Reform and Abolition: The Philippine Party-list System 201 Genuine elections can only take place in a society that has ridden itself of the dominating power of political families. They can only happen in a new society where the social and political structures provide equal opportunities for participative governance toward enhancing the quality of life. Until these conditions are met, the country will continue to suffer the pernicious effects of dynastic rule and be forever consigned in the bottom pit of Asia's development index. Until the country undergoes a sweeping social change, elections will remain to be monopolized by political families with no substantial impact on the people's lives. Not having served as an accountability mechanism, Philippine elections are exclusivist enabling political families to persist through generations while non-dynastic but otherwise qualied aspirants are shut out. _________________ END NOTES 1 Karol Baguilat, Party-list Profile of the 15th Congress (2014, unpublished), Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG). 2 See Bobby M. Tuazon (ed.), 12 Years of the Party-List System 1998-2010: Marginalizing People's Representa on (2011), Quezon City: CenPEG Publica ons. 3 Celine Socrates, Electoral Reform and the Party-list System (2015, unpublished manuscript), Center for People Empowerment in Governance, QC: CenPEG Publica ons. 4 Ibid. 5 See, for instance, The CenPEG Report: On the May 2010 Automated Elec ons in the Philippines (December 2010) QC: CenPEG Publica ons; and Bobby Tuazon (ed.) Was Your Vote Counted? Unveiling the myths about Philippine automated elec ons (April 2013), published by AES Watch. 6 Socrates 2015, 37. 7 Calimbahin, Cleo. 2010. “Exceeding (Low) Expecta ons: Autonomy, Bureaucra c Integrity, and Capacity in the 2010 Elec ons.” Philippine Poli cal Science Journal (32:55): 103-126. Cited in Socrates (CenPEG 2015). 8 Socrates, CenPEG 2015, 90-94. 9 Rivera, Temario C., Poli cal Families and Philippine Poli cs (2015, unpublished manuscript), CenPEG. 10 Sidel, John T., “Bossism and Democracy in the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia: Towards an Alterna ve Framework for the Study of 'Local Strongmen' in Harris et al., eds., 2004, 5. 11 Vergara, Luis Garrido, “Elites, poli cal elites and social change in modern socie es,” Revista de Sociologia, No. 28 (2013) 31-49. 12 Sidel 2004.