Press Release
July 26, 2018

House power struggle, reports of party-switching, call for stronger political party system, says Drilon

Citing the recent power struggle in the House of Representatives as 'a sign of lack of any decent political party system in our country,' Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon pushed for the passage of Senate Bill 226 seeking to strengthen political party system in the country.

Drilon's statement was issued amidst reports that members of the ruling PDP-Laban will bolt the party to join the regional party organized by the daughter of the President.

SB 226 or the Political Party System Act, which Drilon authored, is among the bills pending in Congress, which aim to promote party loyalty, discipline and adherence to ideological principles, platforms, and programs.

"The episode in the House of Representative necessitates and justifies the passage of a political party system act, "Drilon said at the Kapihan sa Senado on Thursday.

"We should pass legislation which will govern the political party in our system. Look at that, you know in a more mature democracy with a more mature political party system, that would not happen," Drilon said.

Drilon also said that politicians switching sides every now and then "does not surprise him anymore."

"I am not worried about that because after 2019 there will be again a lot of changing parties. You know, this political party system is so weak that the report politicians bolting from one party to another is nothing new to me anymore," Drilon said.

"This only shows the lack of ideological commitment of the members of the party because they choose parties based on the rise and fall of the tide of opportunity," Drilon added.

Drilon explained that the bill primarily penalizes political turncoats by disallowing them to run under any political party for any elective position in the next succeeding election after they changed party affiliations.

"Political parties in our country are normally used as political vehicles to win an election. Our political party system is centered on personalities rather than ideology and political platform," Drilon said in the bill's explanatory note.

The minority leader also believed that what happened in the House of Representatives is "simply local politics translated and transformed into the national scene."

"It is my view that what prompted the change is more of local politics than a policy difference," said Drilon, doubting claims that the President was not aware of the reorganization.

"Such a major political move, the congressmen assumed, could only be done with the clearance of the President," Drilon said.

"If the reports were true, I don't think Mayor Sarah Duterte would work on the change of the leadership without, at the very least, the knowledge of the President. That is the reality that we face. That is not only true today, that is also true for the past administrations and Congresses," he added.

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