Press Release
March 14, 2016

MIRIAM: NO REAL POLITICAL PARTIES

Presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday lamented that the absence of real political parties in the Philippines erodes democratic institutions and turns the elections into a personality contest.

"We will invest in political institutions. It has been thirty years since we restored democracy in the Philippines, yet political institutions remain shaky. There exist no stable political parties in the real sense of the word," the senator said.

She added that this results in a situation where the public votes solely on the basis of popularity instead of track record and where officials campaign not on platforms but on personal issues.

"The Filipino people cannot hold accountable a political party for the mistakes of its candidates because it disappears as soon as the offending elected official leave office," Santiago said.

In the May elections, five political parties have fielded candidates for the top position in government. Santiago is running under her People's Reform Party, the same vehicle that was mobilized for her 1992 presidential bid.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, meanwhile, is the standard bearer of the United Nationalist Alliance; former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, of the administration's Liberal Party; and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.

Sen. Grace Poe is running as an independent, but has reportedly been endorsed by the Nationalist People's Coalition. Several other political parties are participating in the May polls, but have not fielded presidential bets.

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