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Helen Flores - The Philippine Star
December 13, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Stressing President Marcos’ seriousness in backing the anti-dynasty bill, Malacañang called on lawmakers yesterday to study it carefully and address loopholes before passing the measure.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro was responding to criticisms that the version of the bill jointly filed by Speaker Bojie Dy and presidential son, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, has loopholes and does not effectively curb political dynasties.
“That’s why passing a law should not be rushed. It should be studied, properly debated, there are proper sharing of suggestions, opinions and views must be heard,” Castro told reporters in Filipino and English at a Palace briefing.
“It is better that it is done properly. It should not be rushed so that when it is passed, there are no loopholes, no gray areas,” she added.
Critics claimed that the bill filed by Dy and Marcos falls short of the Constitution’s mandate because rather than prohibiting political dynasty, the bill just limits it. The anti-dynasty bill is said to be among the priority measures of the administration.
Castro said the President had already asked lawmakers to study the bill carefully and pass it as soon as possible during the recent Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting at the Palace.
She said a law banning political dynasties must be beneficial to the Filipino people.
To Akbayan’s claim that the declaration of the anti-dynasty bill as a priority measure is mere propaganda or optics, Castro said, “Rushing the passage of bills even if inadequate, that’s optics.”
Certify as urgent
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is pushing for the immediate passage of four priority measures, including bills establishing the Independent People’s Commission (IPC) and prohibiting political dynasties.
The PCCI urged President Marcos to certify as urgent the anti-dynasty bill, the Party-list System Reform Act, the IPC Act and the Citizens Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act.
“These bills are more than governance reforms – they are confidence-building measures that signal our country’s commitment to integrity and accountability,” PCCI president Enunina Mangio said.
“Certifying them as urgent will help accelerate their passage and send a strong message to investors that the Philippines is serious about creating a clean, fair and competitive business environment,” she said.
Specifically, the country’s largest business group backed the CADENA Act, which will create a digital budget portal for all government transactions to ensure transparency and strengthen accountability.
Similarly, the chamber strongly endorsed the IPC Act, which aims to create a fully empowered anti-corruption body that will investigate anomalies in all government infrastructure projects.
The PCCI said it stands ready to closely work with the government to support these reforms while advocating for policies that strengthen good governance and promote investor confidence.
Cha-cha first
The proposed anti-political dynasty bill cannot stand without amending the Constitution, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. said yesterday.
Garbin, vice chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments, said the qualifications for national elective offices are expressly and exhaustively laid down in the Constitution itself: for president and vice-president under Article VII, Section 2; for senators under Article VI, Section 3 and for members of the House of Representatives under Article VI, Section 6.
For Congress, he noted, the Constitution clearly requires that a member be a natural-born Filipino citizen, at least 25 years of age, able to read and write and, for district representatives, a registered voter and resident of the district for at least one year prior to the election.
“These qualifications are clear, categorical and exclusive,” Garbin said, emphasizing that Congress has no authority to add to or subtract from them through ordinary legislation.
He pointed to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Albano v. Commission on Elections (G.R. No. 257610, Jan. 24, 2023), where the high court reiterated that any attempt by Congress to impose additional qualifications for elective office amounts to an unconstitutional amendment of the Constitution by statute. Allowing such legislative action, the Court explained, would violate constitutional supremacy and undermine the sovereign will of the people.
Garbin said that House Bill No. 6771, while well-intentioned, effectively introduces additional disqualifications based on familial relationships and degrees of consanguinity or affinity, which are qualifications not found in the Constitution.
He said that by barring certain individuals from seeking or holding national elective office solely due to family ties, the bill supplants constitutionally fixed qualifications and creates a conflict that cannot be resolved by statutory drafting alone.
Garbin warned that without constitutional amendment, even popular and sincere reform measures risk being struck down by the courts and reduced to political spectacle rather than resulting in lasting change.
JV backs bill
At the Senate, deputy majority leader JV Ejercito said he backs the passage of an anti-political dynasty law.
“Admittedly, I belong to a political family,” he told “Storycon” on One News on Friday.
But he added: “It’s about time that we really have to take this seriously. Given the chance, I would really support this because I still believe… with 110 million Filipinos, there are a lot of those who are capable. No one has the monopoly in public service.”
Ejercito also noted that the 2026 budget will be “one of the most transparent” in recent years.
“I hope that it will be livestreamed because that was our commitment – so the public will know what’s happening,” he said. — Brix Lelis, Jose Rodel Clapano, Janvic Mateo
