EXPLAINER: Who can hold office under the House version of anti-political dynasty bill?

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed on the third and final reading the House Bill 8389, or the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill.

This is the first anti-political dynasty bill passed in Congress since the enforcement of the 1987 Constitution.

House Bill 8389 is the consolidation of the previous 17 versions of a proposed legislation that seeks to prohibit relatives from seeking public office within the same district.

‘Political dynasty relationship’

The bill prohibits relatives within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from concurrently holding public office within the same levels of government.

This covers spouses, children, siblings, and grandchildren. It also covers the parents, siblings, and grandparents of an elected public official's spouse.

The bill defines a "political dynasty relationship" to include these relatives, regardless of whether they are legitimate or illegitimate, full-blood or half-blood.

However, the bill does not bar cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews from occupying positions at the same time.

UP Department of Political Science Professor Jean Encinas-Franco said the prohibitions of the bill fall short of a strict ban on political dynasties.

“Kadalasan, sa mga Pilipino, ‘pag sinabing pamilya, although meron tayong tinatawag na immediate family, itinuturing din natin na kapamilya ‘yung mga pinsan at tiyuhin natin ‘no?... So hindi mo rin talaga masasabing malawakang ipinagbabawal nitong kapapasang panukala sa House of Representatives ‘yung political dynasty kung hanggang dito lang ang kanilang panuntunan,” Encinas-Franco said.

(Usually, among Filipinos, when we say family, although we have what we call immediate family, we also consider our cousins ​​and uncles as family, right?... So you can't really say that this bill that just passed the House of Representatives is a broad ban on political dynasties if their rules only go as far as this.)

Government positions

Section 5 of the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill bars members of a “political dynasty relationship” from concurrently holding positions of:

(National Level) President, vice-president, and senator

(House of Representatives) Representative within the same legislative district;

(Provincial level) Governor, vice-governor, and members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan

(City/municipal level) City/municipal mayor, city/municipal vice-mayor, and members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod/Sangguniang Bayan

Who are affected after bill is enacted into law?

Once the bill is passed into law, spouses, siblings, parents and children, or grandparents and grandchildren cannot serve as senators at the same time.

Relatives will also be barred from serving concurrent terms as governor, vice governor, mayor, vice mayor, and councilors.

“Napakaliit ng impact noon. Ang seryosong political dynasty bill ay dapat putulin ang patuloy na pagdagdag, pagdami ng political families na namumuno sa bansa. ‘Yun dapat ang objective,” Encinas-Franco said.

(That would have a very minimal impact. A serious anti-political dynasty bill should stop the continuous growth and proliferation of political families ruling the country. That should be the objective.)

Identified loopholes

With the proposed law’s parameters, relatives can still run for office as long as the positions are at various levels of government.

For example, a parent can be a senator at the same time that their child is a congressman, their sibling is a governor, and their spouse is a mayor.

For local positions, the bill only prohibits relatives from holding office “within the same province,” “within the same city/municipality,” and “within the same legislative district.”

For instance, an individual can serve as a councilor in one municipality while their grandchild serves as a mayor in another.

In another scenario, two siblings can run for seats in Congress at the same time — one as a district representative and the other as a party-list representative.

It is important to note that the proposed law only disallows holding positions concurrently. Therefore, a clan or family can still occupy offices in consecutive terms, as is common in Philippine politics.

“Kapag ang sunod-sunod ay pwede pa rin, ang ibig sabihin maaaring sa 30 taon, tatlong dekada, apat na dekada, may iisang pamilya na naghahari sa isang probinsya… Kumbaga hindi natin mareresolba ‘yung problema natin sa dinastiya,” Encinas-Franco said.

(If running in consecutive terms is still permitted, it means a single family could rule a province for 30 or 40 years — spanning three to four decades. Essentially, we won't be solving our problem on political dynasties.)

Discourse

House Bill 8389 was passed after lawmakers voted 267-20-7.

Given the limited scope of the proposed anti-political dynasty law, many still disagree with its provisions.

Akbayan Partylist Representative Chel Diokno is one of the 20 lawmakers who did not vote for the bill’s passing, and said that it remains “pro-dynasty.”

“Thirty-eight years of waiting, only to be given a piece of legislation that is more concerned with perpetuating political dynasties than ending them… If one family can hold positions across multiple levels of government, that is still concentration of power,” Diokno said.

Meanwhile, Navotas City Representative Toby Tiangco is one of the congressmen who pushed for the bill’s passing.

“Kapag pinatay natin ang panukalang ito dahil sa hindi tayo kuntento sa tindi ng kabuuan nito, wala ni isa mang mababawas na miyembro ng political dynasty,” Tiangco said.

(If we kill this bill just because we are unsatisfied with it, not a single member of a political dynasty will be removed.)

For Political Science Professor Encinas-Franco, however, it is better to enact an anti-political dynasty bill that encompasses a broader definition and stronger provisions.

“Kapag ang rason ay mas mabuti ‘yung meron na kaysa wala, ang takot ko diyan baka pagdating ng araw kapag meron nangg mga legislators na gustong amyendahan ito, baka ang katuwiran naman ng iba, E meron na e, bakit mo pa gustong amyendahan,’ hindi ba?,” the professor said.

(If the justification is that ‘something is better than nothing,’ I fear that when the day comes that legislators want to amend it, others might argue, ‘Well, a law already exists, so why do you still want to amend it?’ Right?)

“Ang ipinaliliwanag lang nitong latest bill or legislative measure na na-approve sa House of Representatives ay tila hirap na hirap pa rin ang ating mga mambabatas na tanggihan ‘yung benepisyo na naibibigay sa kanila ng political dynasty,” she added.

(What this latest bill or legislative measure approved by the House of Representatives just illustrates is that it seems like our legislators are still having a hard time rejecting the benefits that the political dynasty is giving them.)

Senate

Following the passage of House Bill 8389, or the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill, it will be transmitted to the Senate, where four pairs of siblings currently hold seats as legislators:

• Senators Camille and Mark Villar
• Senators Pia and Alan Peter Cayetano
• Senators Raffy and Erwin Tulfo
• Senators Jinggoy and JV Ejercito

Nearly 40 years after the ratification of the 1987 Constitution — which mandates that political dynasties must be prohibited “as may be defined by law” — will we finally see the passage of an anti-political dynasty law that upholds the interest of the Filipinos? — BAP, GMA News