2 senators seek to end political dynasties

MANILA, Philippines — Two senators aligned with major political parties have filed bills seeking to end the grip of political dynasties on power.

Francis Pangilinan of the Liberal Party and Robinhood Padilla of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan have separately filed bills aiming to enforce the constitutional ban on political dynasties.

“Political power and public service must never be treated as a birthright. But for decades, without an enabling law, our democracy has been hijacked. This bill is long overdue. Leadership should be earned, not inherited. Every Filipino deserves a fair and equal shot at serving the nation,” Pangilinan said in a statement yesterday.

“This is not just a legal fight – it’s a democratic one. We must make room for new voices, new leaders, and genuine public servants. Because democracy dies when power is passed around like property,” he added.

In Pangilinan’s bill, a “political dynasty relationship” is defined as one “when the spouse or any relative within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity of an incumbent elective official, runs for public office to succeed or replace the incumbent.”

A political dynasty also happens when “one runs for or holds any elective local office simultaneously with the incumbent within the same province, legislative district, city, or municipality and within the same barangay or barangays within the same legislative district,” added Pangilinan’s bill.

A dynasty relationship exists “where two or more persons who are spouses, or are related to one another within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity run simultaneously for elective public office at the national level, or at the local level within the same province, legislative district, city, or municipality, and within the same barangay or barangays within the same legislative district, even if neither is so related to an incumbent elective official,” read the bill.

According to Pangilinan’s proposed measure, a candidate with political dynasty ties can be disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), or the House of Representatives, Senate, and Presidential Electoral Tribunals.

Pangilinan cited the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), which estimates that 71 of 82 provincial governors, and eight out of 10 district representatives, are members of political dynasties.

Even the Senate where he belongs “remains heavily influenced by dynastic figures, with several family tandems retaining or gaining seats,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan expressed alarm at the PCIJ’s report of 18 “obese dynasties” or those with five or more elected relatives.

“Political dynasties, deeply rooted in the country’s history of wealth concentration, remain a defining and intensifying feature of the Philippine political landscape. Securing public office increasingly requires substantial personal wealth, effectively limiting viable candidates to those from established political and elite families. This trend has significantly strengthened over the past two decades,” Pangilinan said.

In Padilla’s bill, a political dynasty relationship is also defined as existing “where two or more persons who are spouses or related to one another within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity run simultaneously for elective public office within the same city and/or province, or as nominees to any party-list, even if neither is so related to the incumbent elective official.”

The Comelec may also motu proprio disqualify a candidate who has political dynasty ties, according to Padilla’s bill. — Diana Lhyd Suelto, Jose Rodel Clapano