By SHERRIE ANN TORRES
VERA Files
(Second of three parts)
IF you think party-list representatives are as poor as their marginalized constituents, better think again.
Many party-list representatives are in fact even richer than some district congressmen.
Of the 21 out of the 55 party-list representatives who submitted their Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Networth for 2008, 18 are millionaires.
Topping the list are Buhay Rep. Ma. Carissa Coscolluela with a net worth of P124.2 million as of Dec. 31, 2008; Agap Rep. Nicanor Briones, P43.6 million; and Yacap Rep. Carol Jayne Lopez, P39.8 million.
At the bottom of the list are Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano, P55,501.72, and Bayan Muna Representatives Teodoro Casino, P118,900 and Satur Ocampo, P895,145.51.
Majority of the party-list representatives have spouses or relatives engaged in businesses or in politics. Others are successful professionals.
The presence of wealthy and well-con
nected individuals sitting as party-list representatives in Congress is proof that the party list has not only become a backdoor to the House of Representatives. It has also become a way of accommodating political allies and relatives, and avoiding district-level disputes, said Akbayan lawyer Ibarra Gutierrez.
“It has become a way of avoiding political clashes at the local level,” Gutierrez said, adding that some local candidates have entered into political arrangements where, rather than fight it out, a rival resorts to the party-list route and is promised political support.
Gutierrez cites the case of the second district of Pampanga where Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo ceded his congressional seat to his mother, President Gloria Arroyo. Rather than run against her, Mikey became the No. 1 nominee of Ang Galing Pinoy, the party-list group of security guards and tricycle drivers.
Another Arroyo example is Ang Kasangga Rep. Ma Lourdes Arroyo, sister of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. Her entry into Congress came not as a district representative but as a party-list nominee supposedly representing vendors. Lourdes Arroyo is a businesswoman who obtained her business administration degree at the Notre Dame de Namur in California, USA.
ARC Rep. Narciso Santiago II’s main job exposure was as member of the Legislative Staff of his senator-mom, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a staunch defender of President Arroyo.
Until now, criticisms about retired Army general Jovito Palparan’s entry to Congress as “Ang Bantay” party-list group representative refuse to die down. Palparan represents the village watchers or barangay tanod and security guards.
First-termer Raymond Democrito Mendoza of TUCP is the son of TUCP founder Democrito Mendoza, one of the known allies of President Arroyo. Raymond is husband of incumbent North Cotabato Rep. Emmylou Talino-Mendoza.
Abono Rep. Francisco Emmanuel Ortega is the nephew of La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, another ally of the administration.
Yacap Rep. Haron Omar’s wife Hashima is a municipal councilor in Lanao del Norte.
ABS Rep. Catalina Leonen-Pizarro is the wife of Court of Appeals Associate Justice Normandie Pizarro.
AT Rep. Daryl Grace Abayon is the wife of former congressman Harlin Abayon.
Buhay Rep. Ma. Carissa Coscolluela is the daughter of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Director Ricardo Coscolluela who was accused last by Architect Felino Palafox of taking grease money from a questionable project at Subic Bay. Coscolluela is former chief of staff of Sen. Richard Gordon.
Alagad Rep. Rodante Marcoleta who represents the urban poor is a lawyer by profession. He said most of his clients before were indigents and he served them “pro bono.”
Veteran journalists who used to cover Malacanang, the Senate and the House of Representatives describe Rep. Noel of An Waray as the former “point man” of Jimmy Policarpio, the Presidential Legislative Liaison Officer during the Estrada administration.
Rep. Akmad Tomawis’s ALIF, on the other hand, was among those favored party-list groups mentioned by then Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in the “Hello, Garci” scandal.
Only a handful of party-list representatives can be regarded as part of the sector that they embody.
Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano was a prominent peasant leader since the 1980s before he ran for Congress.
Ocampo and Casiňo of Bayan Muna and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza are known leaders of their groups. Luzviminda Ilagan has been a long-time leader of Gabriela in Davao.
Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros has been part of the NGO sector after leaving her media career. Another group nominee, Rep. Walden Bello, has been an advocate for social reforms while teaching at the University of the Philippines.
(To be concluded)
(The author is a television reporter who submitted a longer version of this article as her master’s project at the Ateneo de Manila University’s Asian Center for Journalism. Her adviser was VERA Files trustee Luz Rimban.)
