NEOPHYTE Representative Nathan Oducado of the 1Tahanan Partylist urged his fellow lawmakers in the House to pass a law prohibiting political dynasties as a “gift” to Filipinos this Christmas season, echoing the growing sentiment for it amid corruption scandals faced by the country.
Oducado noted that with the flood control corruption scandal and other irregularities concerning the approval, use and misuse of public funds, “there is a need to show the People that public office is not a family business, especially from those currently in power.”
“All legislators must accept that dynastic politics has allowed for the prevalence of corrupt practices in all levels of government,” said Oducado. “Plunder, nepotism, graft, and bribery are more likely to occur if public officials are incentivized to look the other way or cover for each other because they belong to the same clan.”
According to Oducado, even if not all members of political dynasties are corrupt, passing a law enabling the Constitutional prohibition on dynasties will show that “they are not part of the problem and are actively working to work against it.”
Oducado proposes “placing a realistic limit” on the number of politicians related to one another, “at least up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, for positions within the same local government unit.”
“Given that the enabling law on the political dynasty ban is way overdue, any form of limiting political dynasties, especially in local politics, is already a win,” said Oducado.
Political clans grew more in the past 2 decades despite constitutional ban
The 1987 Constitution specifically prohibits political dynasties “as may be defined by law,” side-by-side with its guarantee of “equal access to opportunities for public service.” However, Oducado said that the lack of an enabling law required for this prohibition is “a stain against any commitment to combat corruption,” he emphasized.
Oducado cited the report by the 2025 Philippine Institute for Developmental Studies (PIDS), which said that the past twenty years saw an increasing domination of political clans in all levels of government.
“Our own government’s think tank showed that dynastic representation in the House of Representatives has risen to 67% in 2025 from 48% in 2004, and mayoral posts held by dynasties increased to 53% from 40%,” stressed Oducado. “In the last elections alone, at least 78 out of the 156 party-list organizations certified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) belong to political families.”
According to Oducado, although the Filipino family is at the center of our experience as a nation as our Constitution’s basic autonomous institution, some families have had hold more influence than others.
“This Constitutional prohibition is a promise we as Representatives cannot continue breaking with inaction,” Oducado concluded. “Banning political dynasties may lead to some politicians losing power, but it’s a small price to pay for the trust we must once again earn.”
