May 22, 2025
MANILA – T hey’re blamed for everything wrong in Philippine politics, and their banishment is seen as the solution that will cure many of the ailments in government. These are the political dynasties—families who occupy multiple national and local posts in successive elections.
Our 1987 Constitution pronounces a clear national policy against political dynasties when it provides that “the state shall … prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law” (Article 22, Section 26). While the policy is clear, an additional act is needed, and that is for Congress to pass a law defining the scope of political dynasties. But 38 years have passed since our Constitution’s birth and Congress has consistently refused to create the needed law. More than 30 anti-political dynasty bills have been filed in Congress, but none have become law.
This prompted a group led by the 1Sambayan coalition to file last March 31 a petition before the Supreme Court seeking to compel Congress to pass an anti-dynasty law. The petitioners argue that “political dynasties, which have lorded over Congress … have effectively repealed and killed the the anti-dynasty provision of the 1987 Constitution through their sheer shameful official inaction.” They asked that Congress be held in contempt should it fail to comply with the SC’s decision within a year after it was granted.
The 1Sambayan petition is the latest attempt to make the SC compel Congress to pass an anti-dynasty law. Two similar petitions were filed by Philippine Bar Association officers in 2024 and Kapatiran Party in 2022, both of which remain pending in the SC.
The three petitions have been filed notwithstanding two unfavorable decisions previously rendered by the SC. In the case of Biraugo v. Comelec, the SC ruled that the Commission on Elections cannot be compelled to ban members of political dynasties from running in the elections because the Constitution’s provision against political dynasties needs an enabling law to be passed by Congress. In the case of Guingona v. House and Senate, the SC said that it could not compel Congress to pass a law against political dynasties as it would violate the principle of separation of powers among the three branches of government.
The anti-dynasty petitioners should be commended for not giving up despite the odds. But we must look for other solutions if the SC petitions are denied. Besides, even if Congress passes an anti-dynasty law, there’s no guarantee that it will not be a diluted version of the law we have long aspired to have. Remember that it will still be Congress that will create the law and it could craft a dysfunctional version full of loopholes. My sense is that an anti-dynasty law will not be the effective cure we dream about because such a law will not address the real reasons why our country is a fertile ground for dynasties to thrive. In fact, even if a perfect anti-dynasty law is enacted, it will not prevent dynasties from mutating in a camouflaged form. Dynasties can always support a dummy nonfamily member to stand in for them.
What fuels dynasties to thrive in our country? First, our politics has become the equivalent of a gambling business venture—that can yield a bonanza of riches from kickbacks, commissions, and business monopolies. Second, incumbent public officials are allowed to misrepresent public projects and services as though they’re financed from their personal pockets or dispensed as personal favors. The first guarantees personal fortunes for public officials. The second assures reelection for the incumbent or his/her chosen successor. These two are the root causes of dynasties, and unless they are dug out from our political system, dynasties will continue to have the nutrients to thrive—even in a hybrid or metamorphosed form—even with an anti-dynasty law.
During the administration of former president Benigno ”Noynoy” Aquino, kickbacks from public works projects were kept to a minimum because contractors’ profit margins were kept low, disabling them from giving bribes. Also, the SC declared the congressional pork barrel unconstitutional in 2013 (although it has since morphed into a modified name). These initiatives should be repeated, copied, expanded, and sustained. Toward this end, elected officials shamelessly putting their names on public work projects should be prosecuted criminally. In addition, the recent rampant practice of elected officials personally distributing various welfare programs, such as the Tulong Panghanapbuhay Sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad), Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (Akap) and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (Aics), as forms of patronage, must be prosecuted criminally. The latter is the recent form of corruption committed by congresspersons that must be rooted out, as the practice will allow dynasties to thrive even more.
An anti-dynasty law will just trim dynasty trees, but it will not prevent them from growing different branches. We can uproot political dynasties by preventing them from misusing people’s funds.