Paul D. Hutchcroft, ed., Strong Patronage, Weak Parties: The Case for Electoral System Redesign in the Philippines

Abstract

WHY ARE POLITICAL SCIENTISTS COMMONLY SO CRITICAL OF PHILIPPINE POLITICAL PARTIES? The prevailing electoral system in the Philippines—as provided by the 1987 Constitution— inadvertently guarantees the perpetuation of weak and incoherent political parties. As long as parties are weak and lacking in coherence, the primary focus of political contention is much more likely to be on patronage and pork than on policies and programs. As political reformers seek to address these fundamental problems of the Philippine polity, there is no better reform option than a wellconstructed set of changes to the electoral system. Electoral systems are the formulas used to convert votes to seats. One formula, very familiar in the Philippines, is the plurality system: whoever wins the most votes (i.e., a plurality) obtains a seat. Most members of the House of Representatives are elected locally from single-member districts while Senators are elected nationally from a multiple-member district. Other common formulas, used elsewhere in the world, include varieties of proportional representation. There are of course many other types of systems, and it is also common for countries to adopt mixed or hybrid arrangements (combining, e.g., elements of plurality and proportional systems).