AND WE’RE back to regular programming after Sunday’s gathering of social climbers, wannabe activists, pseudo-communists, and paid hooligans—an event that generated media mileage for the usual suspects. Meanwhile, corruption in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) remains unaddressed, with no significant solutions in sight.
The party-list system was borne out of a noble concept: to give representation to the marginalized sectors of Philippine society in the House of Representatives. But somewhere along the way, it was hijacked, politicized, and weaponized. Today, it is no longer what it was intended to be. Instead, it has become a shortcut for politicians to enter Congress and for enemies of the state to exploit the democratic process—using government funds and resources to undermine the very government that sustains them.
The infiltration of CPP-NPA-NDF front organizations—most notably the so-called Makabayan bloc—into Congress not only threatens national security but also mocks the intelligence of the Filipino people. These leftist party-lists are adept at exploiting loopholes in the electoral system. Their sitting representatives, many of them card-bearing CPP-NPA-NDF urban operatives, gain access to government funding and publicity at the taxpayers’ expense. These funds are funneled to their central committee to keep a dying insurgency on life support, manipulate the system, hijack congressional proceedings like impeachment hearings, and grandstand for free media coverage. In short: they are undermining the government using the government’s own resources.
Now, the Makabayan bloc is pushing to repeal the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 through House Bill 1272. They claim it is being weaponized against activists, journalists, and dissenters. On the other hand, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has filed Senate Bill No. 201 to amend the Party-List System Act, disqualifying groups linked to violence or designated terrorist organizations from entering Congress.
The Makabayan bloc wants the public to believe the Anti-Terrorism Act undermines democracy. What they conveniently fail to mention is that no one has ever been convicted under this law for simply protesting or speaking out. What the law does provide is a set of tools for the State to respond to evolving terrorist threats—with built-in safeguards, court oversight, and constitutional compliance, as affirmed by the Supreme Court.
This law is not about silencing dissent. It is about preventing bombings, assassinations, and the recruitment of minors into armed violence. It is about protecting Lumad students from being turned into child soldiers, shielding communities from being exploited as logistical corridors, and safeguarding the nation’s economic programs from being hijacked under the guise of “revolutionary taxation.”
In this context, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has thrown its support behind the Ata-Manobo Tribal Council of Elders and the Indigenous Political Structure of Talaingod. Both groups denounced the continued romanticization of the so-called “Talaingod 13,” who were convicted in 2018 for violating child protection laws involving Lumad children.
The 13 individuals—including former Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo and former ACT Teachers Representative France Castro—were found guilty of violating Section 10(a), Article VI of Republic Act No. 7610, the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.
Meanwhile, Senator dela Rosa’s proposal reminds us of the original purpose of the party-list system: to give voice to the voiceless. It was never meant to provide cover for those who refuse to denounce the atrocities of the CPP-NPA-NDF—or worse, those who quietly enable them.
Senate Bill No. 201 essentially states that party-lists committing violence or unlawful acts against children, youth, or other disadvantaged sectors, as well as those directly or indirectly supporting efforts to overthrow the government, should be barred from elections. The bill seeks to amend Section 6 of Republic Act 7941, or the Party-List System Act, by expanding the grounds for refusing or canceling the registration of any group seeking recognition as a party-list.
Unsurprisingly, the NTF-ELCAC strongly supports the proposed amendments while condemning Makabayan bloc’s House Bill 1272.
Indeed, it is high time we purge the party-list system./PN
