27-05-2025
Comelec seeks amendments to party-list system law
The representatives of 52 party-lists pose for a photo during the proclamation by the Commission on Elections in Manila on Monday, May 19, 2025. In front and center are the three nominees of top vote-getter Akbayan, all of whom will enter the House of Representatives. DANNY PATA
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Tuesday it is hoping that Republic Act 7941 or the 'Party-List System Act' will be soon amended to clear the computation of available seats to be allotted to party-lists during elections.
'Sabi nga namin, sana dumating na sa punto na magkaroon na ng amendments sa Republic Act 7941. Nang sa gayon hindi na ang Korte Suprema ang gumagawa ng formula kung hindi ang mismong batas na ang magsasabi papaano ba talaga ang distribution,' said Comelec spokesperson Rex Laudiangco in Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing.
(As we said, I hope it comes to the point where there will be amendments to Republic Act 7941. So that it will no longer be the Supreme Court that makes the formula but the law itself that will dictate how the distribution should be.)
The Comelec official cited the basis for the computation of the seats for winning party-list groups was the BANAT vs. Comelec ruling, or the so-called 'Carpio formula.'
Under Section 5, Article VI of the Constitution and the Party-List System Act, party-list representatives shall constitute 20% of the total members of the House including those under the party-list, giving them 63 seats.
If party-list groups with 2% and higher votes are not able to fill up all the 63 seats, the next-in-line groups with the closest number of votes to 2% will get to secure one seat each until all party-list seats are filled.
'Una, ang tinitignan natin yung nakakamit ng 2% ng total partylist votes…hindi lang yung botong tinanggap…Sinong nakakuha ng 2%, automatic may guaranteed seats na sila…Sa unang latag po niyan, nakita natin na mayroong kaagad na anim na nakakuha,' said Laudiangco.
(First, we are looking at those who achieved 2% of the total party-list votes…not just the votes received…Whoever achieved 2%, they automatically have guaranteed seats…In the first round, we saw that there were immediately six who achieved the threshold.)
'Dahil hindi nga po napunuan yung ating 63 pa, ginamit natin yung 'Carpio formula' kung saan ang basis niyan ay natitirang number of seats, yung total number of party-list votes, nagkaroon ng second round of distribution,' he added. 'Nung nakita natin na mayroong pang kulang, mayroon pang natitira, sa BANAT vs. Comelec, kailangan mapuno ang lahat ng ito. So nagkaroon ng third round ng computation.'
(Since the 63 seats were not filled, we used the 'Carpio formula' where the basis is the remaining number of seats was the total number of partylist votes, and there was a second round of distribution,' he added. 'When we saw that there were still seats to be filled missing, we cited the BANAT vs. Comelec. So there was a third round of computation.)
The Comelec was supposed to proclaim 54 groups, but it suspended the proclamation of Duterte Youth and Bagong Henerasyon party-lists, which won three and one seats in the House of Representatives, respectively.
Akbayan Party-list, which received the most number of votes in the party-list race, secured three seats in the House of Representatives in the upcoming 20th Congress, along with Tingog Party-list.
But the Comelec clarified that the suspension of the proclamation of the two party-list groups does not nullify their victory in the polls. —RF, GMA Integrated News
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