Pasig consultations focus on local enforcement of anti-dynasty bill

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

NO TO POLITICAL DYNASTY. Senator Risa Hontiveros chairperson of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation, confers with civil society representatives and local officials, including Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto during a public consultation on the proposed Anti-Political Dynasty Bill in Pasig City on Monday (Feb. 9, 2026). Discussions focused on crafting provisions that are enforceable on the ground. (Photo: PNA/Facebook)

MANILA – Lawmakers and civil society groups on Monday shifted the anti-political dynasty debate toward implementation, saying any proposed law must be enforceable on the ground.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s participation, said the consultative meeting in Pasig City was convened to confront weaknesses that have stalled passage of an enabling law for the 1987 Constitution’s ban on political dynasties.

“Ang kailangan po natin ay isang batas Kontra-Dinastiya na praktikal at may pagkakasundo—hindi lang sa aming mga mambabatas kundi pati sa ating mga mamamayan (What we need is an anti-dynasty law that is practical and built on consensus—not only among lawmakers but also among our citizens),” Hontiveros said.

She said lawmakers must decide whether restrictions should apply only to immediate family members or extend to second-, third-, or fourth-degree relatives; whether national and local officials should be covered under separate or unified frameworks; and how positions such as district representatives, party-list lawmakers, barangay officials, and Sangguniang Kabataan leaders should be classified.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, who hosted the consultation, said enforceability must be the guiding principle of the proposed law, noting that political dynasties often benefit from the use of state resources to perpetuate themselves in office.

“Hindi ito laban sa isang pamilya o isang politiko. Ang nilalabanan natin dito ay ang concentration of power sa kamay ng political elites (This is not a fight against a family or an individual politician. What we are opposing is the concentration of power in the hands of political elites),” Sotto said.

Pasig City earlier passed a resolution urging the national legislators to enact a law that prohibits political dynasties, the first of its kind for a local government unit.