House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III is pushing for a legislative overhaul of the party-list system to ensure it truly serves marginalized sectors, civic advocacy groups, and regional communities in the House of Representatives.
Dy emphasized that the system was originally designed to provide a political voice to underrepresented Filipinos who are traditionally left out of mainstream politics.
“The party-list system was created to open the doors of Congress to Filipinos and communities whose voices are not always heard in traditional politics,” Dy said.
“Sa pagdaan ng mga taon, naging malinaw sa atin ang mga kahinaang naglihis sa party-list system mula sa orihinal nitong layunin. Sa pamamagitan ng panukalang ito, nais nating ibalik ang sistema sa tunay nitong hangarin—ang maging daan para marinig at makalahok sa pamamahala ang mga sektor na matagal nang nasa laylayan,” the House leader said.
To fix existing flaws, Dy, alongside several fellow lawmakers, filed the New Party-List System bill.
The proposed legislation restructures the system into three distinct categories: sectoral representation for the marginalized, advocacy representation for civic and public policy groups, and regional representation for specific geographic and ethno-linguistic communities.
A key feature of the bill is the Genuine Representation Requirement and Verification Process, which forces organizations to prove their legitimate connection to the groups they claim to represent.
“Layunin nating tiyakin na ang mga kinatawan ay tunay na nagmumula, nakikibahagi, at may malalim na ugnayan sa mga komunidad at sektor na kanilang nirerepresenta,” he said.
Furthermore, the measure requires party-list groups to maintain continuous public service initiatives and submit regular activity reports to track their community engagement.
This bill is part of a larger push by the House of Representatives to enhance democratic trust and encourage public involvement in governance.
“Kapag mas matibay ang ugnayan ng mga party-list organizations sa kanilang mga sektor at komunidad, mas magiging makabuluhan ang kanilang representasyon at mas magiging matatag ang ating demokrasya,” he added.
The New Party-List System bill is co-authored by members of the Party-List Coalition Foundation, Inc. (PCFI), including representatives Jose Teves Jr. (TGP), Jude Acidre (Tingog), Raymond Democrito Mendoza (TUCP), Terry Ridon (Bicol Saro), Brian Poe (FPJ Panday Bayanihan), Marcelo Libanan (4Ps), and JC Abalos.