Pangilinan dares Duterte to certify anti-political dynasty bill as urgent

By JOHN CARLO M. CAHINHINAN

Opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan has joined the calls in urging President Rodrigo Duterte to certify the proposed Anti-Dynasty Bill as urgent amid the government’s supposed campaign against the country’s giant oligarchs.

Pangilinan said he agrees with Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon’s observation that there should be a ban on political dynasties “to effectively remove the oligarchs in the country.”

“We challenge this administration to make a difference and certify the anti-political dynasty bill as urgent, so that it will move in Congress,” said Pangilinan.

Pangilinan, president of the once powerful Liberal Party (LP), stressed that certifying the anti-political dynasty bill as urgent is a tangible proof of the administration’s desire to dismantle the rule of political dynasties.

“Tagal na nitong nakabinbin. Nakasaad pa sa Saligang Batas. Kailangang sumulong ito sa Kongreso, at mangyayari lang ito kung sasabihin ng Pangulo,” said Pangilinan, chair of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes.

President Duterte earlier boasted of dismantling oligarchy when a committee at the House of Representatives rejected the franchise application of ABS-CBN resulting in the shutdown of the network.

Pangilinan said an oligarchy is usually characterized by the control of one family and transfer of power from one generation to the next.

Pangilinan stressed that as wealth means power and political control, the political elites in the country perpetuate themselves by means of political dynasties.

The opposition lawmaker filed Senate Bill 264 in July last year defining and prohibiting political dynastiesThe senator stressed that Congress has the constitutional duty to enact a law defining and prohibiting the establishment of political dynasties in accordance with the intent of Section 26, Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution.

“Three decades later and despite numerous attempts to enact such legislation, there is still no enabling law prohibiting political dynasties in the country,” said Pangilinan.

“Its existence has undermined the checks and balance in government, weakened the competition in the political system, resulting in less access for alternative leaders to be part of the political arena, and perpetuated personality-based politics by prompting politicians to invest in their relatives,” he added.

He noted that the Senate even came up with a committee report on the anti-dynasty bill in the 17th Congress—these were never really acted upon and advanced to become a law.

Drilon, vice chair of LP also failed to secure the passage of the said bill, considering the fact that he was the Senate President during the second half of President Benigno Aquino III’s presidency from 2013 to 2016.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)