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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
April 4, 2025 | 7:01pm
Senate President Francis Escudero answers questions from the media on April 3, 2025.
Escudero office via FB
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court cannot compel Congress to enact a law banning political dynasties, Senate President Francis Escudero said, citing constitutional limitations.
His remarks come in response to a petition filed by 1Sambayan and other civic groups urging the SC to mandate Congress to fulfill its constitutional obligation under Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution.
“The Supreme Court has said that Congress cannot be forced by a mandamus from the court to pass a law. The legislative process is a political question,” Escudero said at a press briefing on April 3.
Escudero referred to the SC’s dismissal of a similar petition filed by Ricardo Penson in 2013, which sought judicial intervention on the matter of political dynasties.
Constitutional obligation. Article II, Section 26 of the Constitution requires the state to “guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”
Despite this provision, [olitical dynasties have systematically carved out a space for themselves in government for decades, with some dynasties having at least three generations.
Political families have entrenched themselves in Philippine governance over generations, with many lawmakers in the current 19th Congress belonging to prominent dynasties. Sens. Alan and Pia Cayetano are concurrently serving as lawmakers in the Upper chamber, while half brothers Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito are also serving simultaneously.
Mother and son duo Sens. Cynthia and Mark Villar are also serving their term. Sen. Imee Marcos, meanwhile, is the sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
A report from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in 2024 found that 80% of Congressional districts are held by political dynasties.
