Former Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate strongly condemned the recent passage of what he termed a “watered-down, bogus, and deceptive” anti-political dynasty bill, warning the public that the measure acts as a “Trojan horse” designed to institutionalize and legalize the proliferation of political clans rather than dismantle them.
Zarate, a long-time advocate of genuine electoral reforms and co-author of progressive anti-dynasty measures during his tenure in Congress, expressed deep dismay over the final version of the bill. He argued that the law’s “extremely loose, deliberately porous, and non-restrictive definition” of political dynasties essentially provides a legal loophole for entrenched families to maintain their grip on power.
“What we are seeing is a historic betrayal of the 1987 Constitution’s mandate,” Zarate said. “Instead of finally putting teeth into the constitutional prohibition against political dynasties, this counterfeit bill does the exact opposite. It provides a legal roadmap for dynasties to expand their empires with absolute impunity. It is not an anti-dynasty law; it is a Dynasty Preservation Act.”
According to the former lawmaker, the bill’s heavily compromised definitions allow multiple members of the same family to run concurrently or successively by simply narrowing the scope of prohibited relationships or creating exceptions for different tiers of local and national government positions.
“The ruling class in Congress has effectively self-regulated their own survival,” Zarate added. “They have crafted a definition so weak that virtually no existing political clan will be disrupted. By passing this sham legislation, they want to appease public clamor on paper while ensuring that, in reality, power remains a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation.”
Zarate stressed that the perpetuation of political dynasties remains a root cause of widespread poverty, systemic corruption, and the stifling of genuine democratic participation in the country.
He noted that by legalizing monopoly over public office, the law further disenfranchises capable leaders from the marginalized and working-class sectors.
Bayan Muna and its allied progressive groups vowed to challenge the deceptive measure, calling on voters, civil society organizations, and the legal community to expose the law’s flaws and continue the push for an authentic, comprehensive anti-political dynasty law.
“We must not let this legal deception pass unchallenged,” Zarate said. “We call on the Filipino people to reject this insult to our intelligence and democracy. We should break these chains of dynastic rule.”#
