Courtesy: DAP
A LAWMAKER called on Congress to pass a package of sweeping electoral reform bills meant to restore public trust, reduce the influence of money in politics, and protect genuine representation in the country’s democratic system.
“Democracy cannot survive if elections favor only the rich, political clans, and powerful interests while ordinary Filipinos are pushed aside,” said Cong. Nathaniel “Atty. Nat” Oducado of the 1Tahanan Partylist. “But our problem goes beyond dynasties; it is also the influence of dark, dirty money exploiting cracks in our electoral system.”
House Bill No. 8789 or the “Campaign Finance Transparency and Modernization Act” updates outdated campaign spending limits, imposes contribution caps on donors, requires real-time disclosure of campaign funds, regulates online political advertisements, and penalizes fake accounts, bot networks, and disinformation campaigns in elections.
“The current election finance system is badly outdated, and it allows wealthy donors to dominate campaigns while ordinary candidates struggle to compete fairly,” Oducado said. “What is worse is that big money can fund campaigns anonymously and without limits.”
The bill addresses a problem identified by the Philippine News Agency in 2023, which reported that existing campaign expenditure limits set as low as ₱3 to ₱10 per voter have lost around 80 percent of their value because of inflation, while digital advertising and modern campaign costs have sharply increased.
House Bill No. 8789 also requires COMELEC to maintain a publicly accessible online database of campaign contributions and expenditures that can be searched by candidate, donor, amount, and date.
“Filipinos deserve to know who funds politicians because hidden money destroys public trust and weakens accountability,” Oducado said.
House Bill No. 8782 or the “Political Party Development and Critical Funding Act” creates a regulated public funding system for political parties to support policy research, political education, grassroots organizing, and internal party development instead of relying heavily on private financiers.
“Political parties should stand for principles and programs instead of serving as temporary vehicles for wealthy personalities during elections,” Oducado said.
The bill responds to findings cited from Perludem’s 2021 Southeast Asian political finance study showing that a small group of wealthy donors accounts for more than half of declared political contributions in the Philippines, reinforcing elite dominance and weakening institutional political parties.
House Bill No. 8782 also imposes transparency, auditing, and accountability rules on political parties receiving public support while discouraging opportunistic party switching tied to public funding eligibility.
“We need stronger political parties that can develop competent leaders and long-term programs instead of recycling patronage politics every election cycle,” Oducado said.
House Bill No. 8790 or the “Genuine Party-List Representation and Nomination Act” strengthens rules on party-list registration, requires public hearings before accreditation, tightens nominee qualifications, and limits substitutions to cases of death or incapacity.
“The party-list system was created for marginalized sectors and not as a backdoor for political dynasties, contractors, and entrenched elites,” Oducado said.
The bill addresses growing concerns over abuse of the party-list system, which the measure states has allowed groups and nominees with political dynasties, vested economic interests, and conflicts of interest to secure seats despite not genuinely representing marginalized sectors.
House Bill No. 8790 also disqualifies party-list nominees related within the third degree to incumbent elected officials and prohibits government contractors from becoming nominees.
“These reforms will help restore fairness, credibility, and genuine representation in our elections because democracy should belong to the people and not just to those with money and influence,” Oducado said.
