Drilon hopeful of passage of anti-political dynasty law

Outgoing Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

Outgoing Senate President Franklin Drilon sees high hopes that the Anti-Political Dynastyl Bill would be passed into law during the 17^th Congress.

“No less than the Constitution mandates the State to guarantee equal access to public service and prohibit political dynasty,” Drilon said in a statement on Saturday.

The reelected senator has earlier filed Senate Bill No. 230 or the Anti-Political Dynasty Act “to provide for an enabling law that will implement the provision of the Constitution prohibiting political dynasty.”

Despite unsuccessful efforts in the past to pass the bill, Drilon said the passage of the anti-political dynasty bill “is highly possible” after the successful enactment into law of the Sangguniang Kabatan Reform Act during the last Congress.

READ: Antipolitical dynasty bill may not be ‘far-fetched’ after SK law—Drilon

In the anti-political dynasty bill filed by Drilon, “no spouse, or person related within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, whether legitimate or illegitimate, full or half blood, to an incumbent elective official seeking re-election shall be allowed to hold or run for any elective office in the same province in the same election.”

“The bill also bans any person within the prohibited civil degree of relationship to the incumbent to succeed to the position of the latter,” Drilon said.

READ: Belmonte files anti-political dynasty bill

The bill stated that political dynasty exists “when a person who is the spouse of an incumbent elective official or a relative within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of an incumbent elective official holds or runs for an elective office simultaneously with the incumbent elective official within the same city and/or province or occupies the same office immediately after the term of office of the incumbent elective official.”

Drilon said “that in case the constituency of the incumbent elective official is national in character, the above relatives shall be disqualified from running only within the same province where the former is a registered voter.” CDG