KIEFER JOHN V.

SAGA June 30, 2014

Juris Doctor I JD 113 Legal Research and Thesis Writing

DEFINING POLITICAL DYNASTY: AVENUE FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRACY
Primary Sources
Section 26, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution The state shall guarantee equal
access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined
by law.
-the thrust of this provision is to impose on the state the obligation of guaranteeing equal access
to public office. The establishment of political dynasties is an effective way of monopolizing and
perpetuating power. The constitutional policy on the prohibition of political dynasties expresses
a national commitment to democratize election and appointment to positions in the government
and eliminate principal obstacle to equal access to opportunities for public service. Hence, this
provision notes that the state expressly mandate to prohibit political dynasties. Congress has no
discretion on the matter except merely to spell out the meaning and scope of the term.
Senate Bill No. 1317 of the Thirteenth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines An Act
to Prohibit Political Dynasty otherwise as the Anti-Political Dynasty Act of 2004 (authored by
Sen. Alfredo Lim)

-this bill endorses that the continuity in public service may be better assured if the same is
carried out by political parties. Indeed, by abolishing dynasties, we are strengthening our party
system because; rather look up to the candidates, the electorate will make their choice on the
basis of party principles. Hence, the bill seeks to end the exercise and control of political power
and authority in a political unit by two or more members of the same family related within the 3rd
civil degree of consanguinity or affinity either simultaneously or in succession. Under the
proposed bill, a mayor who finishes his three (3) terms cannot be succeeded by his wife, child or
any relative within the 3rd degree. Likewise, no relative of the mayor may run as congressman,
vice mayor, councilor or even any barangay position in the same municipality or city for as long
as he sits as mayor in that place. The rule applies with equal force to provincial levels and
autonomous regions.

Senate Bill No. 2649 of the Fifteenth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines An Act to
Prohibit the Establishment of Political Dynasties otherwise as the Anti-Political Dynasty Act
of 2011 (authored by Sen. Meriam Defensor Santiago)
-to give force and effect to the provision on Sec.26 Article II of the 1987 Constitution, this bill
levelled and opened to persons who are equally qualified to aspire on even terms with those
from ruling politically dominant families. This bill sees that Philippine society revolves around the
system of extended families. That this extended family system, an otherwise beneficial concept
when applied to the social aspects of human behaviour, finds its pernicious effects in the
political arena where public office becomes the exclusive domain of influential families and clans
that are well entrenched in Philippine politics. Henceforth, discusses the method to discourage
the monopoly of political power and public resources by such families affects the citizenry at the
local and national levels.

Senate Bill No. 1906 of the Sixteenth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines An Act
Prohibiting the Establishment of Political Dynasties otherwise as the Anti-Political Dynasty
Act of 2013 (authored by Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito)
- as a means to give force and effect to the social justice provisions of the Constitution which
provides for the diffusion of economic and political influence, this bill is necessary that the
political arena be levelled by opening public office to persons who are equally qualified to aspire
on even terms with those from politically dominant families. In light of the foregoing, this bill is
proposes to give real teeth to the Constitutional mandate and strengthen the call for new politics
to lay the basis of greater empowerment for the greater number of Filipinos.

Republic Act No. 6735 - An Act Providing For A System Of Initiative And Referendum And
Appropriating Funds Therefore otherwise as The Initiative and Referendum Act (by the
Eighth Congress of the republic of the Philippines)

-a very important instrument to which political dynasty can by enacted through peoples initiative
which states that, Implementing the state policy of prohibiting political dynasties as may be
defined by law under article two, section twenty-six of the 1987 constitution, through the
sovereign power of the people to propose and enact laws under article six, section thirty-two
thereof and republic act 6735, provide penalties for violation, and for other purposes. Hence as
stated in its Statement of policy the power of the people under a system of initiative and
referendum to directly propose, enact, approve or reject, in whole or in part, the Constitution,
laws, ordinances, or resolutions passed by any legislative body upon compliance with the
requirements of this Act is hereby affirmed, recognized and guaranteed.

