Militant solons tell Comelec: Scrap 'Panganiban formula'

Militant lawmakers on Tuesday personally delivered a letter to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) stating their "vehement objection" to the so-called Panganiban formula in determining the winners of the party-list race. Ocampo said the use of this formula, or the First Party Rule, was "another attempt towards the same end – the marginalization, if not elimination, of progressive party-list groups in Congress." Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos and Commissioner Florentino Tuason were seen speaking with Ocampo, fellow Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza. The Comelec declared the three reelectionist lawmakers as winners in the party-list polls late Monday afternoon. QTV television's Balitanghali quoted them as saying that they would not take their oaths until all their qualified nominees are proclaimed. The group still hopes to have one more nominee for Gabriela and two from Bayan Muna to be proclaimed, using the previous formula in determining the number of congressional seats a winning party-list group could get. "Nowhere in the Constitution or the law is there a reference to a first party, much less, rewarding the first party. By elevating the stature and benefits for a 'first party' with its corresponding effect of disenfranchising and injuring the other parties, the Rule not only created something that was not there, but also violated the provisions of the Constitution and the law on proportionality and access for the marginalized," Ocampo said. The Panganiban formula, which the Comelec will use to allocate additional seats, is named after retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban who came up with it when he was then an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Under the formula, a group that gets at least 2 percent of party-list votes wins one seat but only the top vote-getter among party-list groups gets the maximum three seats in the House of Representatives. The additional number of seats are computed by dividing each group's total votes by the number of votes received by the "first party," or the top vote-getter in the party-list race. The quotient is then multiplied by the additional number of seats gained by the "first party" beyond the 2 percent minimum. Previously, party-list seats were allocated under the "2-4-6" formula. Then, a group that gets 2 percent of party-list votes wins one seat; a group with 4 percent, two seats; and a group with 6 percent or more, the maximum three seats. - GMANews.TV