Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Tuesday voiced constitutional concerns over the proposed Party-List Reform Act, cautioning that several provisions of the measure could undermine the original objective of the party-list system—to ensure representation for marginalized and underrepresented sectors.

During his interpellation of Senate Bill No. 2116, Sotto recalled helping craft and pass the Party-List System Act in 1995, saying its implementation over the years had departed from what its authors had intended.

"From the time that we passed it in 1995 up to the present, there were misinterpretations... not in conformity with the original intention that we wanted," Sotto said.

Among the provisions he questioned was the proposal to reserve half of all party-list seats for national and regional political parties, arguing that such a change could diminish the constitutional preference for marginalized groups.

"By reserving 50% of available seats for national and regional parties... does this provision not dilute the original intention of the framers of the Constitution na marginalized sector talaga ang gusto nilang bigyan ng representation sa party-list?" he asked.

Sotto warned that the proposal could come at the expense of sectors traditionally represented under the party-list system.

"Pagka ganito... ubos ang labor, ubos ang peasants, ubos ang fisherfolk, ubos ang urban poor (If this happens...there will be no more seats for labor, peasants, fisherfolk, or the urban poor)," Sotto said.

Bill sponsor Senator Risa Hontiveros responded by expressing openness to revising the measure, saying she was willing to work with Sotto on changes that could improve the proposal.

"Very happy to work with the good SP Pro Tempore on amendments that we could agree on to improve the bill," Hontiveros said.

Sotto also urged lawmakers to exclude anti-political dynasty provisions from the bill, arguing that such measures should instead be tackled through separate legislation to avoid possible constitutional issues.

"Concentrate natin sa party-list, huwag natin lagyan ng anti-political dynasty provisions (Let's keep the bill focused on the party-list system and not include anti-political dynasty provisions). There should be a different law for that," he said, adding that the proposal could still be discussed during the period of amendments.

Senate President Win Gatchalian also underscored the need to reform the party-list system, emphasizing that it should continue to provide meaningful representation to sectors lacking a voice in Congress.

"We need to give the voiceless a voice in Congress and in legislation. Marami hong dapat talaga tayong i-reforma pagdating sa party-list sector natin (There are indeed many reforms that we need to make in our party-list system)," he said.

Despite raising several objections, Sotto thanked Hontiveros for the discussion and reiterated his commitment to helping refine the measure while preserving the constitutional purpose of the party-list system.