Rowegie Abanto

A woman holds a poster against Political Dynasties at the anti-Charter Change Rallies at the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City. February 22, 2018. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

A woman holds a poster 

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — The government should begin introducing &quot;bold reforms&quot; to win back the trust of the public after a fresh corruption scandal hit the credibility of institutions, a lawmaker said Wednesday.</p><p>Rep. Edgar Erice, House senior deputy minority leader, told ANC that the alleged corruption in billions worth of flood relief funds meant politicians&#x27; &quot;greed&quot; had already &quot;gone wild.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Dapat magkaroon tayo ng mga bold reforms, &#x27;yun &#x27;yung sagot para mapahupa &#x27;yung galit, maibalik &#x27;yung tiwala sa institusyon ng mga mamamayan,&quot; he said.</p><p>(We should have bold reforms, which will pacify the public&#x27;s anger and restore their trust to institutions.) </p><p>He said political dynasties were the &quot;root of all corruption&quot; and it was high time to pass a law that would ban them. </p><p>The post-Edsa constitution prohibits such dynasties, but legislators never came close to passing an enabling law in the last 32 years.</p><p>Political dynasties, especially &quot;fat&quot; dynasties, have been tied to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBXh5o1lUrs">procurement-related corruption</a>, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said, citing studies. </p><p>Politicians have been &quot;ignoring&quot; the enabling law that would prohibit political dynasties, Erice also said, accusing them of &quot;cherry picking&quot; parts of the charter that benefit them.</p><p>Several suggestions have been put forward in recent days  — from mass resignation to give way to a <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/6/election-lawyer-on-snap-elections-hindi-mangyayari-yun-sa-ating-saligang-batas-0831">snap election</a> to instituting government <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/6/makati-business-club-urges-reform-in-government-over-snap-election-2230">reforms</a> — following the uncovering of corruption in flood control funds.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/6/lino-cayetano-urges-brother-alan-give-up-power-0715">Lino Cayetano urges brother Alan: Give up power</a></div><p>While President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken steps to <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/11/marcos-announces-creation-of-independent-body-on-flood-control-probe-1412">hasten the investigation into the flood relief corruption</a>, Erice said the President advocating for an anti-dynasty bill could be his &quot;most beautiful legacy.&quot;</p><p>&quot;It will take time to investigate. May sunog, paano mo papatayin &#x27;yung sunog? Reforms, bold reforms,&quot; the lawmaker said.</p><p>(It will take time to investigate. There&#x27;s already fire, how will you extinguish this? Through reforms, bold reforms.)</p><p>The scandal saw several House members and senators denying accusations of pocketing or misusing the funds as well as public protests calling for the return of &quot;stolen&quot; wealth and the arrest of corrupt politicians.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM, ANTI-TURNCOATISM</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Erice said that aside from anti-dynasty bill, lawmakers should also craft a law that would reform the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/5/escudero-welcomes-comelec-show-cause-on-campaign-donations-1600">financing of political campaigns</a> and ban turncoatism, the transferring from one party to another to serve one&#x27;s political motives. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/7/ph-needs-change-in-attitude-among-gov-t-official-instead-of-change-in-constitution-palace-1531">PH needs ‘change in attitude’ among gov’t official instead of change in constitution: Palace</a></div><p>&quot;Kita mo naman dati si President tsaka si Vice President. Ang platform nila unity, ngayon away sila. Paano ang kanilang pinagsamahan hindi naman talaga &#x27;yung prinsipyo kundi political convenience kasi mahina ang ating political party system,&quot; he said.</p><p>(See what happened to the alliance of the President and Vice President. Their platform was unity but they broke up. Their alliance was never built on principles but rather on political convenience because our political party system is weak.)</p><p>&quot;Kung seryoso ang ating Presidente, kung pagmamahal para sa bayan ang nais ng Vice President, pagtulungan na ito ng lahat. Ito ang hinihingi ng bayan wag na natin hintayin na mag-aklas ang bayan, mag-aklas ang kasundaluhan.&quot;</p><p>(If our President is serious and if the Vice President loves our country, they should push for these. The nation wants these reforms; let us not wait for the public and the military to revolt.)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/7/marcos-corrupt-officials-are-not-the-face-of-government-1207">Marcos: Corrupt officials ‘are not the face of government’</a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS: </strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MnXQOTJeR2o?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uK-t9TX2Ybg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Rep. Edgar Erice said political dynasties were the "root of all corruption," saying it was high time to pass a law that would ban them. </p>

Rep. Edgar Erice said political dynasties were the "root of all corruption," saying it was high time to pass a law that would ban them.

Lawmaker says political dynasties are 'root of all corruption,' pushes for 'bold reforms' in government

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Lawmaker says political dynasties are 'root of all corruption,' pushes for 'bold reforms' in government

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 08, 2025 02:15 PM PHT

Read More:

Edgar Erice

Corruption

Political Dynasty

Flood Control

Flood Control Scandal

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