Position Paper

“Voice of the Future Voters Speaks on the Anti-dynasty Bill”
In the Philippines, where democracy has flourished for more than a quarter-century, the onset of
political dynasties has presented a problem at the heart of electoral system.
A political dynasty is a clan’s monopolization of power from generation to generation, transforming

public office into personal property, according to Teresa and Eduardo Tadem of UP Diliman. Here in the
Philippines, political dynasties are normalized, and we turn a blind eye, mainly because we are
comfortable with the family name or because we trust the surname. Even in the last election there was
a corrupt candidate but still settling because of the legacy of the family involved. Sometimes, the aim of
the candidate is not about helping our nation; they're making it a business. Allowing a political dynasty
to exist is damaging to our nation. So the Philippine government passed an anti-dynasty bill that will
alter these. This bill proposes to define and prohibit political dynasties and provide penalties as
mandated by the constitution. Unfortunately, there are difficulties and challenges involved in the
efforts, attempts, and movements for the passage of an Anti-Political Dynasty law owing to the refusal
of some powerful politicians particularly in Congress to enact one because it would mean relinquishing
and losing their seats and of their families to people not within their family circles. Passing the anti-
dynasty bill will have positive effects socially, politically and economically. The government should take
actions to enact anti-dynasty bill into law.
However, the anti-dynasty bill may limit the choice of voters, as they may prefer to vote for a
candidate based on his or her family background or performance, but it is also worth examining the pros
of passing this bill, which would provide a strong argument that it is one of the solutions for the political
dynasties that cause negative impacts to our nation.
First, the anti-dynasty bill will open opportunities for many candidates. Article II, Section 26 of the
1987 Constitution provides that “the state shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public
service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.” The proposed law prohibits the
spouse, or any persons related within the second degree of consanguinity to a reelection-seeking
politician, to run for a position in the same election, or for anyone to immediately succeed to a position
vacated by a family member (Inquirer.Net, 2016). This bill brings potential about real reform. In other
words it will provide opportunities for candidates who lack political ties but have the capacity to be
effective leaders. Moreover, by including this provision, “it can widen the opportunities of competent,
young, and promising candidates to occupy important positions in the government,” commissioner
Sarmiento explained during the debates in the Constitutional Commission of 1986.
Second, passing the anti-dynasty bill will promote economic and societal progress, since we all know
that corruption due to political dynasties is one of the reasons why our country has made slow progress.
The Constitution, Article 2, Section 27 provides that: “The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in
the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption”. But during the
administration of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., corruption ranged from theft of foreign and
military aid to the domestic system of crony capitalism. The scale of the grand corruption of Ferdinand
Marcos, his family, relatives, and cronies necessitated an extensive use of money laundering devices.
This was due to their influence through maintaining their clans’ higher positions in government. By
passing this bill, corruption will be minimized because according to an interview, former De La Salle
University Dean Julio Cabral Teehankee said the regulated ban on political dynasties would prevent
elective officials from accumulating power and increase the accountability of public officials. “The anti-
dynasty provision is also part of strengthening the accountability of public officials because now they will
not be able to accumulate political power and use that to perpetuate themselves to power,” said
Teehankee, chairman of the ConCom subcommittee on political reforms. Thus, implementation of anti-
dynasty bill would be a great tool to achieve developments in our country through having a progress
economically and socially.
Lastly, the anti-political dynasty would lessen the gap between the rich and the poor. Various studies
over the past few years have pointed out that one of the reasons that contribute to the big gap between
the rich and the poor in the country is the domination of political families in elective posts either
simultaneously or in terms of office that succeed each other. In many towns and provinces around the
country, access to both economic and political power is often dominated by political clans, or
“dynasties” as they have come to be referred to ( Jose M. Galang, 2014). Manipulation and corruption
in our system have been openly practiced ever since political dynasties have emerged. Since they have
control over our country’s politics, many political clans established dirty works in order to maintain their
position as one of the influential and powerful people in the nation, resulting on the distribution of
unfairness treatment among people. Because wealthy people occasionally receive more attention,
especially if they have connections with the government, this widens the gap between the rich and the
poor. If this bill is passed, equality will be incorporated into society.
The Philippine government deserves to have an equitable, responsible administration that treats
people fairly and makes decisions that advance the development of the nation. If political dynasties
continue to exist, we will be unable to accomplish these goals. We assert that the implementation of the
anti-dynasty bill will address both of these concurrent issues in our society as future voters of this
country. Therefore, the government should approve this bill in order to promote many positive effects
to our country, such as the examples being presented in here and people in this country should also
play their part in selecting the best candidate to support in the upcoming election. We should always
remember that by ending or cutting issues in our government such as political dynasty, we can open
new opportunities to our society and establish changes that will bring about progress and development
in our nation. So as future voters in our country, we should use our voice and freedom to speak out our
views about these kinds of political issues because we believe that the end of this will be a new
beginning for everyone.

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“Voice of the Future Voters Speaks on the Anti-dynasty Bill”

A political dynasty is a clan’s monopolization of power from generation to generation, transforming

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