The proposed anti-political dynasty measure is expected to be endorsed for plenary consideration within two weeks, House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms chairperson Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said Wednesday.

Adiong said the committee is set to adopt a substitute bill next week following the consolidation of 24 pending measures before the panel.

Once approved at the committee level, the substitute bill will be forwarded for plenary debate in the House of Representatives.

“There’s no question about the anti-political dynasty bill because everyone agrees that it’s already in the Constitution,” Adiong said.

The committee recently concluded a two-week public consultation on the proposed law, gathering input from stakeholders in Cavite, Cebu and Misamis Oriental, including Cagayan de Oro City. The consultations were attended by large numbers of registered voters, according to the Commission on Elections.

The 1987 Constitution provides for a ban on political dynasties, but Congress has yet to pass an enabling law to implement the provision in the past four decades.

As a result, members of the same political families have continued to hold multiple elective positions.

Adiong said that of the two dozen bills referred to his committee, about 16 or 17 propose prohibiting political dynasties up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, while the remaining versions push for a stricter fourth-degree ban.

He noted that there is legal precedent for adopting a second-degree prohibition.

“We already have an existing law and I’ve mentioned this many times over. In SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) law, second degree; even in the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) electoral code, second degree,” Adiong said.

The lawmaker added that if the measure is determined by majority support among proposals, the second-degree prohibition has more backers.