As Congress prepares for the resumption of its regular session on Monday, Sen. Edgardo J. Angara pressed both the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass his proposed Political Party Development Act designed to strengthen the party system into a medium for “political development and democratization rather than simply feeding politicized motives.”

Angara made the call following recent shifts and impending mergers among major political parties for the 2010 presidential elections Angara is president of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) formed in the latter part of the Aquino administration which is losing members to other parties.

The former Senate president proposes to install a legal mechanism that would allow better governance of political parties and their activities, members, and funding.

The key is “true leadership selection and political maturity,’’ he said.

Under the Angara bill, party members who seek to change party affiliation after being elected under that party’s ticket should first resign from his elective position and seek a fresh mandate from the electorate.

The bill also bans the appointment of party defectors to public office until the end of the term of the current set of elected officials.

“A strong political party system is imperative for genuine political development and democratization rather than simply feeding politicized motives. We have to enact laws to prevent the system of ward politics and political chameleons that we have today,’’ Angara said.

Political parties are known in the Philippines to be used only as vehicles to win elections.

Most political aspirants change parties for convenience rather than conviction manifesting the lack of ideological
commitment to their parties.

Angara expressed concerned that candidates’ “abrupt secession from their parties may pose detrimental effects on the party itself and its goals for and after the elections, spurring division and deflecting a solid vote turnout rather than forming a unified coalition.”

The bill also seeks to create a Party Development Fund to subsidize national political parties for their operational expenses and party building activities; not only for electoral campaign but also for their developmental programs. It encourages raising funds through Party Foundation to develop self-sufficiency and lessen their dependence on contributions from illegal sources.

“The country’s party system is confined to personalities rather than issues and platforms. There had been many attempts to reform this orientation to veer away from traditional politics, but they failed because of the lack a governing system,” said Angara.