The proposed Anti-Political Dynasty Act seeks to prevent political families from simultaneously controlling local government units (LGUs) and their resources by prohibiting close relatives from serving in the same locality, a House leader said.
House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms chair Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur made the statement as he pushed for the passage of House Bill 8389, or the proposed Anti-Political Dynasty Bill.
“It is no longer possible for a wife and husband to hold office at the same time. A wife and her child, a mother and her father. That is what ensures that there is no possible manipulation of the internal resources of our LGUs,” Adiong said during plenary deliberations on the measure.
He was responding to questions from Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, who raised concerns over whether the bill could definitively limit the number of members of a political family who may eventually win in elections.
The measure prohibits relatives within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from simultaneously running for or holding office in the same locality. The bill is currently pending second reading approval in the House of Representatives.
Speaker Faustino Dy III and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos are the principal authors of the bill, which has 173 co-authors.
The measure has also been endorsed as a priority bill by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
During the debates, Tiangco noted that the bill could not guarantee how many members of a political family may still win elective posts after elections.
Adiong acknowledged that election outcomes would ultimately depend on voters.
“In every election, there is no certainty about who will actually win,” he added.
However, he stressed that the proposed law would ensure that close relatives could no longer simultaneously occupy positions that could enable political families to consolidate influence and access to LGU resources.
Adiong said the measure was crafted to balance political reform with democratic rights.
“Because what we want to emphasize is that the right to vote and the right to be voted upon should be balanced,” he added.
The Lanao del Sur lawmaker also described the bill as a major step toward implementing the Constitution’s anti-political dynasty provision.
