Sen. Robin Padilla on July 15 filed an anti-political dynasty bill seeking to finally fulfill the 1987 Constitution’s mandate to prohibit political dynasties.
In filing Senate Bill (SB) 2730, Padilla said it is time to break the barriers that prevent the “best and the brightest” from serving the Filipino people.
He cited a dataset of Philippine local elections from 1988 to 2019 that showed the number of governors with at least one relative in office has increased by almost 39 percent — from 41 percent in 1988 to 80 percent in 2019.
The proportion of vice-governors in a political dynasty rose from 18 percent in 1988 to 68 percent in 2019.
The percentage of mayors in a political dynasty increased from 26 percent in 1988 to 53 percent in 2019.
Another study by Tusalem and Pe-Aguirre in 2013 noted that congressional funds are higher in areas with more political dynasties.
However, these provinces also have higher rates of crime and poor governance.
They also have lower spending on employment, infrastructure, and health care.
Padilla, who chairs the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, further cited a Harvard Academy research study in 2011 that indicated how political dynasties stem from the tendency of elites to “persist and reproduce their power over time, undermining the effectiveness of institutional reforms in the process.”
But under SB 2730, “No spouse or person related within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity, whether legitimate or illegitimate, full or half blood, to an incumbent elective official seeking re-election, shall be allowed to hold or run for any elective office in the same city and/or province, or any party list in the same election.”
“If the constituency of the incumbent elective official is national in character, such relatives shall be disqualified from running only within the same province where the former is domiciled or in any, including the same, national position.”
“No person who has a political dynasty relationship to the incumbent shall immediately succeed to the position of the latter,” the Bill also states.
The Bill requires any person running for any elective public office to file a sworn statement with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that he or she does not have a political dynasty relationship with any incumbent public official running for an elective public office in the same city and/or province other than the position earlier mentioned.
A petition to disqualify a candidate on grounds of political dynasty may be filed before the Comelec, which will conduct summary proceedings. The Comelec shall deny due course to any certificate of candidacy filed in violation of the anti-political dynasty act.
While the votes for a respondent shall be counted if the Comelec cannot decide on the petition before the completion of the canvass, his or her proclamation shall be suspended if the basis for disqualification is strong. If the disqualified candidate has been proclaimed, the candidate shall ipso facto forfeit the right to assume the office.
“Given that this measure complies with the legislature’s mandate to enact an anti-political dynasty law and is a step towards leveling the playing field in politics and governance, the passage thereof is earnestly sought,” noted the Senator.
