PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and lawmakers on Thursday reiterated their support for the passage of a law banning political dynasties after the Supreme Court chided Congress for failing to do so in the last 39 years, even though the Constitution requires it.
Speaking to Palace reporters, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the anti-political dynasty bill remains one of the administration’s priority measures, saying that the president wants the measure passed into law during his term.
Speaker Faustino Dy III said the House of Representatives passed its version of the anti-political dynasty bill three months before the Supreme Court ordered the passage of such a law.
Sen. JV Ejercito, who filed anti-political dynasty measures both in the House and the Senate, said public office should be open to more Filipinos.
“I believe that no one should monopolize power,” he said, adding that political and economic power should not be held exclusively by one party or family.
A labor federation urged lawmakers to finally pass an enabling law, saying that workers can be reprimanded for being minutes late, but Congress has been almost four decades late in fulfilling its constitutional duty.
Priority bill passed
Dy emphasized that an anti-dynasty law was among the House priorities.
“A priority of the new Congress is to enact a reasonable and constitutional Anti-Political Dynasty Law as part of its mandate to implement the policies and principles enshrined in the Constitution, and to advance reforms that expand equal opportunity, strengthen democratic participation and promote good governance,” Dy said in Filipino.
The House leader’s remarks came after the Supreme Court ruled that Congress has a mandatory constitutional duty to enact an anti-political dynasty law, saying its failure to pass an enabling law for 39 years constituted grave abuse of discretion.
The tribunal directed Congress to enact the law “at the earliest opportunity,” including defining what constitutes a political dynasty and determining the scope of the prohibition.
House Bill (HB) 8389, or the proposed Anti-Political Dynasty Act, was approved on third and final reading on June 3 by a vote of 267-20, with seven abstentions. The measure was transmitted to the Senate on June 8.
It was principally authored by Dy and House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, with173 other House members as co-authors.
Dy said the ruling comes at a time when Congress has an opportunity to finally give fuller legislative effect to the constitutional policy.
“The goal is to craft a law that promotes equal opportunity in public service, seeks to prevent the concentration of political power in a few families, and strengthens the accountability and integrity of our democratic institutions,” he said.
“The constitutional policy against political dynasties is not simply a matter of imposing restrictions on political families. Its implementation requires a fair, definite and principled legal framework that promotes equal access to opportunities for public service while preserving the fundamental role of the electorate in choosing its representatives,” he added.
HB 8389 would prohibit spouses and relatives within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from simultaneously or successively holding certain elective positions under specified circumstances.
The bill also requires candidates for elective office to submit a sworn statement to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) declaring that their candidacy will not result in a prohibited dynastic relationship.
It further directs the Comelec to issue implementing rules and regulations within 90 days from the law’s effectivity.
The proposed law will apply beginning in the next elections once enacted.
The Senate has also advanced its own version, Senate Bill 1901, which remains pending on second reading.
Time to clock in
The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) welcomed the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that Congress has a mandatory constitutional duty to enact an anti-political dynasty law, and urged lawmakers to move forward with legislation defining the scope of the ban.
“It is time for Congress to finally outlaw political dynasties,” FFW President Sonny Matula said on Thursday, stressing that the Court’s recent ruling has underscored the need to break the concentration of political power among a handful of families.
Matula said the FFW backed anti-dynasty proposals by Rep. Chel Diokno and Akbayan, and Sen. Risa Hontiveros, including provisions covering spouses and relatives up to the fourth civil degree, or as far as first cousins.
“It is not enough to change the first name if the same family still controls political power. Government is meant to serve the common good, not to be treated as a business or controlled by a few families,” he added.
He warned that entrenched family networks can weaken accountability and create opportunities for corruption when political influence spans multiple levels of government.
“When relatives are in control, who will keep watch — their cousin or sibling?” he asked.
