Stronger pushback urged vs weak anti-dynasty bill
By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter
CIVIL SOCIETY groups should keep pressing Congress for a tougher anti-political dynasty bill after a House of Representatives committee passed a weaker version, analysts said over the weekend, noting that measures remain under debate and could still be amended.
Groups should mount a pressure campaign for the version of the governance reform bill they see fit to be passed, as analysts noted that while a signature drive remains an option, it could be costly and time-consuming.
“The process is very demanding,” Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “It requires millions of verified signatures and nationwide mobilization.”
“For a reform that directly affects entrenched political interests, organizing that level of support can be extremely difficult,” he added.
Congress is currently weighing bills aimed at curbing political dynasties, with the Senate bill that bars second-degree relatives from running or succeeding immediately, awaiting plenary debates, and the recently approved House measure that analysts say is weaker as it still allows families to monopolize seats across government levels.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has made limiting political dynasties a priority after public criticism over alleged misuse of billions of pesos in congressional district funds earmarked for Public Works projects, making it part of his governance reform agenda.
The version passed by the House is unsurprising as many lawmakers themselves hail from political dynasties, resulting in a weaker measure, said Anthony Lawrence A. Borja, an associate political science professor at De La Salle University.
“It’s cheap but not surprising since that’s the only version that dynasts can afford as both a lip-service to the constitution, and the low costs imposed on them by the anti-dynasty advocacy,” he said in a Facebook chat. “Given the loopholes, it would make dynasties legal.”
Such a bill has long been pushed in Congress but has repeatedly faltered for a lack of support from a legislature dominated by political families. Eight of 10 lawmakers belong to dynasties, according to a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
“The House bill fails to provide a comprehensive framework and leaves gaps in the prohibition of political dynasties,” Rona Ann V. Caritos, executive director at election watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections, said in a Facebook chat.
She said the House measure would still allow dynastic families to retain political control across multiple levels of government, with members permitted to hold offices in national, congressional and local units.
It also fails to cover party‑list groups and is silent on banning immediate succession of relatives, allowing dynasties to perpetuate power, she added.
“If the prohibition only applies to a very limited set of family relationships or electoral situations, many dynastic arrangements will still remain possible,” Mr. Tapia said.
Ms. Caritos said the optimal anti-political dynasty law “generally aligns” with the Senate version, but the group is “focused on effective and swift implementation mechanisms relative to the prohibition against political dynasties.”
She said the Commission on Elections should be given powers to enforce compliance with the anti‑political dynasty ban through summary administrative remedies via motu proprio action and allow registered voters to file petitions.
A people’s initiative for stronger anti‑political dynasty legislation “is not impossible,” Ms. Caritos said, but added the battle remains in Congress where the measures are still being deliberated.
Several groups have called for a stronger measure against political dynasties, including business chambers that sought a wider scope to limit the power of a few families. They urged a ban extending to fourth-degree relatives and planned a signature campaign to push for its enactment if current efforts fall short.
The coalition, which included the Makati Business Club, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Management Association of the Philippines, recommended that lawmakers pass a bill explicitly prohibiting substitution, rotation and position-switching among prohibited relatives to circumvent term limits.
