mandate by the people , naa jud syay strong mandate and a political
will na to implement and create reform he need to do , maygani ta ang ato president kay
strong how about ang uban. If our president cant control the congress mahimo ba niya na
iya na gusto na reform or projects to be implemented?
Just like what happen in Cebu City, Osmena has a strong mandate, dako syag labaw but
the problem is until na naa na ang SK he has no control over the kuan council which he
needs to implement his project and programs , gusto kag program dili ka ka funding?
How could you implement projects with no funding?
So thats the problem, however the two party system naa gyuy clear
mandate(POSITIVE RESPONSE) so, may gani ato president is strong his people
knows how to manipulate congress, what if makakuan ta na sgeg babag ang congress?
So, that is the advantage of the two political party system.
If the political party resist reforms, ang mahitabo theres no changes in the politics
and the leadership of the party , ang pag made sad changes sa ato gobyerno perting
sang lisora (NEGATIVE RESPONSE)
we are not used of strong political parties especially when we are born in a 1987
constitution
Some parties don’t even bother to explain what are their platforms and their
ideologies
They just sing and dance. Because we are people centered
They talk about theirselves, (NEGATIVE RESPONSE)
In the part of the comelec, sama sa ako gi ingon ang ra is Accreditation and regulation
only. Thats it under the law and under the constitution, wala mi paki kung unsa ila
ideology, unsa ila buhaton within the party .
1. Can you enlighten us the political party system reform initiatives this institution has
proposed for a better political party system? What are the outcomes of these initiatives?
102
IPER has been involved in political party reforms since 2002, participated in the first and
only National Party Conference and supported its resolution to strengthen the political
party system. It also co-sponsored and participated in the subsequent top-level workshop
of party leaders and legislators to agree on an enabling law to implement it. IPER,
through the Consortium on Electoral Reforms (CER), of which it serves as the secretariat,
and with support and participation of the respective committees on electoral reforms in
the Senate and House of Representatives, drafted the bill on political reforms. Then
House Speaker Jose De Venecia primarily authored the bill in the House of
Representatives, while Senator Edgardo Angara likewise filed a senate version of the bill.
The unity for the bill started to crumble when GMA announced her candidacy for the
2004 presidential elections and the subsequent Garcillano tapes scandal. The presidential
legitimacy crisis prevented developments on the bill despite GMA’s own endorsement in
her 10- point “legacy program” and its inclusion in the Medium-Term Development
Program. IPER revived the initiative in 2008 in the 14th Congress, initiating A
conference-review of the bill, and establishing a separate Consortium for Political Party
Reforms (CPPR), and participating in congressional hearings on the bill. The bill was
passed on third reading in the House of Representatives. It was also issued as a
committee report signed by 18 senators in the 15th Congress. However, it was not
discussed in the second reading. This was the farthest the bill reached in Congress. The
bill was re-filed in the 16th and 17th Congresses but has not left the committee level.
In the meantime, IPER is participating in the project of the PDP-Laban and the
administration Duterte to pursue federalism through charter change. Among other
proposals, it proposed to include provisions in the new constitution on political party
reforms.
2. What challenges have you encountered in providing support for political parties? How
did you overcome those challenges?
IPER, by its mandate, does not support any political party. It supports the establishment
of genuine political parties and a strong and effective political party system as requisites
for strengthening Philippine democracy.
The main challenges encountered in this advocacy are the existence and dominance of
political dynasties, the political patronage system, and the remnants of the Marcos
dictatorial regime. Political dynasties have supplanted the political parties in its role as
the main channel for political contestation, not on in electoral contests but even during
the governance period. They prefer personalistic and elitist politics over any participative
103
democratic politics. A political dynasty in power may not want a genuine political party
system to disrupt traditional politics.
The political patronage system includes largesse based on holding the political power.
This includes financial gains, government appointments, government contracts, favors,
and other privileges of power. Those who benefit from the patronage system may not
support a genuine political party system which stresses party discipline, programs, and
rules. The remnants of the Marcos dictatorship are still with us, not only in the family in
politics, but also their cronies. They still control a large part of the nation’s wealth and do
not want a genuine political party system to restrict their growth and to a path to return to
power.
