House OKs anti-dynasty bill on second reading, but critics lament its lack of teeth

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'We have to balance the need to decongest power with the sovereign right of the people to elect their leaders,' says bill sponsor and suffrage committee chairperson Zia Alonto Adiong

MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives passed the anti-political dynasty bill on second reading on Wednesday, May 20, the closest it has been to getting passed in the history of Philippine Congress.

The apparent weakness of the version approved by the chamber, however, is unlikely to fully satisfy longtime proponents of the measure.

The House put the measure on a voice vote two months after the committee report reached the plenary.

Opposition lawmakers challenged the effectiveness of the proposal, which has no teeth to stop thin or fat dynasties.

Under the current version, a political dynasty relationship is set only to up to the second degree of consanguinity covering only parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, as well as the spouse. These family members can run simultaneously alongside the politician or succeed them in office immediately.

The proposal also clusters the prohibitions, allowing families to put forward candidates for a national post, a provincial post, a municipal or city government post, and as many congressional posts as possible, at the same time.

“After this process, I am sure, if this is the bill that passes, our people will still yearn for a real and truly meaningful anti-political dynasty legislation,” Akbayan Representative Perci Cendaña said on Wednesday.

“We have to balance the need to decongest power with the sovereign right of the people to elect their leaders,” bill sponsor and suffrage committee chairperson Zia Alonto Adiong argued.

Before Wednesday’s vote, the House approved amendments to exclude barangay officials in the definition of a political dynasty relationship, and allow politicians with a political dynasty relationship to run simultaneously, provided that only the top vote-getter would be proclaimed.

The House also rejected last-ditch efforts by Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste to include a party-list provision in the bill, and expand the covered degree of consanguinity from second to fourth.

Adiong believes the measure passed by the House is a significant win because the country still does not have an anti-dynasty law 39 years since the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, which prohibits dynasties as defined by law.

He said the bill, if passed, will change the dynamics in the Senate, which currently has four pairs of siblings. It will also vacate more than 5,000 elective offices because of the dynasty relationship defined in the bill.

However, the relaxed definition of political dynasty in the proposal could allow families to find an easy workaround, fielding cousins, nephews, and aunts and uncles instead.

Longtime advocates of an anti-dynasty proposal have lobbied for the most stringent version of the bill, one that prohibits dynasty relationships to up to the fourth degree of consanguinity. – Rappler.com