Advocates of voter education claim that a lack of knowledge and not a lack of interest among the public about the party-list election system has resulted in millions of voters failing to vote for party-list in the 2022 polls.
Lawyer Erin Tañada, who is also a labor and human rights advocate, said during a visit to Palawan that voters might not have noticed the next page of the ballot at the back and the limit on the number of party-list groups that should be chosen.
Out of 85 percent of Filipinos who voted in the 2022 elections, only 65 percent voted for the party-list, resulting in a 20 million gap, he added.
“I think it’s not the lack of interest but the lack of knowledge on how to vote for the party-list election—You are talking about 20 million votes na pwedeng makuha ng kahit anong party-list kung maganda ang awareness, maganda ang paglalatag ng plataporma sa mga tao at pwede manalo,” he said.
The party list could fill the seats allocated in the House of Representatives depending on the number of votes garnered and the ranking in the elections.
According to Section 11 of RA No. 7491, also known as the Party-List System Act, each party, organization, and coalition that receives at least 1 percent of the total votes cast for the party-list system is eligible for one seat.
Those who received more than 2 percent of the votes will receive additional seats based on their total number of votes. The maximum number of seats allocated per party list should not exceed the maximum of three.
Teddy Baguilat Jr., who also belongs to a party-list, believes that groups are “partly at fault” for their failure to further elaborate the platforms and programs for the sectors they represent in the House of Representatives.
“In fact, that is a reason why ang botante, mas interesado sila kay mayor, kay councilor, kasi kahit papaano ay nadidinig nila, nakakausap nila. Ang party-list, hindi. I think that is what we need to do,” he said.
Tañada and Baguilat are scheduled to visit some schools in the city of Puerto Princesa to conduct a voter education campaign about party-list groups. (RG/ PIA MIMAROPA-Palawan)
