Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Rowena Caronan

ABS-CBN Research and Verification Unit

<p>At least 72 anti-political dynasty bills were filed in previous Congresses since the first one was proposed in 1987. The sitting Congress added 18 to this number: 13 in the House of Representatives and 5 in the Senate.</p><p>The 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates the passage of a law against political dynasties, long considered to be a source of corruption and abuse of power. Without such a law, the Constitution’s intentions remain aspirational.</p><p>Congress has sat on this measure for years, and the topic has only ever made it to public light during elections. Just recently, however, the measure gained momentum after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos directed the legislative body to prioritize it. Two days after his call, House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and the president’s son, House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos III, introduced a joint version.</p><p>The renewed attention on the measure came on the heels of the multibillion-peso corruption scandal tied to infrastructure projects. This continuing scandal has involved politicians, including congressmen and senators, and public works officials.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/11/a-timeline-of-the-philippine-flood-control-scandal-0600" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>A timeline of the Philippine flood control scandal</strong></a></div><p>Dr. Julio Teehankee, a political science professor at De La Salle University, said the scandal captured public attention and divided the ruling politicians. Because of this, he believed that the recent push may stand a chance in this Congress.</p><p>“But I&#x27;m not that optimistic,” added Teehankee, and for good reason.</p><div> </div><h4>Bills thrown into limbo</h4><p>Article II Section 26 of the Constitution states that “the State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”</p><p>According to an article by Gerardo Cabochan Jr., some drafters of the Constitution deemed this provision to be “unpopular” such that it was kept only by a narrow vote of 18 to 17. Cabochan said it was debated so much that drafters left the task of creating a law to define political dynasties to Congress.</p><p>To fulfill this task set by the Constitution, legislators proposed 49 anti-dynasty bills in the House and at least 23 in the Senate from the 8th to the 19th Congress. Despite repeated filings, no law has ever passed in nearly 40 years.</p><p>The only anti-dynasty bill that was approved by one chamber of Congress is the first-ever measure introduced by then Senator Teofisto Guingona Jr. in 1987. The bill was proposed in August, months after the Constitution was ratified, passed the Senate in December of that year, and then sent to the House for concurrence. Meanwhile, the House’s counterpart at the time was reviewed by the plenary but sent back to the committee.</p><p>Years later, all succeeding bills often failed to clear the committee level, the first step to turn a bill into a law. Only a few were completed on that level, and an even fewer number reached the next step, the plenary level.</p><p>Dennis Coronacion, a political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas, said the reason anti-dynasty bills languished in Congress lies in the composition of the body.</p><p>Political dynasties, Coronacion explained, dominate the very legislature that is tasked to draft and pass a law that will curtail them. “They&#x27;re not going to do something that’s going to be inimical to their interest,” he said.</p><p>For that reason, Coronacion added, creating such a law seems like committing political suicide for legislators. “Bakit mo gagawin ‘yon kung ikaw ang mambabatas at miyembro ka ng dynasty,” he said. (Why would you do that if you are a lawmaker and you are a member of a dynasty.)</p><div> </div><h4>Like old days in Congress</h4><p>The present 20th Congress is no different from those that came before it. It is a legislative body marked by politicians with influential lineages.</p><p>Nineteen of 24 senators are related, in one way or another, to incumbent officials or belong to political families. Experts estimate that about 70% to 80% of House members are political dynasties.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/19/most-winning-party-list-reps-do-not-represent-poor-kontra-daya-1838" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Most winning party-list reps do not represent poor — Kontra Daya</strong></a></div><p>The president himself, the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., is related by blood or affinity to six sitting legislators, including his son, Sandro, and sister, Senator Maria Imelda “Imee” Marcos.</p><p>Marcos is also a cousin to Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez, who resigned as speaker of the House in September amid allegations linking him to anomalous flood control projects. Another cousin and a cousin-in-law are congressmen, two cousins are mayors, and one nephew is governor.</p><p>Dy succeeded Romualdez to lead the House, and with him, a deeply entrenched political legacy in Isabela and a share of allegations of corruption and misuse of funds, too.</p><p>One of Dy’s sons is serving as Isabela’s governor, another son is mayor of Echague, Isabela, and two nephews are fellow legislators representing Isabela’s 3rd and 5th districts.</p><p>Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, though known for his and his family’s popularity in showbiz, has familial roots in politics. His grandfather, Vicente Sotto Sr., from whom he was named, and his granduncle, Filemon, both served as senators.