Instituting genuine political party reforms requires agreement among a critical mass of
the various elite political families, clans and dynasties, if done through legislations. If
viable, charter change can achieve the same thing.
3. As an institution that upholds strong ideals, what aspects of the political party system
in the Philippines are highly seen as negative and positive?
4. What part of the political party system in the Philippines does the institution strive to
change or reform?
IPER upholds the strengthening of the whole political party system that is democratic,
broad-based, disciplined, and effective.
a. That the political parties be treated as public institutions, with corresponding support
from the state and also answerable to the people for their acts.
b. It also supports the ban on political turncoatism and strengthening of party disciple.
c. It proposes the setting up of a state subsidy fund to ensure the viability of genuine
political parties.
104
d. It promotes equal gender representation in political parties, particularly in candidate
selection, membership, and official positions.
e. Lastly, it promotes democratic internal party process, particularly in selection, training,
and campaign of candidates.
5. With your advocacies for necessary constitutional, legislative, and other political
reforms necessary to build and consolidate Philippine democracy, what have you
accomplished so far in regards of reforming the political party system in the Philippines?
The accomplishment so far is in the higher awareness among the politicians, public
officials, and the general public on the need for political party reforms. It has also
succeeded in putting political party reforms in the national agenda.
6. How can IPER achieve to develop in becoming a major center in the Philippine
democratic reform movement?
It is already a major center in political and electoral reform. As the first independent
political institute in the country, it has initiated, participated or led in many political
reform projects. However, it needs to more actively participate in empowerment of the
people themselves for effective participation in Philippine democracy.
7. What do you think of the current condition of the Philippines political party system?
There are no genuinely democratic political parties at present. Political parties play
second fiddle to political families, clans and dynasties.
8. Among all the efforts you have made in pursuit of a stronger political party system in
the Philippines what action of this institution made a bigger impact and influence than
others in reaching the objective of strengthening political parties?
The initiative of the coming together of political parties to pursue political party reforms
and subsequent organization of the CPPR constitute the major achievement so far. If
realized, the inclusion of pertinent provisions in the proposed constitution has also the
potential of a decisive victory for political party reforms.
9. What can we expect from this institution in pursuit of strengthening the political party
system in the Philippines?
105
IPER will continue to pursue political party reforms in various ways and in different
venues. After all, it believes, of all political reforms, political party reforms will
decisively address the various ills of the political syste, including personalistic politics,
patronage politics, the politics of “guns, goons, and gold,” and elitist politics.
LIBERAL PARTY
1. What does the party think of the current condition of the political
party system of the Philippines?
In theory, political parties serve as a means to carry out programs and agenda
that reflect the people’s aspirations. They are avenues for citizens to actively
engage in governance, exercising their basic democratic rights, breathing life
to the phrase “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
But while there are mechanisms that enumerate the process and
requirements for registration with the Comelec, lacking are those that
encourage and strengthen the institution of political parties. Political parties in
the Philippines are also largely based on personality rather than on principles
and ideologies.Right now, political parties, particularly ruling political parties, are
moresignificant to politicians, and less to citizens.
106
participate and have a voice in the discussions and processes of the party.
Our online recruitment platform has generated a lot of new members among
regular folk (in contrast to politicians), including young people. They are now
engaged politically, in various issues facing them and the country.
5. Can you enlighten us the political party system reform initiatives this
political party has proposed for a better political party system? What are
the outcomes of these initiatives?
A party stalwart, Sen. Franklin Drilon, has filed Senate Bill 226, or an Act
Strengthening the Political Party System, which intends to institutionalize and
strengthen political parties as pillars of the country’s democratic system
through instituting reforms in campaign financing for transparency; providing
equal opportunity to all political parties; promoting party loyalty, discipline, and
adherence to ideological principles; instituting measures to make political
parties viable instruments of development and good governance.
However the said bill is still pending in the Senate Committee on Electoral
Reforms and People’s Participation.
6. What part of the political party system in the Philippines does the
institution strive to change or reform?
Please see answers on Question 5.
