THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) backed proposals to scrap the limit on party-list seats in the House of Representatives, noting that the cap undermines representation of marginalized groups.

“It is really unfair that we are putting a cap, when the votes of the people matter and should be based on proportional representation,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia told a Senate hearing on Monday, in mixed English and Filipino.

The Election chief added that Comelec sees no risks in the removal of the seat limit for party-lists, “to a certain extent it will give more weight to the votes of the electorate.”

Party-lists are limited to three seats in the House of Representatives, with parties receiving at least 2% of the total votes entitled to one seat and an additional seat for every 2% vote cast.

Mr. Garcia said that Comelec is also backing a proposal to implicate party-lists in the disqualification of their nominees.

“If the nominee is disqualified, the party-list should also be implicated, because that means… they allowed someone who is not qualified to run,” he added.

He said that this would allow parties to screen out their potential nominees for potential conflicts of interest.

The Senate Electoral Reforms panel conducted a public hearing on proposed measures to amend the country’s party-list system including the removal of the three-seat limit for party-lists, amid alleged failure to represent marginalized sectors.

The Philippine party-list system was created by the 1987 Constitution, with its framers seeing the system as allowing underrepresented sectors to participate in the lawmaking process. — Adrian H. Halili

A MEASURE resetting the first parliamentary election for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in early September hurdled the Senate on Monday.

Through a unanimous vote, 21 senators approved on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 1823, which sets the first BARMM elections to Sept. 2026 from March 2026.

“Hopefully, this measure is passed on third reading in the House, so that the people of BARMM can also be confident that elections will be held and that there would no longer be postponements,” Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, who sponsored the measure, told senators.

The BARMM polls were initially set for Oct. 2025 but were deferred to March 2026 after the Supreme Court declared two Bangsamoro parliamentary redistricting laws unconstitutional.

In January, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) deferred the elections anew due to operational hurdles and the belated approval of Parliament Bill No. 415 on Jan. 13, which establishes parliamentary districts in BARMM.

Under the Senate bill, the term of office for elected BARMM officials will start on Oct. 30, 2026, at noon and will end on June 11, 2031.

Subsequent elections will be held on the second Monday of May every three years starting in 2031, simultaneous with national and local elections. Elected officials will assume office on the 30^th day following their elections.

The Comelec is ordered to draft implementing rules and regulations for the conduct of the polls, as well as enforce and administer national and local laws.

Republic Act No. 11054, the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which was signed in 2019, mandates parliamentary elections every three years. Since then, elections have faced multiple delays due to legal, operational, and political hurdles.

The September poll is seen as a critical step in consolidating the region’s autonomy, enabling residents to elect representatives to a fully functioning regional Parliament for the first time. — Adrian H. Halili

THE Senate on Monday concurred with the ratification of a treaty between Manila and London, which would allow imprisoned Filipinos in the United Kingdom to serve their sentences in the Philippines.

During a Plenary session, 20 senators voted in favor of Senate Resolution No. 315, which concurs with the ratification of the treaty on the transfer of sentenced persons.

“This treaty will allow Filipinos convicted of crimes in the UK to serve their remaining sentence in the Philippines and facilitate their effective rehabilitation as they will be close to their families and friends, and be with other inmates with whom they share the same language and culture,” Senator Erwin T. Tulfo, who sponsored the resolution, said.

Under the agreement, a prisoner can be transferred back to their home country upon the consent of both governments, and the consent of the prisoner before a transfer can take place.

The treaty states that a sentencing country must authorize the transfer, while the receiving country must agree to enforce the judgment. The prisoner, on the other hand, must provide informed, voluntary consent after being made aware of the transfer conditions.

“The human rights and dignity of each person remain, whether they are inside or outside the prison. Under our Constitution, the government’s protection of a Filipino does not end just because he or she has committed a mistake in another country,” the senator added. — Adrian H. Halili