MANILA, Philippines – Only a small percentage of the Filipino voters know the purpose of the party list system, a recent Pulse Asia survey showed.

According to the survey firm's survey done in January, 7 out of 10 Filipinos are unaware of the party list system, which was created to serve society's marginalized sectors.

Worse, the survey showed that not even close to half of all qualified party lists will be voted for.

There are 187 groups included in this year's party list elections. All the names of the candidates for these party lists are included in the official ballot for this year's polls--the main reason why the ballot is said to be the longest in history.

Yet, what each one of them does and why they are important, voter Jo Capili has no idea.

Capili said that she has no inkling of the accomplishments of almost all the party list groups listed on the ballot.

Too many

For political analyst Gladstone Cuarteros, the problem is that there are just too many choices.

Cuarteros, a political science professor at the De La Salle University, said that the groups should be representing marginalized sectors, but it seems that many groups now feel that they represent “marginalized” sectors, thus bloating the number of groups in the ballot.

Cuarteros said party-list groups should work harder to make their advocacies known.

That's exactly what Jay Camacho, national coordinator for Action League for Indigenous Masses (ALIM), said that members of his party list group are working hard to do. Camacho admitted ALIM still has a long way to go to promote itself.

Those who topped the survey are Bayan Muna, 1-Aangat Pilipino, AnakPawis, Gabriela, and Anakbayan.

Cuarteros suggested that the Commission on Elections educate the public on the party list system, and make sure all those in the long list deserve to be there. Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News