The prevalence of political dynasties is a longstanding problem in the Philippines but one Quezon City councilor wants to try to put an end to it, even just on the city level.
Councilor Ranulfo Ludovica filed the Anti-Political Dynasty Relationship Ordinance last week, which seeks to ban those who are part of political families from running for office in next year’s mid-term elections.
Should the ordinance be approved, people who have a second-degree relative, either by blood or marriage, who already occupies an elected position will not be allowed to run. Those who violate the ordinance could be imprisoned for up to one year.
Why is Ludovica proposing this? “Public office has become the exclusive domain of influential, prominent and celebrated families and clans,” he told The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
You don’t say?
Earlier this month, news website Assortedge released an infographic that shows how 12 provinces in the Philippines have at least one legislative district ruled by one family since the new constitution was ratified in 1987.
Their study doesn’t include Metro Manila, which has different legislative districts for each of the 17 cities it is made up of.
In Quezon City, 11 out of 37 councilors are from the same family. Former Mayor Sonny Belmonte is currently a Congressman for the city. His daughter, Joy Belmonte, is Vice Mayor, and his nephew, Jose Christopher Belmonte, is also a Congressman. They are also related to two other people in the city council.
Getting rid of political dynasties was a hot topic in 2016 because senate tried to pass the Anti-Dynasty Bill before the Presidential elections. President Rodrigo Duterte did not shy away from saying that he is against the bill and called it undemocratic.
“How can you prevent a person from running a public if that is his happiness, freedom of expression, and he wanted to be happy?” Duterte said in an interview on ANC.
And why would he be against it?
Before becoming president, he had been a mayor, vice mayor, and congressman for Davao City for two decades. His daughter Sara Duterte took over his post in 2016. His son Paolo Duterte was Vice Mayor of the city until he resigned from office last month.
The president even reiterated his point last month and told reporters that his family does not like politics.
Several anti-political dynasty bills have been pending in congress since 2013, but none have come close to becoming law yet. Lawmakers have found it difficult to pass a law prohibiting members of political dynasties from running because it is not part of the qualifications stipulated by the constitution.
While the constitution states that political dynasties should be prohibited, its requirements for aspiring candidates does not specify this.
Apart from age and residency requirements that differ depending on the position, the only qualifications are that a person be a registered voter in the municipality, city, province, or district he or she will run in, that he or she can read and write, and that he or she is a citizen of the Philippines.
Even in the rare chance that the council does pass this ordinance, its constitutionality will probably have a tough time holding up in court considering election laws can only be amended in congress.
Let’s see how it goes.
