Lawmaker sees hope in House antidynasty measures
A lawmaker who authored one of eight pending anti-political dynasty bills in the House said he expected the measures to advance at the committee level by December or January, as lawmakers and watchdogs challenged Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III to follow through on his pledge to prioritize the long-delayed reform.
On Friday, Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, author of House Bill No. 381, said the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms headed by Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong could tackle all eight bills including Flores’ measure in the panel’s next meeting and later form a technical working group (TWG) to consolidate the measures.He added that the process might “not take long because the eight bills have many common and similar provisions,” particularly on the limitations set for a political dynasty.
Most of the bills seek to define political dynasties up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity.
‘Pragmatic prohibition’
This is in contrast to the Makabayan bloc’s HB 209 and 4784, which seeks to prohibit relatives within the fourth civil degree from simultaneously holding or running for elective office.
The Akbayan bloc composed of Reps. Perci Cendaña, Chel Diokno, Dadah Kiram Ismula and Dinagat Islands Rep. Arlene Bag-ao also recently filed its own version—also seeking a ban up to the fourth degree—a day after Dy told his colleagues to push for an anti-dynasty measure to help restore trust in government.
Flores said limiting dynasties up to the second degree sets the most “pragmatic prohibition scenarios.”
He expressed hope that his bill as well as that of Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima’s House Bill No. 2131 would “serve as the working documents for the consolidation process.”
“I hope the TWG will be able to report out the substitute bill and that the committee will approve it before we go on [a] year-end break at the earliest or by January when we return,” he added.
‘No room for loopholes’
Dy’s support for the passage of an anti-dynasty law has placed pressure on Congress where both chambers have long been dominated by entrenched political families.The clamor has intensified as the Marcos administration continues to grapple with the fallout from a flood control scandal that has implicated several House members, including the President’s cousin, former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
A report by the United Nations Development Programme found that political families dominate 72 out of 77 provinces or 94 percent, with an average of 2.31 political clans per province.“We remain deeply skeptical. History has shown us that political dynasties themselves have repeatedly blocked genuine reform,” the Makabayan bloc composed of ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Renee Co said in a statement.
“Besides, the Marcos and Duterte dynasties are some of the worst iterations of a political dynasty in the Philippines and they too will become stumbling blocks to these bills,” they warned.
Nevertheless, the bloc maintained that its measures were the most comprehensive and “leave no room for loopholes,” as it challenged Dy as well as their colleagues in the House to support their version instead of “watered-down versions designed to preserve the status quo.”
