For a small developing nation, a House of Representatives with 250 congressional districts, and a 24-seat Senate, is more than enough! The addition of 15 party-list congressmen to the existing party-list members is superfluous.

A Chamber of nearly 300 congressmen can only lead to greater political instability and waste of money.

First, with due respect to the wisdom of the Supreme Court which rules on Constitutional issues and questions of law, the decision to approve more party-list parties is the result rather than the intention per facts and evidence submitted.

Be that as it may, the fact is that the performance of Congress leaves much to be desired. With both chambers showing increasing unmanageability and discord, adding fuel to the fire by increasing the membership of the Lower House is added aggravation.

With the kind of Congress that we are witnessing and suffering under, the prospects of Constitutional amendments and electoral reforms will inevitably dim and become mired in debates, ideological divide, horse trading, and partisanship. The Philippines becomes a classic example of the “Curse of Sisyphus” in Greek mythology of endlessly rolling a boulder up and down a hill in perpetuity. Thus, if it takes years, and counting, just to promote “Cha-Cha” with the existing numbers, how much more difficult if will be to obtain two-thirds or three-fourths votes of the total from nearly 300 numbers?

Needless to say, revision and amendments of the Constitution, and shift to a parliamentary form of government, is not only overdue and inexorable but also, hopefully, will not require the padlocking of Congress by a Presidential decree. It will probably be the fastest mode of amendment.

Second, the notion that there are many pockets of disadvantaged sectors in society that ought to be represented in Congress is a myth without justification. Congress ends up being represented by leftist militant groups and vested interests rather than the truly laboring class.

Further, had we succeeded in revising the 1987 Constitution, and shifted to a parliamentary form of government, there would have been no need of party-list since parliamentarism promotes greater democratization of political opportunities.

Third, with all the political decadence we see around us, we don’t want anything cathartic to happen to this country.

However, Fidel Castro of Cuba in his biography authored by Ignacio Ramonet, “Fidel Castro, My Life”, the Cuban leader summarized his more than 50 years of rule of Cuba, just 90 miles away from Florida, thus: “The Yankees cannot destroy the revolutionary process because we have an entire nation that’s learned to handle weapons, an entire that despite our errors, has such a high degree of culture, knowledge and awareness that it will never, ever again allow this country to become a colony of America.”

When all is said and done, when push gets to shove there are always other tantalizing, revolutionary, and undemocratic modes of reforming society and amending the Constitution which, hopefully, will never come to pass.

It is a wake-up call for Congress and the Filipino people. You be the judge. (For comments and views, please e-mail: (hectorvillanueva88@yahoo.com.)