OPINION
Ed Javier
Vindicated: COMELEC Finally Admits Ayuda Teleserye Party-lists Were Wrong
In our radio program Executive Session on DZRH Radio today with our co-hosts Justice Secretary Boying Remulla, Cong. Jonathan dela Cruz, and Pao Capino, we talked about the party-list system and its current challenges.
Sadly, what we feared has come true.
No less than Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman George Erwin Garcia has proven us right.
In a statement recently, Chairman Garcia said party-list groups with names sounding like “ayuda” or “teleserye” would no longer be allowed to register in the next elections.
It’s a welcome soundbite, but a painfully belated one. Let us not forget that this warning wasn’t new.
We raised it. Civil society groups like Kontra Daya raised it. Even officials in government, like those at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), raised it.
We warned the COMELEC before registration closed in 2024. We wrote about it. We sounded the alarm.
However, Garcia and his commission did nothing.
Now, after the May 2025 midterm elections, we’re told by the same COMELEC Chairman that these misleading party-list names will no longer be allowed.
That’s not reform. That’s regret.
What makes this worse is the inconsistency of Chairman Garcia’s logic.
He now says they can’t do anything about party-lists like 4Ps or TUPAD because they were allowed to register “before his time.”
But that doesn’t hold up. During Garcia’s tenure, COMELEC still allowed party-list groups called “Batang Quiapo” and “FPJ Panday” to register, names clearly lifted from popular television shows.
Garcia can’t cherry-pick accountability. He can't claim powerlessness over the past while actively repeating the same mistakes in the present.
Let’s be clear: these ayuda and teleserye-sounding party-list groups are not innocent, creative branding exercises.
They are deliberate attempts to confuse and mislead the public.
They borrow the names, initials, and emotional pull of government programs, like the DSWD’s 4Ps or GSIS-SSS Pensyonado social pension funds, to trick voters into thinking they are officially sanctioned or affiliated with state institutions.
Worse, these groups won. 4Ps secured two seats. SSS-GSIS Pensyonado and FPJ got in.
These groups are heading to Congress with unearned credibility and voter trust.
Let’s not pretend this was unforeseeable. It was foreseen, forewarned, and ignored.
The burden lies squarely on Chairman Garcia and his fellow commissioners. This isn’t about inability. It’s about unwillingness.
COMELEC could have rejected these misleading names. It could have acted motu proprio under the powers granted by the Constitution and election laws.
It could have invoked the Omnibus Election Code, which explicitly prohibits acts that mislead or deceive voters.
It could have done what it just did this week, hold proclamations of winning party-lists until clarity and fairness were ensured.
If COMELEC can withhold their proclamation, why not do the same for these clearly misleading groups?
Instead, it stood down. It allowed itself to be used as a rubber stamp for deception.
Now that the votes are in and the seats secured, it offers the empty consolation that "this won’t happen next time."
Sorry, but that’s not good enough.
The public deserves accountability. Who reviewed and approved these party-list names? What criteria were used?
Why was no action taken despite formal objections and public outrage? These questions demand answers, not in the next election, but now.
If COMELEC truly wants to regain public trust, it must stop acting as if it is powerless. It is not.
It must start taking its mandate to protect electoral integrity seriously.
Because right now, the message being sent is dangerous: if you can manipulate voter perception cleverly enough, if you slap a familiar government program name or a soap opera title on your group, you can win a seat in Congress and COMELEC will not only allow it, it will protect it.
This cannot continue.
That is fundamentally unfair to real sectoral representatives and genuine organizations who followed the rules and ran on honest platforms.
Secretary Boying rightly pointed out that COMELEC should be proactive in keeping the spirit and intention of the party-list system, which has been bastardized by personal interests and family dynasties.
He emphasized that the commission could do more to protect the system from being exploited for political gain.
Chairman Garcia now says COMELEC will prohibit these names in the next elections. But the damage has already been done.
These groups are already poised to influence national legislation and access public funds, all because COMELEC turned a blind eye when it mattered.
In fairness, we acknowledge and congratulate the COMELEC for successfully conducting a smooth, speedy, and credible midterm election.
But we cannot and should not forgive Chairman Garcia and his commissioners for their failure to protect the spirit of the party-list system.
The party-list system was designed to give representation to marginalized and underrepresented sectors.
It was never meant to be a playground for political opportunists who co-opt the language of poverty and social services to win votes.
What happened in 2025 is not just electoral manipulation, it’s moral bankruptcy.
Now, Garcia’s statement reads more like a confession than a commitment. His words vindicate every concern we raised over the past year.
But they also confirm our worst fears: that the COMELEC had the warnings, had the legal tools, had the moral obligation and chose not to act.
Chairman Garcia and his commissioners must act, not with regretful press releases after the fact, but with actual policy, rules, and enforcement that will make sure this never happens again.
The party-list system is broken. But what’s worse is that those entrusted to guard it are too timid, too hesitant, or too complicit to fix it.
Now, after voters have been misled, and after the damage to democratic integrity has been done, the Chairman tells us these kinds of names will be disallowed next time?
Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo?
It’s a saying our elders used when help comes too late to matter.
Regretably, that’s exactly what Chairman Garcia’s statement has become, belated comfort in the face of a betrayal already committed.
Chairman Garcia’s late realization may help future elections, but it does nothing to undo the unfair advantage handed to deceptive party-lists in 2025.
The Commission’s failure to act, despite clear warnings, legal basis, and mounting public pressure, has allowed the party-list system to be further hijacked and degraded.
