Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan stage a protest outside the House of Representatives in Quezon City on Friday, September 5, 2025, as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) presents its proposed 2026 budget before the Committee on Appropriations. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Victoria Tulad

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17702001780231757249650255viber_image_2025-09-05_13-38-42-418.webp" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan stage a protest outside the House of Representatives in Quezon City on Friday, September 5, 2025, as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) presents its proposed 2026 budget before the Committee on Appropriations. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The existence of political dynasties may have contributed to the flood control problem in the country, according to a non-profit organization.</p><p>During Wednesday’s inquiry of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation, which is hearing six anti-political dynasty bills, the Anti-Dynasty Network (ADN) enumerated the negative effects of political dynasties, including weakening accountability and being a breeding ground for corruption.</p><p>Atty. Michaela Defensor, co-convenor of ADN, said political dynasties contributed a breakdown of accountability in the projects.</p><p>“So we see this clearly in the flood control crisis. The congressman secures the budget, the mayor, the governor implements the project. When the one funding the project and the one spending the money are related, checks and balances disappear. You cannot effectively audit your own family. And so accountability is replaced by conflict of interest,” she said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/28/recto-hopes-anti-dynasty-bill-will-be-passed-before-filing-of-cocs-for-2028-polls-1738"><strong>Recto hopes anti-dynasty bill will be passed before filing of COCs for 2028 polls</strong></a></div><p>Senate Deputy Majority Floor Leader Risa Hontiveros, chair of the committee, said dynasties “weaken checks and balances and accountability — especially in the management of public funds.” </p><p>She added: “Yung multibillion-peso flood control scam, yung paglala ng kahirapan, at yung patayan lalo na tuwing eleksyon — lahat ito ay konektado sa binusog at pinalala ng political dynasties.”</p><p>(The multibillion-peso flood control scam, worsening poverty, and the killings especially during eelction system — all of these are connected to those made fat and made worse by political dynasties) </p><p>According to a study of ADN, in the 20th Congress, 238 or 76% of the 315 members of the House of Representatives and 20 or 83% of 24 senators are from supposed dynastic political families.</p><p>At the House, more than eight of every ten district representatives belong to a dynasty. <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/2/16/wrap-why-it-matters-if-a-party-list-rep-isn-t-from-the-poor-and-marginalized-0129">Of the 61 party-list representatives</a>, 31, or more than half, are from dynastic clans.</p><p>Dr. Carmel Abao, ADN co-convenor and an associate professor of the Ateneo De Manila University’s Department of Political Science, said dynasties bar the entry of other people into elective positions.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/27/house-panel-starts-tackling-proposed-anti-political-dynasty-measures-1512"><strong>House panel starts tackling proposed anti-political dynasty measures</strong></a></div><p>“That democratic feature has also really been eroded because of political dynasties,” Abao stated.</p><p>Defensor added the current political system privileges connection over competence “so a lot of capable Filipinos who have the skills to serve lack the surname to win.”</p><p>De La Salle University Professor Julio Teehankee commented that with as much as 80 percent of elected officials coming from political families, &quot;hindi na po demokrasya yun na matatawag (we can no longer call that a democracy).&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>FAIR, PRACTICAL FORMULATION   </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Hontiveros asked— what is the fairest, most practical, and doable formulation for an anti-political dynasty bill?</p><p>Atty. Christian Monsod, a framer of the 1987 Constitution, said it is time to thoroughly dismantle political dynasties.</p><p>“As far as the coverage is concerned, I think it should go from national all the way down to barangay,” Monsod said.</p><p>“The barangay should not be bothered by the intrusion again of the dynasties in the country. Let us leave it to the poor.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/23/anti-dynasty-law-now-poll-shows-filipinos-want-real-political-reform-1340"><strong>Anti-Dynasty Law now? Poll shows Filipinos want real political reform</strong></a></div><p>For retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna, it is possible that national officials not be covered by the anti-political dynasty bill since “the power of political dynasties is diffused when the election is on a national level.”</p><p>He added that, fot national positions, “we may have to decide in favor of democratic choice.” </p><p>Sen. Erwin Tulfo, whose brother Raffy is also a senator, asked Monsod why they did not define political dynasty when they crafted the Constitution.</p><p>“Sana natuldukan na po ito noon pa man. If you specifically said, bawal ang succession, bawal ang magkakapatid, magkakamag-anak, na tumakbo sabay-sabay,” Tulfo, who also has two relatives at the House, said.</p><p>(This debate would have been over that early. If you specifically said siblings, relatives are not allowed to run at the same time) </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/15/4-decades-in-congress-can-the-anti-political-dynasty-bill-this-time-be-different-1955"><strong>4 decades in Congress: Can the anti-political dynasty bill this time be different?</strong></a></div><p>“Frankly, we trusted that Congress would define it according to the need of the time,” Monsod said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>SECOND DEGREE OF CONSAGUINITY</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Azcuna said research by his students suggested limiting the restriction of those who will run up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, which includes spouses, descendants, and siblings.</p><p>He said it would be difficult to verify thousands of candidates if the ban was more expansive.</p><p>The Commission on Elections agreed, with Chairman George Garcia calling a ban up to the second degree &quot;more practical reasonable, and can easily be implementable and enforceable.”</p><p>Garcia said they are able to properly implement Republic Act 10742, or the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015, which states that those who will run as officials of Sangguniang Kabataan “must not be related within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any incumbent elected national official or to any incumbent elected regional, provincial, city, municipal, or barangay official, in the locality where he or she seeks to be elected.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/2/anti-political-dynasty-bills-top-house-electoral-reforms-committee-agenda-adiong-1848"><strong>Anti-political dynasty bills top House electoral reforms committee agenda — Adiong</strong></a></div><p><strong></strong>The second degree would include grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, aunts and uncles, and nieces and nephews.<strong></strong></p><p>Election watchdogs and members of the academe support the second-degree cap.</p><p>Resource persons also said the ban should be applied to dynasties in succession or are in various positions of government simultaneously.</p><p>Meanwhile, the League of Provinces of the Philippines said there are political dynasties that “actually work,” but did not give specifics.</p><p>Hontiveros said they intend to pass the law at the Senate before Congress adjourns in March.</p>

<p>The existence of political dynasties may have contributed to the flood control problem in the country, according to a non-profit organization.</p>

The existence of political dynasties may have contributed to the flood control problem in the country, according to a non-profit organization.

Political dynasties partly to blame for flood control crisis, NGO says

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Political dynasties partly to blame for flood control crisis, NGO says

Victoria Tulad,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 04, 2026 06:22 PM PHT

Read More:

Political dynasty

Flood control

Anti-dynasty network

Risa hontiveros

Comelec

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