Make anti-dynasty clause ‘self-executing,’ subsidize political parties —Pimentel

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III on Saturday proposed that a "self-executing" anti-dynasty provision should be included in the proposed new Constitution, as the government prepares to shift to federalism.

This was among the political reforms being pushed by the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban), which Pimentel heads, in the crafting of the new charter.

An anti-dynasty clause present in the current 1987 Philippine Constitution has yet to be implemented due to the absence of an enabling law, as required by the charter.

Pimentel also suggested that the government should start subsidizing accredited political parties, where "political butterflies" are punished without foregoing the concept of term limits.

PDP-Laban recently welcomed seven representatives who jumped ship from the Liberal Party to the ruling party.

Pimentel himself swore in Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and city councilor Gian Carlo Sotto on May 10, while five other LP stalwarts were sworn into the party by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

PDP-Laban is the current ruling political party and the home coalition of President Rodrigo Duterte.

On the party-list system, Pimentel said they should be transformed into a "system of proportional representation for the ruling party" to give them a majority for "a stable parliament."

Pimentel also wanted the qualification requirements for the presidency to be raised.

Further anti-corruption measures considered by Pimentel include the strengthening of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit and the prohibition of "judicial legislation" in favor of a "Constitutional Court."

Pimentel also forwarded plans to put at least one Court of Appeals division in each of the 11 proposed regional governments in his envisioned federal government, and setting time limits to cases to declog court dockets.

The Senate President has pushed for a shift from a unitary to a federal system for a year despite opposition from the public, the business sector, and political experts. — Rie Takumi/MDM, GMA News