(Eagle News) — The Consultative Committee tasked by President Rodrigo Duterte to review the 1987 Constitution will include “strong, self-executing provisions to regulate dynasties” in its proposed charter.
The con-com said on Wednesday, March 7, that the decision was made after results of a study led by former Chief Justice Reynato Puno and former Buget Secretary Salvador Enriquez Jr. showed that at least 295 political families have power in various regions, with Metro Manila having the most number with 31 families.
The provisions to be included will ban “a family member” or relatives “up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity” from succeeding or replacing “another member who is an incumbent public official, …members of one family (from holding) multiple positions, and ..members of one family (from running) simultaneously for multiple positions,” the con-com said.
“If we are going to restructure and reboot the political system, there is a need for all the players to start from the same starting line. So if ever one would argue that his or her political family is really accepted by the people, then let’s all start at a level playing field. And let the people decide eventually under the new rules of the game,” Julio Teehankee, chair of the subcommittee on political reforms, said.
Although the 1987 Constitution includes a provision banning political dynasties, it still requires an enabling law that the Congress would formulate.
“But one generation after the Constitution’s ratification, Congress has yet to pass a law regulating dynasties…Ironically, the same constitutional ban and the imposition of term limits contributed to the proliferation of old and emerging dynasties,” the con-com stressed.