JANUARY- JUNE 2 00 3 VOL VII NO 1 SPECIAL ISSUE Transforming the Philippine Political Landscape The Party-List Path to a Broadened Philippine Democracy RAMON C CASIPLE Official Development Assistance to the Philippines: Can it be Reformed? EDUARDO C TADEM Legitimizing the Illegitimate: Disregarding the Rule of Law in Estrada v. Desierto and Estrada v. Macapagal-Arroyo SABRINA M QUERUBIN ANA RHIA T MUHI C HARISSE F GONZALES-0 LALlA I , P-JJBLIC t'OLICY ................................................................ EDITORIAL BOARD Francisco N emenzo Jr, Chairman; Emil Q Javier; Jose Abu eva; Edgardo J Angara; Emmanuel V Soriano; Onofre D Corpuz; Raul V Fabella; Maria Carmen C Jimenez; Jose Y Dalisay Jr Issue Editor: JORGE V TIGNO Managing Editor : MARIA CARMEN C JIMENEZ Research Assistants: FILIPINAS B TANYANG SHIELA ML BONETE Design : ARIEL G MANUEL Public Policy (ISSN 0118-8526) is published semi-annually by the University of the Philippines. 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The to read is preferred and welcomed. Authors may editors are responsible for the selection and submit tables, graphs, maps, illustrations and other acceptance of all articles. They are not, however, artwork with the manuscript. responsible for the views expressed in any article All manuscripts must be original. Authors published in this journal; the responsibility is that should be prepared to rewrite their articles in of the author. PUBLIC POLICY CONTENTS Editor's Note The Party-List Path to a Broadened Philippine Democracy Ramon C. Caszple 1 Official Development Assistance to the Philippines: can it be Reformed? Eduardo C. Tadem 23 Legitimizing the Illegitimate: Disregarding the Rule of Law in Estrada v. Desierto and Estrada v. Macapagai-Arroyo Sabrina M. Querubin} Ana Rhia T Muhi and Charisse F Gonzales-Olalia 63 EDITOR'S NOTE: Looking at the 'Reform Agenda, This issue of Public Policy is concerned with three peculiar facets of political reform germane to the Philippine system. While not exhaustive, these political reform aspects can certainly constitute the key elements of an alternative "reform agenda" for the country. The first kind of reform has broadly to do with the issue of instituting electoral reforms. Mindful of the faults inherent in the country's electoral system and pro­ cesses, Ramon Casiple's "The Party-List Path to a Broadened Philippine Democ­ racy" examines a specific and crucial aspect of the country's electoral political troubles and the effort to address this. Casiple tries to look at the historical under­ pinnings that brought about the emergence of a more grassroots-oriented party-list electoral politics and how the country's traditional elitist democracy and experi­ ence under the Marcos dictatorship prompted the framers of the 1987 Constitu­ tion to include provisions mandating the election of party-list representatives in Congress. However, it was only in 1995 that Congress actually enacted the law that implements the party-list provisions of the 1987 Charter. Casiple's contribution discusses the significance not only of the provisions of the Party List Law of 1995, otherwise known as Republic Act (RA) 7941, but also the dynamics of the implementation of this enabling measure in the 1998 and 2001 elections. While the results may not be encouraging (there were only 14 party-list representatives in the 1998 elections, a number which was down to seven by 2001) and the obstacles confronting party-list electoral participants are certainly daunt­ ing, Casiple sees the "potential to build the political capabilities of grassroots­ based part~es [that] can pave the way to broaden and strengthen democracy in the country" in the future (p. 17). The article looks at the need to reform the country's party-list system from two perspectives - as an alternative to the prevailing elitist democratic political system and as a means to strengthen the positions of those coming from the mar­ gins and the largely disenfranchised grassroots. Although he does so only at the end of the piece, Casiple raises the question of instituting a party-list system within a parliamentary political framework. Indeed, he argues that "a definitive gover- nance framework for the party-list system ... is not the presidential system" (p. 19) -an intriguing subject that invites critique and reexamination. The second type of political reform discussed in this issue concerns the country's economic development agenda-setting institutional mechanisms. Eduardo Tadem's "Official Development Assistance to the Philippines: Can it be Reformed?" ex­ plores the immediate issues attendant to the granting of such ODAs "in light of state policy pronouncements and announced shifts in donor policies" from 1986 onwards (p. 26). Tadem contends that current policies in the Philippines in regard to ODA generation and utilization point to "disturbing characteristics ... despite policy pronouncements ... on shifting towards more social and human develop­ ment-oriented activities" (p. 55). Indeed, he argues for the need for government to adopt "serious, meaningful and substantive mechanisms and structures for more participative and transparent ODA processes", (p. 57) globalization notwithstanding. This would certainly re­ quire a major overhauling of the country's development agenda setting institutions and process, particularly the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), a subject that very few national leaders since Marcos have had the cour­ age or wisdom to tinker with. The contribution by Sabrina Querubin, et al. entitled "Legitimizing the Ille­ gitimate: Disregarding the Rule of Law in Estrada v. Disierto and Estrada v. Macapagal-Arroyo" journeys into a third aspect of the political reform agenda by reviewing the Supreme Court in its decision to legally acknowledge the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Inasmuch as the contribution puts into questionable light the integrity of the High Court, it does underscore the need for the country to reform its judicial system. The Querubin, et al. contribution discusses the case of former President Joseph Estrada and his bid to regain the presidency of theRe­ public after the January 2001 uprising. Coming in the wake of the publicly perceived intransigence of the Senate impeachment trial of Estrada on charges of corruption and other violations of the Constitution, the so-called EDSA II that led to the ouster of another president from office is described in the article as being "barely bloodless and definitely not a revolution" (p. 66). Apart from indicating the propensity of the Supreme Court to disregard the rule of law in the cases cited, the authors contend that "perhaps the ultimate casualty ... is the judicial system's credibility and the confidence and assurance it once provided to the ordinary Filipino" (p. 111). Surprisingly, the article does not provide a way out of this politico-juridical problematic. It is hoped that with these contributions, new and contending insights will be gained on how the Philippine political landscape can be transformed, the extent of the transformation to be made, and in what direction. The Party-List Path to a Broadened Philippine Democracy RAMON C. CASIPLE Introduction The party-list system of congressional representation mandated by the 1987 Constitution and enabled by Republic Act (RA) 7941 also known as the Party-List Law, was implemented in the 1998 and 2001 elections. These exercises attracted 123 and 163 participating organizations, respectively. However, the 1998 elections only produced 14 party-list representatives from 13 organizations while the 2001 1 elections produced only seven representatives from five organizations. These re­ sults contrast starkly with the 52 seats available in these elections. Do the meager results mean the failure of the party-list system? What do these imply for the prospects to broaden people's participation in Philippine democracy? What are the possible solutions to make the party-list system a democratic suc­ cess? This paper explores the historical context of the Philippine party-list system. It attempts to delineate its weaknesses and strengths from this historical perspective and proposes measures for further developing its potentials for broadening democ- casiple racy in the Philippines. It proceeds in this analysis from an optimistic appreciation of the democratic space spawned by the events of EDSA 1986 and has since then survived the countless challenges of crisis situations, both economic and political, as well as the continuing pressures from the militarizing Right and the armed Left rebellions.