Module 3: POLITICAL PARTIES & ELECTIONS

• Electoral systems 

  •  formulas used to convert votes to seats. 
• Plurality system: 

  • whoever wins the most votes (i.e., a plurality) obtains a seat. Most members of the House of Representatives are elected locally from single-member districts while Senators are elected nationally from a multiple-member district. 
  • Other common formulas, used elsewhere in the world, include varieties of proportional representation. There are of course many other types of systems, and it is also common for countries to adopt mixed or hybrid arrangements (combining, e.g., elements of plurality and proportional systems). 
•  The term “electoral system” 

  • refers to other specific arrangements that shape political outcomes, including how executives and vice-executives are elected and how many seats are elected per district.
• WHAT HAS CAUSED THE WEAKNESS OF POLITICAL PARTIES? Multi-member plurality system

  • used to elect 14,000 out of the 18,000 officeholders in the Philippines (for the Senate as well as councils at the provincial, city, and municipal levels). This system guarantees a high level of intra-party competition—which is a sure way of building
• WHAT HAS CAUSED THE WEAKNESS OF POLITICAL PARTIES? 

  President and vice president (as well as governors/vice governors and mayors/vice mayors) 

  • elected separately rather than as part of a joint ticket. This separation is very rare internationally, as it opens up the possibility (frequently realized) that the two top officials of the land (as well as the province, city, and municipality) will come from different political parties. Once again, this fosters a candidate-centric rather than a party-centric polity. (Hutchcroft, Chapter One) 
• WHAT HAS CAUSED THE WEAKNESS OF POLITICAL PARTIES? Party List System (PLS)

  • Its three-seat ceiling not only violates the principle of proportionality but also leads to the proliferation of small and ineffectual parties. This further contributes to the weakness and incoherence of the Philippine party system. (Teehankee, Chapter Nine) 
• PRESIDENTS  - 18 PARTIES 

  Across five national elections (1992 to 2016), there were a staggering 18 parties or coalitions of parties that put up candidates for Presidency (plus three candidates running as independents). (Casiple, Chapter Seven) 
• SENATE - 8 PARTIES 

  Nineteen out of the current 24 members of the Upper House are dispersed across eight parties. (Ravanilla, Chapter Ten)

  
  

  MAYORS - 101 PARTIES

  In just three election years from 2001, candidates for city or town mayor ran under 202 party banners. Those elected represent a remarkable 101 parties. (Ravanilla, Chapter Ten) 
• HOUSE  - 25 PARTY-LIST ORGANIZATIONS 

  Between 1998 and 2016, an average of 104 party-list organizations participated in the party list elections. The average number of winning parties exceeded 25. (Teehankee, Chapter Nine) Far from being stable, programmatic entities, [Philippine political parties have] proved to be not much more than convenient vehicles of patronage that can be set up, merged with others, split, resurrected, regurgitated, reconstituted, renamed, repackaged, recycled, or flushed down the toilet at any time. - NATHAN QUIMPO
• • A survey of democracies reveals that choices across these three realms are mixed and matched around the world in many diverse ways.

  1. The first decision is the representational structures of the government, with three major options: presidentialism, parliamentarism, and semipresidentialism. 
  2. The second decision is between a unitary system and a federal system, with huge variation within each category. 
  3. The third is the type(s) of the electoral system to be adopted. The book highlights the enormous potential of well-designed electoral system redesign to change the way that politics is done. 
• WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS ON DEMOCRACY?

  The quality of democracy can be undermined by the weakness of political parties and the lack of political competition. These conditions put poor and marginalized citizens at a disadvantage. A well-designed electoral reform can strengthen political parties and begin a shift towards a greater focus on policies and programs while reducing the relative importance of patronage and pork
• BUT AREN’T PHILIPPINE POLITICAL PARTIES REALLY JUST A PRODUCT OF PHILIPPINE POLITICAL CULTURE?

  The weakness of Philippine political parties does not derive from some supposed national cultural barriers. Rather, institutional deficiencies bear the bulk of the blame for the many historical shortcomings of Philippine democracy. By changing the underlying incentives, through electoral system redesign, we can anticipate changes in how politics is practiced.
• Nacionalista Party 

  Founded in 1907 

  Founded by former presidents Manuel L. Quezon & Sergio Osmena 

  President- Manny Villar 

  Chairman- Cynthia Villar 
•  Liberal Party 

  • Founded in 1946 
  • Founded by former presidents Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino and former senator Jose Avelino 
  • President- Edcel Lagman 
  • Chairperson- Francis Pangilinan 
•  Kilusang Bagong Lipunan 

  • Umbrella Coalition in 1978 and recognized as a party in 1986 
  • Founded by former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. 
  • President – Efren “Rambo”Rafanan 
  • Chairman Emerita- Imelda Marcos
• PDP-Laban (Partido Demokratiko Pilipino) 

  • LABAN was founded in 1978 and formed by former senator Benigno Aquino Jr.
  • PDP was founded in 1982 and formed by former senator Aquilino Pimentel - The two parties merged in 1983 
  • President- Jose Alvarez 
  • Chairman- Rodrigo Duterte 
• Ballot 

  • It is a system that allows citizens to exercise their right to vote and choose their leaders. The use of ballots ensures transparency, fairness, and accuracy in the electoral process. 
• 1997: Republic Act 8436 authorized the use of an Automated Election System. 

  Republic Act 8436 provided the legal framework for the implementation of automated elections in the Philippines. It outlined the specifications and requirements for the AES, including the use of electronic voting machines, precinct count optical scan (PCOS) technology, and other related systems and equipment.