Bills seeking to curb political dynasties will be a top priority for the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms when it meets on January 27, according to Lanao del Sur 1st District Representative Zia Alonto Adiong, panel chair and House Deputy Majority Leader.
“[T]he fact that we have received several– 17, kung ‘di ako nagkakamali na ngayon, 17 versions of the same subject matter, it only means na ang House of Representatives, the members are willing to see and willing to participate in wanting to see the end of all this talk on anti-political dynasty,” Adiong said on Friday.
Among the versions is House Bill 6771, filed by House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos. Adiong expects a “lengthy debate” and warned that not everyone will be satisfied with the committee’s output.
“Well it’s going to be tough, I admit. Honestly, I’m expecting a lot of questions… Kung anuman ‘yung magiging resulta ng usapin sa anti-political dynasty, I’m sure hindi lahat masaya,” he said.
Adiong noted the challenge of reconciling differing perspectives, including groups claiming a ban would be “unconstitutional” versus those arguing it aligns with the Constitution.
“There’s one sector saying, ‘That’s very constitutional because that’s what the Constitution dictates.’ So there’s really a clash of school of thought when it comes to anti-political dynasty,” he added.
He also proposed that House leadership conduct grassroots consultations and engage legal experts, constitutional authorities, and even framers of the 1986 Constitution to gather public input.
“Definitely you will be expecting deans of colleges, law schools, constitutional experts, former justices of the Supreme Court. You would also be expecting those who are still around na mga one or two framers of the Constitution,” he said.