While some lawmakers have expressed strong reservations about the so-called anti-balimbing bill apending in Congress, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile expressed support over the passage of the measure.
He, however,  wanted a clearer definition of the matter of political turncoats so as to prevent arbitrary sanctions for politicians who switch parties mainly due to “principle.”
Also, Enrile said they will have to scrutinize the proposal to provide state subsidy to political parties during elections and see if the government could afford to do so, given the limited revenues collected yearly.
“I think it’s good to study it first, because there are provisions that need scrutiny like the subsidy. First we must determine if that can be funded,” Enrile said in an interview over dzBB.
I’m sure money can be allocated for that, based on the proportional strength of political parties,” he added.
The bill being pushed by Sen. Edgardo Angara seeking reforms of political parties in the country, Enrile said, could be justifiable sometimes if the decision of the person leaving his party could be beneficial to the interest of the country.
“Sometimes it may be justifiable to leave a party and be independent or join another group that one thinks can serve the country better. I want that studied further, so we don’t end up with too drastic provisions,” he said.
Angara and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada co-authored the Political Party Development Act (Senate Bill 3214) to institutionalize a strong party system and promote transparency in campaign financing.
The measure will establish a party development fund to support development of accredited political parties and campaign expenditures.  It sanctions political turncoats.
Enrile said he found Angara’s bill a wise move, since other countries, notably the United States and Germany, subsidized their political parties. This was meant to undercut the excuse of candidates to pay back huge favors to political donors, thus reducing the possibility of corruption once they are in power.
 If there are subsidies, he explained, “those candidates would not rely on donations from drug lords, criminal syndicates, smugglers and those who damage the nation. With the subsidy, they have no reason to be corrupt and if they do that, they must be accountable to the people.”
The system also helps level the playing field, as it helps check if a candidate was overspending, he added.
He conceded that donors like big businessmen or vested-interest groups seek favors in exchange for donating to a particular candidate, adding that he himself had received contributions in the past. But, he stressed, he drew the line when the payback sought is injurious to national interest.
“I also have gotten help from friends because campaigns are expensive,” he explained.
Angara called for deep reforms in the country’s political party system in the light of renewed trust in public officials following the impeachment trial Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Angara, who has served as Senator for over two decades, said, “unfortunately our political parties are based on moneyed personalities — the people who can finance campaigns and help pay for the party. It’s hard to find a group that has a shared ideology or platform.”
He cited “the mass exodus of congressmen, governors, mayors and other candidates towards the winning or ruling party because the largesse and patronage are there. But then this process begins again after six years, when a new administration is elected. That I think is at the heart why we remain poor, while our neighbors prosper.”
The measure has been pending for three Congresses.
“It is good that the current administration has put an emphasis on transparency and accountability, but we’ve still got to get our political party system right. Otherwise our policymaking will remain hostage to vested interests that finance campaigns and marred by the political flip-flopping that underpins our boom-and-bust economic and social development cycle,” Angara said.