Tough bill vs dynasties wins wider backing

Efforts emanating in Congress to pass a law that would finally put an end to dynasties in the political system have snowballed among local leaders, primarily in Bacolod, Negros Occidental.

This position was made clear during the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation’s third public consultation meeting held in Carlos Hilado Memorial State University in Bacolod on Friday.

Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya acknowledged the far-reaching implications of dynasties in the country’s political landscape, affecting all levels of government, from national to local, and extending down to the grassroots in the barangay.

The mayor is in favor of banning political dynasties across the government, but emphasized the need for a clear definition of the prohibition on succession, specifying the degree of relationship, whether by affinity or consanguinity.

A self-confessed product of a “political clan,” Himamaylan, Negros Occidental Vice Mayor Justin Dominic Gatuslao echoed the same view in endorsing the passage of the proposed anti-dynasty law.

Gatuslao strongly posited that a ban on succession addresses real democratic concerns and breaks the chain of continuous family control, while creating space for fair competition, as enshrined by the 1987 Constitution.

Article 2, Section 26 of the Constitution mandates equal access to public service and prohibits political dynasties to prevent the concentration of power within a few families.

“That position did not appear overnight. It has been shaped over the years by experience, family feuds, painful disagreements, political and difficult conversations, as well as very awkward family reunions,” Gatuslao said.

Watchdogs have long observed that political dynasties weaken checks and balances in government, thereby opening the floodgates to corruption.

Former Rep. Gary Alejano also backed growing calls to finally implement the constitutional prohibition on political dynasties, though he admitted it won’t come to pass easily due to the voting public’s lack of “political maturity.”

Corruption not far

“If money is the main ticket to victory, then we should not be surprised when corruption follows. And this system is most efficiently perfected by political dynasties because they control not only position but resources, networks, and the very decision of who shall compete,” he stressed.

Citing a recent study, the former lawmaker expressed alarm that about half of the country’s provinces are dominated by political families, while areas with entrenched dynasties are associated with higher poverty rates and weaker public services.

“This is not a coincidence; this is a pattern,” he warned.

Panel chairperson Risa Hontiveros’ proposed anti-dynasty bill aims to prohibit spouses and relatives — up to the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity — from running for both national and local posts.

Two of the seven authors of the proposed anti-dynasty law in the Senate are themselves from dynastic families, namely Senators JV Ejercito and Erwin Tulfo.

Similar bills were filed in previous Congresses, but all languished at the committee level, as Congress — mandated to craft and amend laws — is dominated by dynasties.