Six out of ten Filipinos want Congress to pass legislation banning political dynasties, according to a Pulse Asia survey conducted from February 27 to March 2.
The poll of 1,200 respondents — with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percent — found 64 percent in favor of an anti-dynasty law, with only 17 percent opposed. The remaining 19 percent had no clear position.
Regional breakdowns showed sharp contrasts. Support was strongest in Balance Luzon at 74 percent, followed by the Visayas at 73 percent and Metro Manila at 69 percent. Mindanao registered the lowest support at 32 percent — and was the only region where opposition outpaced agreement, with 39 percent of respondents there rejecting the proposed measure.
Among those who supported or were undecided on the bill, 76 percent said the law should cover both national and local posts, while 13 percent preferred it limited to local positions and 11 percent to national ones only.
On specific restrictions, 69 percent backed a prohibition on relatives holding the same elective post consecutively at any level of government. A separate proposal barring family members from simultaneously occupying elective positions drew similar backing. Asked about capping family participation in any single election to two candidates — one for a national post and one for a local post — 70 percent agreed, nine percent disagreed, and 21 percent were undecided.
Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña, one of four principal authors of House Bill 5905, or the Comprehensive Anti-Political Dynasty Law, said the results should prompt Congress to act without further delay.
“The public has long been waiting for Congress to fulfill its mandate under the Constitution to make the Anti-Political Dynasty provision a law,” Cendaña said.
He urged colleagues to move with purpose but not recklessness. “I hope my fellow colleagues share our sense of urgency. But I hope we do not act in such haste that we fail to pass a law that truly adheres to the spirit of the Constitution and reflects the aspirations of our people,” he added.
Cendaña co-authored the bill alongside fellow Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno, Rep. Dadah Ismula, and Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao. The constitutional mandate requiring Congress to define and prohibit political dynasties has gone unlegislated for nearly four decades.
