MANILA — The needed electoral reforms in the country including the much-needed maturity of Filipino voters still needs a long time before it can be finally realized, a watchdog of the country’s  electoral exercises and a political scientist said Monday.

Interviewed by ABS-CBN News, Atty. Helen Maureen Graido of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) assessed the 2025 elections would-be scenario as one that is loaded with so many tasks, which include the voters’ need to be familiar in using the new vote counting machine.

Even the essence of having political parties she said, would still take a long while for people to understand.

“Mukhang matagal pa talaga, kasi sa totoo lang, marami sa atin.. wala yung konsepto ng party, ang kilala lang yung konti, wala yung bakit sya tumatakbo... sometimes you can only  see political party in the poster,” Graido said.

(I feel that it will take time. Many of us do not have the real concept of a party. More of who is running and not why is he running.)

For Graido, an ideal election is seeing political parties clearly presenting to the people their platform of government.

The parties’ presentation of their platform should be seconded by the group’s endorsement of candidates who carry their proposed program to the electorate.

And in an ideal world, candidates who would win in the elections must fulfill their party’s platform or ideology the moment they start serving the public Graido said.

Unfortunately, she said political parties do not follow this kind of principle, while voters do not look at platforms, but on who are the popular candidates.

“Yung mga ideologies medyo naiisantabi na sya, kasi nandun pa rin tayo sa very populist yung magiging leader natin... andun pa rin tayo sa, ‘eto si Mr X. Galing sya sa ganitong eskwelahan, ganito tinapos nya. Or, sikat sya. Nagpapamigay sya ng ganito, galante sya,” Graido pointed out.

(Ideologies are now being set aside because we (voters) prefer populist leaders. Example Mr X, what school did he/she graduate, what course. Or he is famour, he’s giving this and that.)

In the Philippines, political parties are here to support the candidates’ needed machinery.

Provincial political parties affiliated with national parties are the ones helping a candidate reach the grassroots in the provinces through campaigns.

Local candidates meantime can take advantage of their national political party’s resources in return.

Atty. Michael Henry Yusingco, Senior Research Fellow of the Ateneo Policy Center, sees political parties as “necessary for a democracy to function as it is designed to function.”

But here in the Philippines, he said political parties are mere “shells of political dynasties.”

“They are not the ones referred to us as real, proper political parties. Mga ano lang yan, mga shell companies ika nga. So, yung mga sinasabi nating platforms, mga programa na supposed-to-be, yun ang kanilang kine-carry, those are just empty promises, or just pro-forma slogans, pro-forma platforms. Hindi naman talaga sya yung political party na sinasabi na kailangan natin,” Yusingco, in a separate interview with ABS-CBN News pointed out.

(They are mere shell companies. The platforms they are presenting are just empty promises.)

Asked if he sees today’s political party’s existence as for mere compliance in the filing of Certificate of Candidacy, Yusingco said: “Now, literally parties are just names, and labels. Wala na rin silang legal functions in a way.”

Regardless of how beautiful the promises that the public would hear from political parties and their candidates, nothing beneficial to the public will happen, Yusingco said.

“If the same personalities are involved, if the same political parties are still dominating the elections, yung mga ‘tradpols’ (traditional politicians) as we say, wala tayong aasahang. Pagbabago,” Yusingco stressed.

(We should not expect much if we will still have traditional politicians.)

“Tell me who our friends are and I will tell you who you are... kailangan nating makita kung sino ang kaalyado mo.. kung sino yung mga kaalyado mong pulitiko, that says a lot about you,” Yusingco added.

(We must see who are the allies of these candidates.)

POLITICAL ALLIANCES AND COALITIONS

While political alliances and coalitions help candidates reach far-flung areas and regions during the campaign period, it cannot be said that such is beneficial to Fillipino voters, according to Graido.

“Kahit papano, may benefit pa rin naman sa mga botante, kasi kung may maayos na kandidato na walang kilala sa Mindanao o sa Visayas na gustong magpakilala, nagiging tulay itong mga koalisyon na ito para makita nila kung ano kapasidad ng kandidatong ito. Para lang makilala, para dumami yung options,” Graido explained.

(Somehow the benefit is voters from Mindanao or Visayas can personally see and hear a candidate. And that can happen through the help of coalition.)

