Ensuring a Voice for the Marginalized20.04.10
Aired on April 20, 2010
Narration by Baben Lumapas
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ENSURING A VOICE FOR THE MARGINALIZED
Does our political system ensure that all Filipino citizens have an equal voice in the process? This is a key question to consider as we prepare to elect new government officials.
Why does equal representation matter? This principle is grounded in Scripture. The Apostle Paul suggests that government has three basic purposes: To restrain evil; to judge and punish evil; and to promote human well being. According to Paul Woolley(1), human well-being refers to righteousness or justice, with a special concern for the poor and disadvantaged. In both the Old and the New Testament, Government has an obligation to support the marginalized and the outcast. Government, therefore, can (and should) create the necessary conditions whereby human well being is possible.
The Philippine party list system was conceived to create these conditions by providing representation to marginalized groups such as the poor, common laborers, indigenous peoples, and women. This is one of the democratizing intents of the post-Marcos Constitution. Unfortunately it now appears that the party list system is being abused and in fact, used to undermine the marginalized.
There seem to be attempts by some of those in power to co-opt the system. Recently, responsible citizens have decried how several partly list nominees and organizations are allegedly associated with government officials. And many of these nominees do not seem to have the marginalized in their hearts. They appear to only be concerned about gaining congressional seats or circumventing the three-term limit for legislators.
COMELEC should foresee how the great number of party list organizations could cause confusion on Election Day. To date, there are 187, and about half of them are said to be bogus, pretending to be marginalized sectors.
COMELEC should act with immediacy in fully disclosing the nominees and should devise a system for speedy action to challenges. In the same light, the basis for deciding who are qualified to represent marginalized sectors should be clearly spelled out. Those who are not should be immediately purged from the list. Furthermore, COMELEC should not allow those widely suspected of human rights violations, plunder, graft and corruption and other immoral or illegal acts to run or be nominated into the party list.
On the contrary, COMELEC should welcome and encourage those groups that have a long and credible record of articulating the plight of the marginalized.
If COMELEC does not decisively arrest the take over of the party list system, the public, especially the marginalized, may lose interest in future elections. If the masses lose their voice, then the system will simply become another instrument to further entrench the interest of the power-hungry elite.
So, we citizens, concerned about ensuring a voice for everyone – including the marginalized – must take a stand with our vote. Carefully and prayerfully consider the facts and vote for those candidates and those parties that really stand for the well-being of all citizens.
(1) Paul Woolley is Director of Theos, a UK-based theology think tank. (http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk)
Portions of this script were written by Jun Manalo, Professor at Asian Theological Seminary and UP College of Social Work and Community Development. He is also an ISACC Fellow on Development.
