Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has urged Congress to fast track a long-delayed law banning political dynasties, but a bill filed by the speaker of the House and his eldest son is drawing sharp criticism for aiming to do the opposite.
Days after the president met House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos and others, Dy and the younger Marcos filed the bill on Friday.
Lawmakers and critics have slammed the proposal for legitimising and entrenching dynasties, saying that while it aims to bar members of a family from running in the same jurisdiction or entity, it would still allow them to hold power across different levels of government and areas.
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According to a congressman, there are at least seven other proposed bills that are reportedly aimed at checking the power of political dynasties.
The controversy comes as such dynasties have been blamed by civil society groups and lawmakers for massive losses of public funds linked to anomalous flood control projects, which have fuelled the most serious political crisis of the Marcos administration to date.
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Ruling families – whose members are elected to posts simultaneously or in succession – have been an enduring feature of the Philippines’ political scene for decades.