KIEFER JOHN V. SAGA June 30, 2014Juris Doctor – I JD 113 – Legal Research and Thesis Writing

DEFINING POLITICAL DYNASTY: AVENUE FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRACY

Primary Sources

Section 26, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution – The state shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.

-the thrust of this provision is to impose on the state the obligation of guaranteeing equal access to public office. The establishment of political dynasties is an effective way of monopolizing and perpetuating power. The constitutional policy on the prohibition of political dynasties expresses a national commitment to democratize election and appointment to positions in the government and eliminate principal obstacle to equal access to opportunities for public service. Hence, this provision notes that the state expressly mandate to prohibit political dynasties. Congress has no discretion on the matter except merely to spell out the meaning and scope of the term.

Senate Bill No. 1317 of the Thirteenth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines – An Act to Prohibit Political Dynasty otherwise as the Anti-Political Dynasty Act of 2004 (authored by Sen. Alfredo Lim)

-this bill endorses that the continuity in public service may be better assured if the same is carried out by political parties. Indeed, by abolishing dynasties, we are strengthening our party system because; rather look up to the candidates, the electorate will make their choice on the basis of party principles. Hence, the bill seeks to end the exercise and control of political power and authority in a political unit by two or more members of the same family related within the 3rd civil degree of consanguinity or affinity either simultaneously or in succession. Under the proposed bill, a mayor who finishes his three (3) terms cannot be succeeded by his wife, child or any relative within the 3rd degree. Likewise, no relative of the mayor may run as congressman, vice mayor, councilor or even any barangay position in the same municipality or city for as long as he sits as mayor in that place. The rule applies with equal force to provincial levels and autonomous regions.

Senate Bill No. 2649 of the Fifteenth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines – An Act to Prohibit the Establishment of Political Dynasties otherwise as the Anti-Political Dynasty Act of 2011 (authored by Sen. Meriam Defensor Santiago)

-to give force and effect to the provision on Sec.26 Article II of the 1987 Constitution, this bill levelled and opened to persons who are equally qualified to aspire on even terms with those from ruling politically dominant families. This bill sees that Philippine society revolves around the system of extended families. That this extended family system, an otherwise beneficial concept when applied to the social aspects of human behaviour, finds its pernicious effects in the

political arena where public office becomes the exclusive domain of influential families and clans that are well entrenched in Philippine politics. Henceforth, discusses the method to discourage the monopoly of political power and public resources by such families affects the citizenry at the local and national levels.

Senate Bill No. 1906 of the Sixteenth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines – An Act Prohibiting the Establishment of Political Dynasties otherwise as the Anti-Political Dynasty Act of 2013 (authored by Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito)

- as a means to give force and effect to the social justice provisions of the Constitution which provides for the diffusion of economic and political influence, this bill is necessary that the political arena be levelled by opening public office to persons who are equally qualified to aspire on even terms with those from politically dominant families. In light of the foregoing, this bill is proposes to give real teeth to the Constitutional mandate and strengthen the call for new politics to lay the basis of greater empowerment for the greater number of Filipinos.

Republic Act No. 6735 - An Act Providing For A System Of Initiative And Referendum And Appropriating Funds Therefore otherwise as The Initiative and Referendum Act (by the Eighth Congress of the republic of the Philippines)

-a very important instrument to which political dynasty can by enacted through people’s initiative which states that, “Implementing the state policy of prohibiting political dynasties as may be defined by law under article two, section twenty-six of the 1987 constitution, through the sovereign power of the people to propose and enact laws under article six, section thirty-two thereof and republic act 6735, provide penalties for violation, and for other purposes”. Hence as stated in its Statement of policy – the power of the people under a system of initiative and referendum to directly propose, enact, approve or reject, in whole or in part, the Constitution, laws, ordinances, or resolutions passed by any legislative body upon compliance with the requirements of this Act is hereby affirmed, recognized and guaranteed.

