EDITORIAL - Birds of the same feather are the same birds - Erap

This story is supposed to be endearing: New Anakpawis partylist Rep. Joel Maglunsod, one of those declared by the Supreme Court as eligible for seats in Congress, was prevented from entering the building because he was on foot and the guard did not recognize him.

Maglunsod, it appears, has been taking public transportation in going to work since being admitted to the House but has not encountered any problem until early this week when he used a different gate in entering, and forgot to put on his congressional pin as well.

When Maglunsod, who is from Davao, finally managed to produce his congressional pin, the guard swallowed hard, apologized, and waved him in. The new solon said he was not going to make a big thing out of the incident. That is why the story is supposed to be endearing.

Unfortunately, the story did not stop there: When the story went the rounds and it was learned that Maglunsod had been taking public transportation (initially by taxi, but eventually by jeepney), Gabriela, an Anakpawis affiliate partylist group, provided him with a bodyguard.

Two things. First, it is now out in the open that Gabriela and Anakpawis are birds of the same feather. And, according to Erap, if they are of the same feather, they are the same birds. Second, the House can provide its members with security, so who did Gabriela utilize?

This fortuitous event should provide legislators with sufficient impetus to review the law that put the partylist system into place, because it is now clear that there are serious duplications in representing the so-called marginalized sectors.

If Gabriela, as reported, is an affiliate of Anakpawis, then it follows that both represent the same sectors. And if that is the case, then it could also be the case with the other similarly-oriented cause-oriented groups in the House.

And what about the bodyguard provided by Gabriela, as reported, to Maglunsod? If it is Gabriela that provided the bodyguard, then the bodyguard could not have been provided by the House, in which case his qualifications have to be suspect and open to a lot of questions.

There are a lot of things wrong with the partylist system, so before things really get out of hand, maybe it is time congressmen pay the issue another visit and conduct what could be this time a real honest-to-goodness investigation.