Political parties are at the core of democracy. By competing in elections, influencing decision-making in government and mobilizing citizens behind certain ideals, political parties offer meaningful choices in governance and an opportunity for political participation.

The role of political parties is to train the future leadership of the country. They represent interests and needs of certain sectors of society, which are then carried by their standard-bearers. This is the case in advanced democracies like the US or Japan where a strong and functioning political party system enables the selection of good leaders and the articulation of a vision.

Unfortunately, there is no genuine party system in the Philippines. The problem is not too many parties, but that there is no real party system to speak of. Philippine politics is dominated not by parties but by personalities. The dominance of personalities over platform has allowed parties to contend in the political arena with vague policies or zero stand on pressing national issues.

Our politics of personalities and the lack of a genuine party system have stunted our progress to political maturity and hindered our economic development as well. At present, whoever has money has the political machinery to win an election. Campaign spending has run amok. As long as we do not have a proper party system in place, the playing field will always be uneven.

As early as the 12th Congress, I have been pushing for the Political Party Development Act. It seeks to transform political parties into public institutions and provide state subsidy to political parties that will adopt an internal code of conduct and agree to public audit of their financial transactions.

This subsidy will go into party building activities not only for electoral campaigns but also for their development programs.

In exchange for financial support, political parties must have a proven track record, keep their membership open, adhere to a strict code of conduct, and maintain transparency in the management of their funds.

The wisdom of the law is proven daily, especially in this highly-political season. It is difficult to effect structural reforms because it is not political parties who call the shots but the whims of a few who have vested interests. Without functioning political parties to build and train future candidates, we will forever be stuck in the cycle of bad politicians, bad politics, and an unprogressive country despite our country’s rich natural endowments and talent.

Email: edgardo_angara@hotmail.com Website: www.edangara.com