Secondary Sources

Family Relationship as a Basis for Disqualification to Hold Public Office: A Framework for Law Prohibiting Political Dynasties (by Jayson L. Fernandez, 40 Ateneo Law Journal 1996)

-the note explores the topic of political dynasties, an issue expressly prohibited under Section 26, Article II of the 1987 Constitution. It aims to provide under a comprehensive study of the political dynasty phenomenon in the Philippines for the purpose of formulating a viable definition within the context of the 1987 Constitution. It also suggest a framework for a law prohibiting political dynasties which would adequately and effectively address the problems brought by the existence of political dynasties while still being reasonable enough to gain acceptance by legislation. The study however, focuses only on the prohibition on political dynasties as applied in elective offices. This note also proposes a standard to be used in evaluating the viability of any proposed definition and a survey of congressional bills filed since the ratification of the Constitution regarding the topic. It also provides a better framework for legislation which would

satisfy the standard identified in the stud. Lastly, it recommends and ideal framework for a law prohibiting political dynasties.

Political Dynasties and Poverty: Evidence from the Philippines (by Ronald U. Mendoza, Edsel L. Beja Jr., Victor S. Venida, and David B. Yap, Department of Economics, Ateneo de Manila University)

- the study provides one definition of political dynasties which refers to members of the same family occupying elected positions either in sequence for the same position, or simultaneously across different positions. In the Philippines, poverty appears critically linked to the prevalence of political dynasties at the provincial level. Either poverty brings about political dynasties, or political dynasties fail to reduce, or even exacerbate, poverty. The dominant direction of causation is an empirical question. This study responds by analyzing a unique Philippine provincial-level dataset. It also uses an instrumental variable technique to deal with endogeneity issues, and develops novel metrics on political dynasties. The empirical findings suggest that poverty entrenches political dynasties, while there is less evidence that political dynasties exacerbate poverty.

An Empirical Analysis of Political Dynasties in the 15th Philippine Congress (by Ronald U. Mendoza, Edsel L. Beja Jr., Victor S. Venida, and David B. Yap, Department of Economics, Ateneo de Manila University)

- This paper develops metrics to analyze the extent to which political dynasties in the 15th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines are linked to different social and economic outcomes in the country. Such a detailed empirical mapping and analysis of political dynasties is the first of its kind from the country. Results show that representatives from political dynasties account for 70 percent of the jurisdiction-based legislators in Congress. On average, they possess higher net worth and win in elections by larger margins of victory compared to non-dynastic representatives. Dynastic jurisdictions are also associated with lower standards of living (as measured by average income) and lower human development (as measured by the Human Development Index), and higher levels of deprivation (as measured by poverty incidence, poverty gap, and poverty severity). Results on the correlates of dynastic prevalence and inequality are less conclusive.

Political Reform and Elite Persistence: Term Limits and Political Dynasties in the Philippines (by Pablo Querubin, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies)

- Research in political economy emphasizes the tendency of elites to persist and reproduce their power over time, potentially undermining the electiveness of institutional reforms. One particular form of elite persistence is illustrated by the existence of political dynasties. A natural question is whether certain political reforms can break dynastic patterns and open up the political system. In this paper the extent to which the introduction of term limits by the 1987 Philippine Constitution electively broke the hold of incumbent families on power. The ability of term limits to dismantle political dynasties is not obvious, as term- limited incumbents may be

replaced by relatives or may run for a deferent elected once. Whether these strategies undermine the direct elects of term-limits in reducing the time an individual can hold once is an empirical question. Such that there is no evidence of a statistically significant impact of term limits on curbing families' persistence in power. Moreover, term limits deter high-quality challengers from running prior to the expiration of an incumbent's term. Challengers prefer to wait for the incumbent to be termed-out and run in an open-sea trace. As a consequence, incumbents are safer in their early terms prior to the limit. These results suggest that political reforms that do not modify the underlying sources of dynastic power may be ineffective in changing the political equilibrium.

Ateneo Fact Check 2013: Fourth Brief – Senators and the Anti-Dynasty Bill (by office of the vice president for social development and Ateneo school of government through its political democracy and reforms (PODER) program, Ateneo de Manila University)

-this statistical study shows that Candidates, who are members of political dynasties, will not champion or will not support an anti-political dynasty bill in Congress; while candidates, who are not members of any political dynasty, are expected to champion and support an anti-dynasty bill. Also this study provides updated data on the current families present in Congress both upper house and lower house. In sum, there are current senators who are members of political dynasties and who will oppose an anti-dynasty bill and they are strong contenders such as Angara, Aquino, Binay, Cayetano, Ejercito/Estrada, Escudero and Villar clan as stated in the statistical findings.