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 will 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 stays an option, it might be costly and time-consuming.
“The method may be very demanding,” Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor on the University of Makati, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “It requires tens of millions of verified signatures and nationwide mobilization.”
“For a reform that directly affects entrenched political interests, organizing that level of support may be extremely difficult,” he added.
Congress is currently weighing bills geared toward 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 because 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 a part of his governance reform agenda.
The version passed by the Home is unsurprising as many lawmakers themselves hail from political dynasties, leading to a weaker measure, said Anthony Lawrence A. Borja, an associate political science professor at De La Salle University.
“It’s low cost but not surprising since that’s the one version that dynasts can afford as each a lip-service to the structure, and the low costs imposed on them by the anti-dynasty advocacy,” he said in a Facebook chat. “Given the loopholes, it could make dynasties legal.”
Such a bill has long been pushed in Congress but has repeatedly faltered for an absence of support from a legislature dominated by political families. Eight of 10 lawmakers belong to dynasties, in line with a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
“The House bill fails to supply a comprehensive framework and leaves gaps within 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 presidency, with members permitted to carry offices in national, congressional and native 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 really 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, however the group is “focused on effective and swift implementation mechanisms relative to the prohibition against political dynasties.”
She said the Commission on Elections needs to be given powers to implement compliance with the anti‑political dynasty ban through summary administrative remedies via motu proprio motion and permit registered voters to file petitions.
A people’s initiative for stronger anti‑political dynasty laws “isn’t not possible,” Ms. Caritos said, but added the battle stays 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 ability of just 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, beneficial that lawmakers pass a bill explicitly prohibiting substitution, rotation and position-switching amongst prohibited relatives to avoid term limits.