A bill that would bar relatives within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from simultaneously holding elective office cleared the House of Representatives on second reading Wednesday, advancing legislation that has been constitutionally mandated since 1987 but never enacted.
House Bill No. 8389 defines a political dynasty as the concentration, consolidation, or dominance of elective political power by spouses or close relatives, and would prohibit them from concurrently running for or holding posts at the national, provincial, city, and municipal levels.
The measure was passed through a voice vote at a stage that effectively closed the door to further amendments — a procedural move that critics argued could have been used to strengthen the bill’s provisions.
Among its key requirements, the bill would compel candidates to file a sworn statement with the Commission on Elections declaring that their candidacy would not result in a prohibited dynastic arrangement. The Comelec would also be given 90 days to draft implementing rules, with the ban set to take effect beginning with the next electoral cycle.
One accepted amendment addresses a specific scenario: if relatives run and both win seats at the same political level, the candidate with the higher vote count takes the position.
“We need to balance … the decongestion of power with that of the sovereign right of the people to elect their own leader,” said Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, the bill’s sponsor — himself a member of the Alonto and Adiong political families, with relatives holding several incumbent positions.
Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III and Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, both from prominent political clans, are listed as the bill’s principal authors. They are joined by 173 co-authors.
The scope of the prohibition covers relationships defined as first and second degrees of consanguinity and affinity — encompassing parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and half-siblings, as well as the corresponding relatives of a person’s spouse.
A Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism study estimates that roughly eight in ten House members in 2024 came from political families, though the Comelec has not issued an official count. In the Senate, eight of 24 seats are currently held by siblings across four families — the Cayetanos, Estrada-Ejercitos, Tulfos, and Villars.
HB 8389 is now expected to be consolidated with a Senate version of the anti-dynasty bill, which cleared the committee level in February.
