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Malacañang on Friday said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is open to a proposed measure seeking to ban political dynasties in the country, but emphasized the need to first study the full details of the bill.
This comes after Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan filed a bill seeking to prohibit political dynasties, which he described as a major barrier to genuine democracy and equal political opportunity in the Philippines.
The Marcoses and the Dutertes, two of the country’s most prominent political clans, are often cited in discussions on political dynasties.
Asked whether the President is open to supporting the legislation, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the administration is waiting for the final version of the measure before making a position.
“They should really define first what a political dynasty is,” Castro said in a briefing. “The President couldn’t have agreed, nor could he have refused, if this bill wasn’t fully drafted,” she added.
Castro explained that while the Palace recognizes the long-running discourse on political dynasties, any support or rejection from the President must be based on a thorough review of the proposed provisions.
The 1987 Constitution already contains a provision against political dynasties, but it requires enabling legislation from Congress—something that has yet to materialize nearly four decades later.
Previous efforts to pass an anti-dynasty law have repeatedly failed amid concerns about conflicts of interest from lawmakers who also come from political families.
Pangilinan’s bill is one of the latest attempts to give teeth to the constitutional provision and set specific parameters on who can and cannot run for public office within political clans.
Castro did not say whether the Palace views Pangilinan’s proposal favorably or not, only reiterating the need for legal clarity. “We need to know what its provisions are,” she stated.
