Carpio: Lack of law enabling Charter’s dynasty ban allows Sara to replace father

MANILA, Philippines—While the Constitution prohibits political dynasties, the absence of an enabling law would allow Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, to possibly succeed her father, according to former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio on Thursday (July 15).

“We are a free country,” said Carpio, one of the leading convenors of 1Sambayan, at an online press conference.

“Anyone who is qualified can run for president but we also have an anti-dynasty provision in the Constitution, which should prohibit members of a family from controlling a certain position or succeeding one another,” said the former Supreme Court justice.

A recent opinion poll showed that Sara ranked number one among potential candidates for president while her father was number one among potential candidates for vice president.

Last week, Sara told media that she was open to running for president, after saying for a time that she was not interested in replacing her father.

Her father, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that he does not want his daughter to run for president.

Carpio said while the spirit of the Constitution prohibits political dynasties, it was not made concrete by law.

“If she wants to run she can run, but the intention really is there should be a prohibition,” he said.

For years, Congress has to pass legislation to carve out details implementing the constitutional ban on political dynasties.

TSB