EduAKSyon among preferred party-list groups

EDUAKSYON, a party-list that promotes educational reform, emerged as one of the preferred choices in the 2025 midterm elections, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed. The survey, conducted from Dec. 12 to 18, placed EduAKSyon in the 20th spot among 156 party-lists gunning for a seat in the House of Representatives in the 2025 elections. EduAKSyon advocates the reduction of the standard four-year college curriculum to three years in a bid to streamline education and make it more accessible and efficient for Filipino students. The party-list's first nominee is Michael Alexander Ang, second nominee is Kristjan Vincent Gargantiel and third nominee is Dr. Aldrin Darilag. Ang earlier said that EduAKSyon believed that a change will produce graduates who are just as prepared as their four-year counterparts but were able to enter the workforce more quickly, reducing both financial strains on families and student debt. "Education should not be a burden but a pathway to opportunity," Ang said. "We need to make sure that our students are equipped with the necessary skills to compete in the global job market, and we believe that shortening the curriculum is one way to achieve this." For the 2025 midterm polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier said that at least 63 party-list seats are up for grabs. Under the party-list law, groups that get at least 2 percent of votes are guaranteed one seat. Party-list representatives shall constitute 20 percent of the total number of the members of the House of Representatives. The remaining unoccupied seats would be allocated to other party-list groups according to their ranking, and each group would only have one representative. Based on the SWS survey, only eight of the 156 party-list groups received more than 2 percent of the votes among the respondents. Pagtibayin at Palaguin ang Pangkabuhayang Pilipino (4Ps) topped the ranking with 13.51 percent, followed by ACT-CIS with 5.63 percent, Senior Citizens with 4.62 percent and Duterte Youth with 4.14 percent. Completing the top eight were Ako Bicol party-list with 3.56 percent, Tingog party-list with 2.86 percent, TGP party-list with 2.48 percent and Uswag Ilonggo party-list with 2.20 percent. The latest survey showed that 4Ps party-list is poised to gain three guaranteed seats in the House of Representatives by obtaining at least 6 percent of votes cast for party-lists. ACT-CIS, Senior Citizens and Duterte Youth are on track to gain two guaranteed seats by obtaining 4 percent of the votes cast for party-lists. Meanwhile, Ako Bicol, Tingog, TGP and Uswag Ilonggo are in position to gain one guaranteed seat by obtaining 2 percent of the votes cast. The 4Ps party-list is the first party-list group that got the coveted first spot in the ballot for the 2025 national and local elections. Currently, 4Ps party-list has two seats in the House of Representatives, with their top nominee, Marcelino Libanan, currently sitting as the minority leader. Of the top eight party-lists in the latest SWS survey, representatives of four party-list groups are part of the current House leadership: ACT-CIS, Ako Bicol, Tingog and TGP party-lists. ACT-CIS party-list currently has three seats in the House of Representatives with Rep. Erwin Tulfo sitting as deputy majority leader. The incumbent representatives of Ako Bicol party-list are Rep. Elizaldy Co, who currently heads the House Appropriations Committee, or the panel in charge of the national budget, and Assistant Majority Leader Raul Angelo. In sixth place is Tingog party-list, whose incumbent representatives are Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez — the wife of Speaker Martin Romualdez and chairman of the House Committee on Accounts — or the panel in charge of the chamber's budget — and Assistant Majority Leader Jude Acidre. TGP party-list, which ranked seventh in the SWS survey, is currently represented in the House by Deputy Majority Leader Bong Teves. The survey, commissioned by Stratbase Consultancy, was conducted by asking 2,097 registered voters ages 18 and above the question: "If elections were to take place today, which party-list would you most probably vote [for]?" The respondents were given a list of 156 party-list names from the Comelec, and they gave their answers orally. The sampling error margins are ±2.1 percent for national percentages, ±5.3 percent for Metro Manila, ±3.0 percent for Balance Luzon and ±5.2 percent each for the Visayas and Mindanao.