Adiong calls anti-political dynasty bill a ‘trailblazer’ reform

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong on Friday described the newly approved anti-political dynasty measure by the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms as a “trailblazer” reform that would finally define political dynasties nearly four decades after the Constitution mandated their prohibition.

Adiong, who chairs the committee, said the consolidated bill represents the first serious legislative effort to operationalize Section 26, Article II of the 1987 Constitution, which directs the State to prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.

“So if you ask me, this is a step forward. In fact, this is a trailblazer policy because we don’t have exactly an existing anti-political dynasty. This is the first time after 40 years. So it’s a positive step,” Adiong said in an ambush interview with reporters.

His remarks came as the committee faced criticism from some sectors over its decision to adopt a second-degree prohibition on political dynasties instead of extending the ban to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity.

“You know, all of us, when you talk about anti-political dynasty, it goes directly to the very foundation of our democracy, which is the right of every citizen to vote, elect their voters. So all of us are stakeholders. All of us are invested,” Adiong said.

“So naturally, there will be people, there will be sections from our society that would come out against whatever is the result from the committee deliberation that we had. Expected ko na ‘yan. There will be critics, and there will be supporters as well,” he added.

The committee earlier approved the consolidated Anti-Political Dynasty bill adopting a second-degree restriction on relatives holding certain elective posts simultaneously. The measure will soon be endorsed for plenary consideration.

The panel used as its working draft a version filed by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos, which originally proposed a broader fourth-degree prohibition.

Adiong said the committee’s main objective is to establish a clear legal definition of political dynasty to prevent the concentration of political power and government resources in the hands of a single family within a locality.

“Kailangan mong tanggalin ‘yung concentration of power. That is to us the definition of a political dynasty,” he said.

He noted that the Philippines currently lacks a legal framework directly addressing such concentration of political power.

“So as to whether or not this would directly address the concerns of the people, we have not seen, as of yet, any current policy or legal framework that addresses that issue—the concentration of power,” Adiong said.

Adiong urged lawmakers and stakeholders to remain open to refining the measure as it moves to plenary debates.

“That’s why I ask everyone, the authors, and those who have also withdrawn their authorship to keep an open mind because we still have more to go before the actual approval of the Anti-Political Dynasty [Act]. I’m talking about the actual plenary debates,” he said.

Before approving the consolidated proposal, the committee consulted constitutional experts, election lawyers, legal scholars and electoral reform advocates.

It also conducted public consultations in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to gather views from various sectors as Congress works to operationalize the constitutional provision against political dynasties.

Responding to proposals calling for a fourth-degree ban, Adiong said the committee weighed different views before settling on the second-degree restriction.

“Well, una, there are also participants who are also pushing for the second degree of consanguinity and affinity. There are also participants, especially in Carmona, Cavite, who do not want the anti-political dynasty,” he said.

Adiong noted that most bills filed in the House support a second-degree prohibition, with nearly 60 percent adopting the same civil relationship restriction.

He also pointed out that existing laws already impose similar limits, citing the Sangguniang Kabataan law and the Electoral Code of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Adiong added that the restriction applies to the actual holding of office rather than merely running for a post.

He said the committee also considered implementation concerns raised by the Commission on Elections.

Extending the prohibition to the fourth degree could make it difficult for the Comelec to verify family relationships among candidates, he noted.

“Mahirap ‘yun para sa Comelec. Magkakaroon tayo ng oras kung paano i-verify, i-validate kung talaga magkakamag-anak ito before Comelec can actually accept the [Certificate of Candidacy],” Adiong said.

Adiong stressed that the committee’s goal is to finally implement the Constitution’s directive.

“So what we’re actually doing now is not to win over arguments because definitely there will be people who are not into accepting the versions that we have already approved in the committee,” he said.

“What we’re trying to do here is to provide with finality after 40 years a legal definition of political dynasty.”

“We do not want, this is not a race between winning an argument over the other. This is a race against time, what the Constitution says, and what we ought to do and provide after 40 years in existence.”