Dynasties and the flood of corruption

“The Philippines is the political dynasty capital of the world,” then-Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago declared in her explanatory note to The Anti-Political Dynasty Act, a bill “prohibiting the establishment of political dynasties,” submitted to the 15th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines in 2019.

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A report by the United Nations Development Programme states that of the 77 Philippine provinces included in their study, 72 provinces or 94% had political families (ABS-CBN News, July 2).

The 1987 Constitution, Article 2, Section 26 provides: The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law. “...As may be defined by law” has been the escape clause that allowed the political dynasty-dominated Philippine legislature to evade enacting the implementing law that will finally and truly establish the explicit prohibition in the constitution against political dynasties in our society. It has been 38 years since the Constitution was made. More than 30 anti-political dynasty bills have been filed in Congress, but none have become law.

Then-president Rodrigo Duterte openly jeered in a public speech in Batangas in April, 2022 that “Nothing will happen... as Congress won't pass an enabling law to prohibit political dynasties because majority of its members are part of these dynasties and passing such law would spell doom for their political families” (factsfirstph-partners rappler.com).

The May 2025 midterm election campaign confirmed Duterte’s painful taunt that political dynasties are determined to stay in power. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) underscored the dominance of a system where power is frequently passed down within families, raising concerns about its impact on democratic representation and political diversity. In addition to the Marcos-Romualdez clans of Ilocos Norte and Leyte there were about two dozen political dynasties seeking to occupy at least five seats each after the May elections.