Another petition to enact Anti-Political Dynasty law filed
MANILA, Philippines — In a 48-page petition filed Monday, 1Sambayan Coalition and several other cause-oriented groups and individuals sought the Supreme Court’s help, stating: “With all due respect, the Honorable Court should not tolerate the Congress’ continuing violation of the 1987 Constitution for almost four decades.”
“Beyond doubt, Congress’ official inaction has rendered useless and effectively repealed Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution,” petitioners said.
The petitioners pointed out that Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution explicitly mandates the State to prohibit political dynasties. The provision states, “The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”
If the petition is granted, they asked the SC to hold Congress in contempt should they fail to comply within one year if the petition is granted.
“Congress’ failure to enact an enabling law, since the Constitution’s ratification in 1987 up to date, has not only rendered Article II, Section 26 of the Constitution inutile but also allowed political dynasties to concentrate power within a few families, undermined the democratic process, and ultimately exacerbated poverty and inequality among our people,” it added.
Petitioners said over 30 anti-political dynasty bills have been filed in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but none have come close to being passed into law.
“After nearly four (4) decades and twelve (12) different Congresses, it is also abundantly clear that the political dynasties [that] now dominate the Philippine Congress, left to their own devices, will never obey the Filipino people and the 1987 Constitution’s mandate to pass an anti-dynasty law; of course, doing so would require them to act against their very own selfish interests,” the petitioners pointed out.
“The individuals who hold the authority to enact this law are the same ones who undoubtedly would continue to benefit from its non-passage,” they added.
The petitioners pleaded to the Court to revisit and abandon their previous decisions rendered more than 10 years ago in the cases of Biraogo vs. Commission on Elections and Guingona vs. House of Congress and Senate of the Philippines.
In the case of businessman Louis “Barok” Biraogo, the Court denied with finality his petition seeking to compel the Commission on Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ban members of political dynasties from running in the May elections.
The SC said the constitutional provision against political dynasties must have an enabling law passed by Congress.
Meanwhile, in the case of former Senator Teofisto Guingona, the SC said it cannot compel Congress to pass such a law because doing so would violate the principle of separation of powers.
“Since the time of the promulgation of these decisions, the political dynasties have continued to further proliferate, with their members entrenching themselves in power, escalating negatively through the years, the gross inequality in access to opportunities and public service, and the resulting exacerbating effect on poverty,” the petitioners said.
“This has not only undermined democratic principles but also exacerbated social inequalities. Mounting evidence now shows a direct correlation between the dominance of political dynasties and the persistence of poverty in various regions,” they added.
Citing a 2022 study using data gathered from 2006 to 2018, based on business-government linkages collected from experts assessing the situation across three presidential terms—Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III, and Rodrigo Duterte—showed that political dynasties are prevalent, with 80 percent in Congress and 50 percent in local government.
