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MANILA, Philippines — A professor at the University of the Philippines-Diliman yesterday warned that political dynasties will proliferate further, after the House of Representatives adopted the proposal introduced by Speaker Faustino Dy III and Majority Leader Rep. Sandro Marcos.
In an interview with dzBB, UP Diliman Department of Political Science professor Jean Encinas-Franco said House Bill 6671 – approved by the House panel chaired by Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong – does not ban political dynasties.
“Different members of the family can run in different positions at the same time. So, the father can be a governor, the mother can be a mayor, the son can be a congressman and the other son can be a counselor. So, under the House version, all that can happen. In fact, it is legalizing the expansion of political dynasties,” Franco said.
HB 6671 allows relatives to occupy multiple posts simultaneously under different clusters or in different localities.
“It is not helping the weakening of political dynasties in the Philippines as it promotes proliferation of dynasties,” Franco added.
“Aside from what I said that members of the family can run in the different geographical areas of the country, it is possible that the father is the mayor in this term, in the midterm election, it is the mother, in the next term, the son because it is just focusing on the public offices at the same time. It is not addressing the successive family control,” she noted.
“In a way, it is legalizing the proliferation of political dynasties. It is not controlling the monopoly of political dynasties in the country’s politics,” Franco added.
The House’s Makabayan bloc withdrew support from the “watered down” anti-political dynasty bill.
