Bayan Muna laments party-list system, says fight continues

Bayan Muna party-list on Tuesday said that the country's party-list system has been so corrupted that it has become the playground of billionaires and political dynasties.

In a statement after partial and unofficial election results indicated that it would again miss the cut for a seat in the House of Representatives, the party-list that championed in Congress workers' rights and consumer welfare said it would continue to "fight for the masses."

“The party-list system, once envisioned as a mechanism to give voice to the marginalized, has now been thoroughly corrupted," Bayan Muna said in a statement.

"It has become the playground of the elite, dominated by political dynasties, billionaires, and bureaucrats who exploit government programs like AICS, TUPAD, and AKAP to buy votes and manipulate the outcome of the elections," it added.

"This is a betrayal of the spirit of the party-list law and the very principles of participatory democracy,” Bayan Muna said.

The party-list also adverted to glitches in the automated election system that it said "was used to further marginalize the progressive bloc and deny Bayan Muna a seat it rightfully earned through the people's support.”

Bayan Muna also didn't win any seats in the House in 2022.

The party-list cited the massive red-tagging and disinformation for its loss.

As of 9:31 p.m. of May 13 and based on the partial and unofficial count, Bayan Muna had an underwhelming 160,458 votes in Eleksyon 2025. The number of votes represent 0.39% of the total votes cast in the party-list elections.

Under Republic Act 7491 or the “Party-list System Act”, a group garnering at least 2% of the votes cast in the party-list race gets at least one seat in the House of Representatives. A seat is added if the party-list gets another 2%, capped at three seats.

The law also provides that the Commission on Elections may cancel the registration of a party-list “fails to obtain at least two percentum of the votes cast under the party-list system in the two (2) preceding elections for the constituency in which it has registered.”

Nonetheless, Bayan Muna said that it would still continue its fight to uplift the working class. 

“Despite these setbacks, we remain undeterred. Bayan Muna will never be silenced. Our commitment to serve the Filipino people continues—inside or outside Congress. The struggle for land, wages, rights, and justice cannot be confined within parliamentary walls,” it said. 

“To our supporters and the Filipino masses, we offer only one promise —tuloy ang laban. Bayan Muna will continue to be a voice for the voiceless, a defender of the oppressed, and a staunch advocate of genuine social change,” it added. –NB, GMA Integrated News

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