The proposed Anti-Political Dynasty Act would bar relatives within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from simultaneously seeking or holding elective posts in the same locality, a restriction lawmakers said strikes a balance between meaningful reform and practical enforcement.
House Bill No. 8389 seeks to implement Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution, which mandates the State to prohibit political dynasties “as may be defined by law.” The measure is currently pending second-reading approval in the House of Representatives.
Under the proposal, relatives within the second degree, including parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and in-laws of the same degree, would be prohibited from running for or occupying elective positions at the same time within the same jurisdiction.
During plenary interpellations, Zia Alonto Adiong, chairperson of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, defended the provision limiting the prohibition to second-degree relatives.
Adiong said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) warned lawmakers that extending the ban to fourth-degree relatives would be extremely difficult to implement.
“The response from the Comelec is that it would be a logistical nightmare if we extend the degree of prohibition from second degree to the fourth degree of consanguinity,” Adiong said.
He explained that a broader prohibition would require election officials to trace extended family relationships, including cousins and relatives by marriage, across multiple barangays, provinces, and regions.
“To even trace candidates who have shared the same family name, not to mention the consanguinity, according to Comelec, it would be a logistical nightmare,” he added.
The bill was sponsored during plenary questioning by Leila de Lima.
Its principal authors include Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III and Ferdinand Alexander ‘Sandro’ Marcos, alongside 173 co-authors. The measure has also been endorsed as a priority by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council and Ferdinand Marcos Jr..
The House committee said constitutional experts consulted during hearings, including retired Supreme Court Justice Adolfo Azcuna, also supported the second-degree limitation on practical grounds.
Most of the 25 anti-dynasty measures referred to the committee similarly adopted the second-degree framework.
The House think tank, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD), raised similar concerns in its policy brief titled Closing the Constitutional Gap: The Challenges of Implementing Anti-Political Dynasty Legislation.
According to the CPBRD, a broader prohibition could create major administrative and financial burdens for Comelec, which would be tasked with verifying blood and marital relationships among candidates nationwide.
Citing the 43,033 individuals who filed certificates of candidacy in the 2025 elections, the CPBRD estimated that the second-degree restriction under the current bill could require the processing of around 946,726 additional documents. Expanding the ban to fourth-degree relatives could raise that figure to more than 2.84 million documents.