EDITORIAL - Time to scrap sectoral representation

The country is being consumed by its own political greed. When the Supreme Court ruled to elevate 32 more party-list representatives to the House of Representatives, it in effect caused the Constitutionally-mandated membership cap of 250 to be breached.

And it is not the fault of the Supreme Court either, since it had to rule on a legal question that was put before it concerning the two percent requirement for the election of all party-list members.

The fault is in the system that was put in place, meaning the Constitution itself. Why ever did we have to have a Constitution that required special sectoral representation that only serves to duplicate applicable representation already in place.

Why do we have to have sectoral representation when the sectors supposed to be represented are in fact part of the general population that is already represented. Having done so only allowed double representation for certain sectors.

But of course we know the real reason. Sectoral representation was put in place because the country wanted to put up a face -- that of being overly caring for supposedly marginalized members of society.

Yet, have these sectors really been represented, or did the system only serve to entrench the leftists who usurped the names of these sectors to secure seats for themselves and their dubious causes.

Besides, allowing sectoral representatives only opens the floodgates to all other sectors that have heretofore not been represented. For example, why is there no representative for nursing when there are so many of them agonizing under the lowest pays in the land?

Having sectoral representation when these sectors are already part of the population and therefore represented by regular population and place-based congressmen and women was a big mistake and ought to be corrected and fast.

Right now, not only has the 250-member limit been breached, but the new additions caught everybody, including Congress itself, unprepared. According to estimates, the new faces will need P2.5 billion to accommodate. Where in heaven will we get that?