We do not seek comfort in being right. We seek accountability, reform, and above all, integrity in our elections.
For now, we have none of those, but we all know who to blame.
Sadly, what we feared has come true.
No less than Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman George Erwin Garcia has proven us right.
In a statement recently, Chairman Garcia said party-list groups with names sounding like “ayuda” or “teleserye” would no longer be allowed to register in the next elections.
It’s a welcome soundbite, but a painfully belated one. Let us not forget that this warning wasn’t new.
We raised it. Civil society groups like Kontra Daya raised it. Even officials in government, like those at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), raised it.
We warned the COMELEC before registration closed in 2024. We wrote about it. We sounded the alarm.
However, Garcia and his commission did nothing.
Now, after the May 2025 midterm elections, we’re told by the same COMELEC Chairman that these misleading party-list names will no longer be allowed.
That’s not reform. That’s regret.
What makes this worse is the inconsistency of Chairman Garcia’s logic.
He now says they can’t do anything about party-lists like 4Ps or TUPAD because they were allowed to register “before his time.”
But that doesn’t hold up. During Garcia’s tenure, COMELEC still allowed party-list groups called “Batang Quiapo” and “FPJ Panday” to register, names clearly lifted from popular television shows.
Garcia can’t cherry-pick accountability. He can't claim powerlessness over the past while actively repeating the same mistakes in the present.
Let’s be clear: these ayuda and teleserye-sounding party-list groups are not innocent, creative branding exercises.
They are deliberate attempts to confuse and mislead the public.
They borrow the names, initials, and emotional pull of government programs, like the DSWD’s 4Ps or GSIS-SSS Pensyonado social pension funds, to trick voters into thinking they are officially sanctioned or affiliated with state institutions.
Worse, these groups won. 4Ps secured two seats. SSS-GSIS Pensyonado and FPJ got in.
These groups are heading to Congress with unearned credibility and voter trust.
Let’s not pretend this was unforeseeable. It was foreseen, forewarned, and ignored.
The burden lies squarely on Chairman Garcia and his fellow commissioners. This isn’t about inability. It’s about unwillingness.
COMELEC could have rejected these misleading names. It could have acted motu proprio under the powers granted by the Constitution and election laws.
It could have invoked the Omnibus Election Code, which explicitly prohibits acts that mislead or deceive voters.
It could have done what it just did this week, hold proclamations of winning party-lists until clarity and fairness were ensured.
If COMELEC can withhold their proclamation, why not do the same for these clearly misleading groups?
Instead, it stood down. It allowed itself to be used as a rubber stamp for deception.
Now that the votes are in and the seats secured, it offers the empty consolation that "this won’t happen next time."
Sorry, but that’s not good enough.
The public deserves accountability. Who reviewed and approved these party-list names? What criteria were used?
Why was no action taken despite formal objections and public outrage? These questions demand answers, not in the next election, but now.
If COMELEC truly wants to regain public trust, it must stop acting as if it is powerless. It is not.
It must start taking its mandate to protect electoral integrity seriously.
Because right now, the message being sent is dangerous: if you can manipulate voter perception cleverly enough, if you slap a familiar government program name or a soap opera title on your group, you can win a seat in Congress and COMELEC will not only allow it, it will protect it.
This cannot continue.
That is fundamentally unfair to real sectoral representatives and genuine organizations who followed the rules and ran on honest platforms.
Secretary Boying rightly pointed out that COMELEC should be proactive in keeping the spirit and intention of the party-list system, which has been bastardized by personal interests and family dynasties.
He emphasized that the commission could do more to protect the system from being exploited for political gain.
Chairman Garcia now says COMELEC will prohibit these names in the next elections. But the damage has already been done.
These groups are already poised to influence national legislation and access public funds, all because COMELEC turned a blind eye when it mattered.
In fairness, we acknowledge and congratulate the COMELEC for successfully conducting a smooth, speedy, and credible midterm election.
But we cannot and should not forgive Chairman Garcia and his commissioners for their failure to protect the spirit of the party-list system.
The party-list system was designed to give representation to marginalized and underrepresented sectors.
It was never meant to be a playground for political opportunists who co-opt the language of poverty and social services to win votes.
What happened in 2025 is not just electoral manipulation, it’s moral bankruptcy.
Now, Garcia’s statement reads more like a confession than a commitment. His words vindicate every concern we raised over the past year.
But they also confirm our worst fears: that the COMELEC had the warnings, had the legal tools, had the moral obligation and chose not to act.
Chairman Garcia and his commissioners must act, not with regretful press releases after the fact, but with actual policy, rules, and enforcement that will make sure this never happens again.
The party-list system is broken. But what’s worse is that those entrusted to guard it are too timid, too hesitant, or too complicit to fix it.
Now, after voters have been misled, and after the damage to democratic integrity has been done, the Chairman tells us these kinds of names will be disallowed next time?
Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo?
It’s a saying our elders used when help comes too late to matter.
Regretably, that’s exactly what Chairman Garcia’s statement has become, belated comfort in the face of a betrayal already committed.
Chairman Garcia’s late realization may help future elections, but it does nothing to undo the unfair advantage handed to deceptive party-lists in 2025.
The Commission’s failure to act, despite clear warnings, legal basis, and mounting public pressure, has allowed the party-list system to be further hijacked and degraded.
We do not seek comfort in being right. We seek accountability, reform, and above all, integrity in our elections.
For now, we have none of those, but we all know who to blame.
May 24, 2025
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