7. Among all the efforts you have made in pursuit of a stronger political
party system in the Philippines what action of this institution made a
bigger impact and influence than others in reaching the objective of
strengthening political parties?
Also please see answers on Question 5
107
BUDGET PLANNING
Printing Co
sts
Subtotal: P1000.00
Transportation Fees
Subtotal: P500.00
Total: P1500.00
108
BIBLIOGRAPHY
No Author
Electoral System, Parties and Bureaucracy: The Missing Links in the Charter Change
Debate. (2006).Senate Economic Planning Office
Jackson III, J., Bigiloo, N., & Green, J. (1992-2004). The State of the Party Elites:
National Convention Delegates.
Political Institutions and Governance. (2002). In World Development Report 2002 (pp.
99-116).
Books
Brillantes, A. B., Jr., & Fernandez, M. T. (2011). Restoring Trust and Building Integrity
in Government: Issues and Concerns in the Philippines and Areas for Reform (2nd ed.,
Vol. 12). International Public Management Review.
Lande, C.H. (1965). Politics in the Philippines (East Asian Series). Kansas: East Asian
Studies, University of Kansas.
Co, E., Tigno, J., Lao, M.E., & Sayo, M., (2005). Philippine Democracy Assessment
(Free and Fair Elections and the Democratic Role of Political Parties. Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung
Periodical Articles
Agenda on Political and Electoral Reforms For Candidates and Political Parties of the
Upcoming 2010 Elections. (2010). Citizen Reform Agenda 2010: Political and Electoral
Reforms. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://ateneo.edu/sites/default/files/political
and electoral_final.pdf.
Montinola, G.R. (1999). Politicians, Parties,and the Persistence of Weak States: Lessons
from the Philippines. 30(4): 739-774.
Rocamora, J. (2004). Party Building and Local Governance in the Philippines. 3: 51-68.
109
Electronic Publications
Abueva, J. V. (2003). Why Reform Our Political Parties and Electoral System—A
Primer. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
https://joseabueva.blogspot.com/2006/05/why-reform-our-political-parties-and.html
Aceron, J., Teehankee, J., Encinas-Franco, J., & Leonillo, G. (2009). Reforming the
riedrich
Philippine Political Party System: Ideas and Initiatives, debates and dynamics. F
Ebert Stiftung
Aceron, J., & Leonillo, G. (2009). Perspectives of the Reform – Minded on the Political
Party Reform Legislation. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)
Boddy-Evans, A. (2017, November 2). The Complete Story Behind Powerful Political
Institutions. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
https://www.thoughtco.com/political-institutions-44026
Butler, R.L. Party Leadership in the Republican House. Rowan University. Retrieved
February 23, 2018, from uakron.edu
Casiple, M. (2008). Clarifying political party reform. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
https://moncasiple.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/clarifying-political-party-reform/.
Cutting Edge Global Public Innovations Conference. (2013, October 3). Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung (FES). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
http://www.fes.org.ph/events/cutting-edge-global-public-innovations-conference/
Hofmeister, W., & Grabow, K. (2011). Political Parties: Functions and Organization in
Democratic Societies. Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
Kuhonta, E.M. The Institutional Imperative in Reforming the Philippine’s Political Party
etrieved February 23, 2018, from academia.edu
System. R
Rocamora, J. (1998). Philippine Political Parties, Electoral System and Political Reform.
Retrieved February 23, 2018, from http://www.philsol.nl/
Lande, C.H. (1965). Leaders, Factions and Parties: The Structure of Philippine Politics.
Southeast Asia Studies, Yale University
110
ast Asian Series, Reprint
Lande, C.H. (1967). The Philippine Political Party System. E
No. 5
Manikas, P. M., & Thornton, L. L. (2003). Political Parties in Asia. Retrieved March 29,
2018, from https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/1681_asia_polparties_050404_0.pdf
Other Projects. (2017, June 07). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
https://cyanpilipinas.com/projectsandactivities/other-projects/
Shift to federalism discussed in the second day of 15th CES Conference. (2016,
November). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from
http://www.cesboard.gov.ph/anniv2016/art10.html
111