But such drum-beating does not include political platforms, she said.

“Makikita nyo naman ang programa ng isang campaign rally, it’s purely for entertainment. It’s not anymore a discussion of project. It’s not anymore a discussion of vision or kung anuman ang paniniwala ng isang kandidato... makikita nyo, sayawan, kantahan. Very spectacular,” Graido noted.

(You can see the program during the campaign rally which is purely entertainment. Not anymore a discussion of project... only singing and dancing.)

Adding: “Which should be a discussion on, ano po ba ang plano nyo for the next 2, 3, 5, 10, 20 years?”

“Kung babalik tayo sa komposisyon ng isang political party... we should not be talking with just one term. The fact that it is a party, it is a ideology that should sustain... yung kampanya ng isang political party... nagba-bangko tayo sa tayo hindi doon sa ideology,” she added.

(We should not just talk about one term because the party pushes for an ideology and that part of a political party’s campaign.)

But for Yusingco, political alliances and coalitions which used to somehow help the electorate “streamline their choices” is no longer true.

“Ang nangyayari sa mga alliances ngayon is purely transactional, patronage politics... that doesn’t help us at all. Ang voters dun ay hindi natutulungan. It only helps the dynasties kasi sila yung nagbe-benefit eh,” Yusingco pointed out.

“As far as helping the people, as far as helping the country, hindi ano. Kasi we are always secondary to them. Yung interest natin is always secondary sa kanilang pagi-isip,” he added.

But alliances like UniTeam which is now in the brink of breaking up is only temporary he said.

Over the weekend, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas president and South Cotabato Governor Reynado Tamayo, Jr., said that they are now in talks with 3-4 political parties for a possible alliance in the 2025 midterm elections.

In the 2022 elections, the HNP being led by then candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., forged a “UniTeam Alliance” with Lakas-CMD, Hugpong ng Pagbabago, and Partido ng Masang Pilipino.

During Teleradyo Serbisyo “Ano’ng Ganap?” program interview Sunday, Tamayo stated that among the considerations their considerations is the commonality of the parties when it comes to the advocacy and principles that they are doing.

In the end, the alliance will also likely come up with its list of senatorial candidates, Tamayo said.

Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III who sits as Chairman of the Nationalist People’s Coalition said that their party is also part of the alliance with the President.

The NPC at present has 842 members, which include 5 senators; 38 congressmen; 5 party-list representatives and the rest, local chief executives.

“Presently, our party (NPC) is in alliance with the President. Coalition with PFP will be discussed,” Sotto told ABS-CBN News.

Asked what would be their party’s main criteria to consider a reinking of its alliance with the President’s camp, Sotto said: “Perhaps. To us, it is primordial that our local officials are consulted first.”

REFORMING THE COUNTRY’S ELECTORAL SYSTEM

While crediting the Commission on Elections eyeing of the October 1 to 8 filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) period, as also the given time for political aspirants to either withdraw or file their COC as candidates or substitute, there are bigger issues in the electoral system that should be prioritized by the agency, Graido stressed.

“Mga dates lang yun eh. They can always be very creative when they they want to do, what. They want to do,” she said.

For LENTE, what the Comelec should also prioritize area:

-       Checking the competitiveness of candidates who file their COC
-       Are these candidates participating in the spreading of misinformation and disinformation campaigns
-       Are they getting funds from the government to fuel their own campaign
-       Campaign finance issues (donation and expenses)

“I think you have to look into that more than these dates... there are other ways how these candidates can rally votes in their favor in ways that are actually abusive,” Graido said.

“Substitution is just a one day affair. And even if naman hindi nila nagawa kung sinuman ang gumawa nun... I don’t know kung parang myopic, or parang nagiging panakip-butas na na they are doing something... ang dami pang problema,” she added.

Yusingco also belittled the impact of such reform to be imposed by Comelec Chairman George Garcia.

“It’s addressing a very specific flaw in our electoral system... I’m not sure kung magi-improve ang eleksyon natin by just doing that.. it’s not going to improve our elections dramatically,” Yusingso said.

For Yusingco, what should be prioritized by the Comelec is how we can hold elections in other places like malls, as well as consider voting by mail and via online.