Consultative committee agrees to ban political dynasties

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the consultative committee (Concom) of President Duterte agreed yesterday to include anti-political dynasty provisions in their draft Constitution. 

Lawyer Roan Libarios, national executive vice president of the People’s National Movement for Federalism, said almost all members of the Concom “agreed in principle” to ban political dynasties. 

Libarios explained that the Concom agreed on the provisions as many congressional and local government units in the country are controlled by political dynasties. 

The 1987 Constitution prohibits political dynasty in its guaranty of “equal access to opportunities for public service.”

However, unlike the Concom’s provisions, the earlier ban was not self-executing, as it needed a law to define and prohibit political dynasties.

“The committee decided that the Constitution itself will already be self-executory” without the need for Congress to pass another law, Libarios told The STAR. 

He clarified that the vote against political dynasty will be tackled on March 12. Even if the anti-political dynasty provisions would be approved by the Concom, these will be submitted to the President and Congress for review and approval. 

The Concom targets to finish their recommendations by the last week of June or early July, so that Duterte can study and present them in his next State of the Nation Address in July.

Moreover, members of the Concom argued last Tuesday whether or not to impose an educational requirement for elective officials, including the president and vice president, in the draft Constitution for a federal system of government.

In closed-door deliberations, they reviewed provisions of the 1987 Constitution, particularly on the powers of the president or the executive branch under the hybrid federal setup. 

Last week, a presidential form of federalism was proposed by former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. 

“One of the most discussed issues was the requirement/qualification for the candidate for president and VP – whether or not a college degree should be required,” the Concom said in a statement.  

During the deliberation, Pimentel and professor Eddie Alih, executive director of the Muslim Upliftment Foundation of Tawi-Tawi Inc., proposed that elected officials such as president, VP and members of Congress be required to earn a certain level of education. 

Pimentel and Alih likened the educational requirement of elective officials to appointed government executives or employees of the government, who are required to have academic degrees. 

“Former representative Libarios, however, noted that some of the known leaders and accomplished individuals in the political and business fields are dropouts – including some who have become members of the Senate and the Cabinet,” the Concom said. 

Former chief justice Reynato Puno, chairman of the Concom, urged members to carefully study the proposal and be guided by relevant data in deciding whether or not to impose the requirement. 

Puno cited data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showing that only 10 percent of the total household population of the country have finished college.

“Given the statistics, a provision barring 90 percent of Filipinos from aspiring for the highest position (that of president) must reckon with the constitutional provision that guarantees equal opportunities,” Antonio Eduardo Nachura, retired associate justice of the Supreme Court, added. 

Under the 1987 Constitution, a presidential candidate must be a natural-born citizen, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least 40 years old on the day of the election and a resident of the country for at least 10 years immediately preceding such election.   

The same requirement is imposed on a vice presidential candidate. 

While Concom members have yet to vote on the proposal, they agreed on provisions that require the president and VP to be elected from the same political party, which means that the VP of a winning president gets automatically elected. 

The Concom, however, has yet to discuss how the process will be done.  

The Concom is holding deliberations this week on the powers of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.