</p><p>The Senate chief is also the father of Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Carlo Sotto, uncle of Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and Paranaque City Councilor Viktor Eriko Sotto, and uncle-in-law of Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/5/16/patrick-azanza-binuwag-ang-political-dynasty-sa-catanduanes-1640" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Guro, tinalo ang dinastiya sa gubernatorial race sa Catanduanes; dinastiya nananatili pa rin sa iba</strong></a></div><div> </div><h4>New times offer an opening</h4><p>Academics call the political dynasties the ruling elites that undergrid Philippine politics through their wealth and connections.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter if you’re talented. It doesn’t matter if you are dedicated, and you&#x27;re passionate to serve others. What matters now is your family connections and your socio-economic circumstance,” Teehankee said.</p><p>While dynasties hold their ground in today’s politics, Teehankee sees a “very rare window of opportunity” that was not available before.</p><p>Teehankee said the massive corruption scandal fractured the dynasties and, together with the public demand for government transparency and accountability, made ruling leaders willing to compromise to maintain legitimacy.</p><p>“<em>Ang isang bahagi nitong ruling elites na tinatawag natin, kung saan ang dynasties ang namamayagpag, ay nanganganib. Kailangan nilang ibalik ang kanilang legitimacy bilang miyembro ng pamahalaan at ng Estado,</em>” he said. (One segment of the ruling elites, dominated by dynasties, is now under threat and needs to regain their legitimacy as members of the government and the State.)</p><p>“<em>At ito’y pagkakataon dahil lumalakas na rin ang puwersa ng ordinaryong mamamayan na lumalabas na naman sa kalsada at nagtatawag ng lubusang pagbabago at pag-address nitong ugat ng korapsyon sa bansa natin</em>,” Teehankee said. (“And this is an opportunity, because of the growing strength of people to take to the streets their call for fundamental change and to address corruption.)</p><p>“<em>At ang ugat ng korapsyon sa bansa ay itong mga political dynasty</em>,” he added. (And the roots of corruption in this country are political dynasties.)</p><p>Following the flood control mess, thousands of Filipinos filled the streets in two major protests against government corruption.</p><p>The protests were organized in various areas across the country. The first one was on September 21, which marked the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, while the second one was held on Bonifacio Day on November 30.</p><p>Teehankee said he is part of an anti-dynasty network that was recently launched by civil society groups. This network, he said, “includes the progressive and reform-minded members of political families.”</p><p>But the public outcry should be no routine protest to instill change.</p><p>Teehankee called on citizens and sectors to join forces to “increase the pressure” to attain “the most effective form of anti-political dynasty law, and not just any symbolic or performative [law].”</p><div> </div><h4>A foolproof anti-dynasty bill</h4><p>While the provision banning political dynasties is included in the laws covering the elections of Sangguniang Kabataan and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, one that encompasses national and local positions remains absent.</p><p>All anti-political dynasty bills, including those pending in the sitting Congress, aim to define the boundaries of political dynasty and the penalties for violating the restriction.</p><p>By tradition, Teehankee said, the bills pending in the present Congress will eventually be consolidated. At the House, he said, “since the Speaker himself and the Deputy Speaker introduced their own version, it will give us an inkling that the version that will be consolidated will be based on that of the Speaker.”</p><p>But Teehankee identified several loopholes in the bills pending before the House, including that filed by Dy and Marcos. Generally, according to him, bills need to be very specific about which ones are allowed and which ones are not.</p><p>The two most contentious issues in passing the measure are defining what constitutes a political dynasty and the scope of restriction.</p><p>Most of the bills propose to prevent having two or more family members within the second and third degrees of consanguinity and affinity from vying for and occupying public positions. Teehankee said the most effective is the fourth degree of relationship, which includes up to the first cousins.</p><p>Discussions also revolve around whether families could field members simultaneously and successively and whether they can vie for different positions and in different territories, including the party-list system.</p><p>Teehankee admitted that various formulas could be considered in the discussion and encouraged the public to be part of the debate.</p><p>“We also encourage Congress, both Houses, to make the deliberation public. And to let the people know what is happening in the committee level and during debates,” he said.</p><p>In the end, to him, passing an anti-dynasty bill does not lie with political leaders.</p><p>“[I]f it’s going to be citizen-driven and it will be fueled by our demand to finally settle this question of four decades, we will hopefully succeed,” he said.</p>

<p>In the past decades, at least 72 anti-political dynasty bills were filed—and failed—to fulfill a Constitutional promise to ban political dynasties. But the more than a dozen new bills now might make it through the sitting Congress.</p>

In the past decades, at least 72 anti-political dynasty bills were filed—and failed—to fulfill a Constitutional promise to ban political dynasties. But the more than a dozen new bills now might make it through the sitting Congress.

4 decades in Congress: Can the anti-political dynasty bill this time be different?

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4 decades in Congress: Can the anti-political dynasty bill this time be different?

Rowena Caronan,

ABS-CBN Research and Verification Unit

Published Dec 15, 2025 07:55 PM PHT

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