Secondary Sources

Family Relationship as a Basis for Disqualification to Hold Public Office: A Framework for
Law Prohibiting Political Dynasties (by Jayson L. Fernandez, 40 Ateneo Law Journal 1996)

-the note explores the topic of political dynasties, an issue expressly prohibited under Section
26, Article II of the 1987 Constitution. It aims to provide under a comprehensive study of the
political dynasty phenomenon in the Philippines for the purpose of formulating a viable definition
within the context of the 1987 Constitution. It also suggest a framework for a law prohibiting
political dynasties which would adequately and effectively address the problems brought by the
existence of political dynasties while still being reasonable enough to gain acceptance by
legislation. The study however, focuses only on the prohibition on political dynasties as applied
in elective offices. This note also proposes a standard to be used in evaluating the viability of
any proposed definition and a survey of congressional bills filed since the ratification of the
Constitution regarding the topic. It also provides a better framework for legislation which would
satisfy the standard identified in the stud. Lastly, it recommends and ideal framework for a law
prohibiting political dynasties.

Political Dynasties and Poverty: Evidence from the Philippines (by Ronald U. Mendoza,
Edsel L. Beja Jr., Victor S. Venida, and David B. Yap, Department of Economics, Ateneo de
Manila University)

- the study provides one definition of political dynasties which refers to members of the same
family occupying elected positions either in sequence for the same position, or simultaneously
across different positions. In the Philippines, poverty appears critically linked to the prevalence
of political dynasties at the provincial level. Either poverty brings about political dynasties, or
political dynasties fail to reduce, or even exacerbate, poverty. The dominant direction of
causation is an empirical question. This study responds by analyzing a unique Philippine
provincial-level dataset. It also uses an instrumental variable technique to deal with endogeneity
issues, and develops novel metrics on political dynasties. The empirical findings suggest that
poverty entrenches political dynasties, while there is less evidence that political dynasties
exacerbate poverty.

An Empirical Analysis of Political Dynasties in the 15
th
Philippine Congress (by Ronald U.
Mendoza, Edsel L. Beja Jr., Victor S. Venida, and David B. Yap, Department of Economics,
Ateneo de Manila University)

- This paper develops metrics to analyze the extent to which political dynasties in the 15th
Congress of the Republic of the Philippines are linked to different social and economic
outcomes in the country. Such a detailed empirical mapping and analysis of political dynasties is
the first of its kind from the country. Results show that representatives from political dynasties
account for 70 percent of the jurisdiction-based legislators in Congress. On average, they
possess higher net worth and win in elections by larger margins of victory compared to non-
dynastic representatives. Dynastic jurisdictions are also associated with lower standards of
living (as measured by average income) and lower human development (as measured by the
Human Development Index), and higher levels of deprivation (as measured by poverty
incidence, poverty gap, and poverty severity). Results on the correlates of dynastic prevalence
and inequality are less conclusive.

Political Reform and Elite Persistence: Term Limits and Political Dynasties in the Philippines
(by Pablo Querubin, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies)

- Research in political economy emphasizes the tendency of elites to persist and reproduce their
power over time, potentially undermining the electiveness of institutional reforms. One particular
form of elite persistence is illustrated by the existence of political dynasties. A natural question is
whether certain political reforms can break dynastic patterns and open up the political system.
In this paper the extent to which the introduction of term limits by the 1987 Philippine
Constitution electively broke the hold of incumbent families on power. The ability of term limits to
dismantle political dynasties is not obvious, as term- limited incumbents may be replaced by
relatives or may run for a deferent elected once. Whether these strategies undermine the direct
elects of term-limits in reducing the time an individual can hold once is an empirical question.
Such that there is no evidence of a statistically significant impact of term limits on curbing
families' persistence in power. Moreover, term limits deter high-quality challengers from running
prior to the expiration of an incumbent's term. Challengers prefer to wait for the incumbent to be
termed-out and run in an open-sea trace. As a consequence, incumbents are safer in their early
terms prior to the limit. These results suggest that political reforms that do not modify the
underlying sources of dynastic power may be ineffective in changing the political equilibrium.

Ateneo Fact Check 2013: Fourth Brief Senators and the Anti-Dynasty Bill (by office of the
vice president for social development and Ateneo school of government through its political
democracy and reforms (PODER) program, Ateneo de Manila University)

-this statistical study shows that Candidates, who are members of political dynasties, will not
champion or will not support an anti-political dynasty bill in Congress; while candidates, who are
not members of any political dynasty, are expected to champion and support an anti-dynasty
bill. Also this study provides updated data on the current families present in Congress both
upper house and lower house. In sum, there are current senators who are members of political
dynasties and who will oppose an anti-dynasty bill and they are strong contenders such as
Angara, Aquino, Binay, Cayetano, Ejercito/Estrada, Escudero and Villar clan as stated in the
statistical findings.