An enabling law for the Constitutional prohibition on political dynasties could finally become reality, 38 long years after the 1987 Constitution was ratified.
Faced with the possibility, jaded Filipinos have reason not to hold their breath. First of all, Congress itself is still made up of politicians from entrenched dynasties. While the Constitution outlaws political dynasties, the lack of a law defining them, which is supposedly the duty of a dynasty-riddled Congress, has kept the ban unenforceable.
There have been efforts by some minority lawmakers in past Congresses to pass an anti-political dynasty bill, although none have even passed second reading. Those proposed measures were conveniently ignored and simply left to gather dust at the committee level.
House Speaker Bojie Dy, who has recently urged his colleagues to support proposed anti-dynasty measures, notably a bill filed by the Akbayan partylist, has a lot of convincing to do if he is sincere, starting with his 16 relatives in public office, including his son and 2 nephews who serve alongside him in the House of Representatives.
Dy, in his call to his colleagues, acknowledged criticisms of his own clan, which he described as a family with a “long-standing tradition of service to the country.” He also noted that public service is not “inherited” but is “entrusted” by the people.
The most recent attempt to pass an anti-political dynasty bill should also serve as a test for all other entrenched political dynasties in Congress. In Negros, it is routine to see multiple family members in Congress, either rotating in or out, or serving at the same time. In the local scene, family members dominate public offices, conveniently swapping positions to skirt term limits and perpetuate their established or budding political dynasties. How the currently serving members of those dynasties react to another bill that threatens their “tradition of service” would be interesting to see.
In the unlikely event that an anti-dynasty law is passed in Congress, there is still the question of whether a counterpart bill can hurdle the Senate, an institution that has also been packed with political dynasties, which highlights the toothlessness of the Constitutional prohibition without an enabling law.
However, just because it has never been done before, it doesn’t mean we should simply give up hope. Maybe this time, even members of political dynasties will finally grow a conscience or succumb to the pressure and pass a landmark legislation that could transform this country, freeing it from the shackles of the political dynasties that have held it captive for far too long.*
