Group pushes for banning political turncoatism

Pro-democracy group Participate, a consortium of academicians and election stakeholders, on Monday called for banning political turncoatism a year before and a year after the elections.

Professor Julio Teehankee, Participate’s chief, made the push as part of the presentation of the group's proposed political and electoral reforms during the Moving Forward: A Post-2023 National Election Summit discussion of other key political and electoral reforms forum held in Manila.

Participate’s anti-political turncoatism initiative, which is provided under its legislation on Political Party Development, adopts what is provided under proposed House Bill 0488 which states that any member of the party wanting to change political party affiliation after being elected on that party’s ticket should resign from his elective position and seek a fresh mandate from the electorate.

“Thirty two percent of all members of the House post-EDSA [1986 People Power Revolution] have switched parties. We have the highest percentage of party switching not only in the Asia Pacific region but in the whole world. That is why political parties here are not policy-based, because it is so easy to switch parties,” Teehankee said.

He then cited the case of the allies of the late President Benigno Aquino III who jumped ship to PDP-Laban just a day after the quick count showed then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte winning by a landslide over then administration candidate, former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas.

“We should focus on this one provision. We have to be strict in banning party-switching. You should be able to switch parties only in the second year [of your year in office] when you are elected under that party,” Teehankee said, referring to the same conditions provided under House Bill 0488 authored by former President and House Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Arroyo.

Teehankee, however, said such proposed legislation will only be passed in Congress if the proposed Political Party Development will also include benefits, such as state subsidies, for political parties which will be strongly policy-based.

“You have to appeal to their benefit. This will benefit them in the process because parties like NUP, NPC and NP, are already satisfied with an average 30 members. That [number] is already a bloc in Congress which can negotiate an ideal [number] from a [party] financing standpoint,” he replied when asked how Congress will be made receptive to such a ban when it appears to be against their interest.

NUP is the National Union Party, while the NPC is the Nationalist People’s Coalition. NP is the Nacionalista Party. All three are national political parties, alongside the two dominant parties in this 19th Congress: the ruling party Lakas-CMD chaired by Vice President Sara Duterte and the PDP-Laban chaired by the Vice President's father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“That is why we have the subsidy as an anti-party switching [tool]. Iyong pera for subsidy, ibibigay sa inyo para i-develop niyo ang party ninyo. Kung nag-party-switch o showed behavior [ang members], babawiin iyan sa inyo, at may interest pa. And if you switch beyond the allowable period, mawawala ang posisyon na ibinigay sa inyo,” Teehankee added.

(State subsidy is given to you to develop your party. If your members went turncoats, the government will take back such subsidy, on top of imposing an interest [rate]. And if you switch parties beyond the allowed period, you will also lose your position as an elected official.)

Teehankee said that as a result of turncoatism outside the allowed period, the political party will also be allowed not only to take back the funding support it gave to its member who turned out to be a turncoat and even impose interest on such amount to be recovered.

“This will avoid situations wherein campaign funds are being given [to party members] only for them to jump ship [on a whim]. We should be looking at incentives and disincentives,” he said. —KG, GMA Integrated News