SEN. Robinhood Padilla renewed his call for the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 1901 which he described as the "strictest and most comprehensive" anti-political dynasty measure ever filed in Congress.
The senator said SB 1901 or the proposed Anti-Political Dynasty Act seeks to finally implement the constitutional provision prohibiting political dynasties that remains unenforced nearly four decades after the ratification of the 1987 Charter.
Padilla on Monday said that political dynasties have long been identified as one of the major obstacles to genuine political competition and equal access to public service.
“If we're really serious about political reforms, it's not enough to just issue statements against political dynasty," he said.
He said that SB 1901 aims to close “many of the loopholes commonly exploited to perpetuate political control, including succession by relatives, party-list substitutions, and even the use of common-law relationships to evade the restrictions."
Unlike previous proposals, he said SB 1901 imposes an "absolute prohibition" on spouses and relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from simultaneously holding elective office within the same jurisdiction, immediately succeeding one another in office, or circumventing the law through substitutions, appointments, resignations, or party-list nominations.
The bill also covers common-law relationships and civil unions "to prevent the use of technicalities to perpetuate political control," Padilla said.
SB 1901 requires candidates and party-list nominees to submit sworn declarations regarding familial relationships, authorizes the Commission on Elections to cancel certificates of candidacy for violations, and imposes election offense penalties on those who falsify information or deliberately evade the law.
