The partylist system for the first few elections has been largely unnoticed by the country’s political and business elites. This had led to it being largely dominated by progressive and sectoral groups during the first few elections. However, many of the political elites and dynasties have realized the resources that can be extracted from the partylist system and have now come to dominate the system. A series of Supreme Court decisions diluting the spirit of the partylist system has also exacerbated this trend. From an important electoral reform to strengthen the voices of the marginalized inside Congress, the partylist system has sadly been hijacked and converted into a backdoor entry for political dynasts, traditional politicians, and big business.

The Partylist Watch or PLWatch is a citizen’s initiative to expose the vested interests, powerbrokers, and political operators that are behind many of the partylist organizations running this 2022. This means intensive research into the political dynasties and business interests that are backing these groups using publicly available information.

PLWatch will empower voters by ensuring they have extensive information on the partylist they are choosing. This will hopefully have the intended effect of persuading voters to discern between the fake and the real partylist organizations. There are real partylist organizations which have grassroots/sectoral membership and representing genuine policy advocacies.