Sandro, Speaker Dy’s bill legalizes political dynasties, experts decry

Simple logic. If P implies Q and Q implies R, then P implies R.

House Speaker Faustino Dy III and Majority Leader Sandro Marcos are political dynasts. Their interest is to prolong dynastic power. Therefore, they will not end dynasticism.

Their anti-dynasty bill is a farce. It feigns to ban simultaneous candidacies of political kinsmen. But it slyly legitimizes clan control of congressional districts, provinces, cities and municipalities.

Their bill further bastardizes congressional party-lists. It politicizes barangays, whose elections should be non-partisan.

A dynasty consists of relatives by blood and marriage up to the fourth degree. It covers spouses, parents, offspring, siblings, grandparents and great-grandparents, grandchildren and great- grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and first cousins. Illegitimate and half-blood kin included.

The 1987 Constitution forbids dynasties in order to equalize opportunities for public office. It left to Congress the legislating of scope. House Bill 6771’s five provisos are vague:

(1) If a person is an incumbent or candidate for any national position, the spouse and above relatives are prohibited to hold any elective national position.

(2) If for member of the House of Reps, the spouse and relatives are prohibited to simultaneously hold the same position within the same legislative district.

(3) If for any provincial position, they are prohibited to simultaneously hold any position in the same provincial government.

(4) If for any city or municipal office, they are prohibited to simultaneously hold any position in the same locale.

(5) If for any barangay office, they are prohibited to simultaneously hold any position in the same barangay.

HB 6771 deserves rubbishing. Kontra-Dynastiya convenor Alex Lacson enumerates why:

• It allows any number of kinsmen mayors as long as there’s only one per city or municipality.

• It allows the first example plus a governor.

• It allows the second instance plus one or more congressmen from different districts in the same province.

• It allows the above instance plus a president or VP or senator.

• It allows kinsmen to succeed in any of the positions.

Political scientist Julio Teehankee, who has studied dynasties for decades, agrees. HB 6771 “is unclear about the maximum number of relatives that can hold national and local posts at the same time.”

Ten other bills are better. One is by Senior Deputy Minority Leader Edgar Erice, who has been filing anti-dynasty measures every term.

Party-list Reps. Leila de Lima and the Makabayan bloc endorse bills that would:

• cover up to fourth degree of consanguinity and affinity;

• limit to only one national and one local position at the same time;

• forbid succession.

Dy succeeded his son in his Isabela congressional district. Thirteen offspring, siblings, nephews, nieces, cousins and in-laws hold Isabela congressional and local positions.

A fourth generation politico, Sandro is the son of President Ferdinand Jr., aunt Imee is senator and first cousin Matthew Manotoc is Ilocos Norte vice governor. Uncle ex-speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte and aunt Yedda Romualdez of Tingog Party sit with him in Congress.

In the 2026 national budget, Dy’s public works allocations swelled from P1.1 billion to P3.8 billion. Those of appropriations committee chair Mikaela Suansing of Nueva Ecija and sister Rep. Bella Suansing of Sultan Kudarat ballooned from P1.6 billion and P2.3 billion to P3.4 billion and P3.9 billion, respectively. Sandro got P15.8 billion in 2023-2025.

Another simple logic. Dynasts control national and local government funds. Such funds are prone to corruption. Therefore, dynasts are corrupt.

*      *      *

Troll armies are mercenary. Readers hate them, knowing that government officials spend taxpayers’ money to hire trolls. Trolls swarmed on my Facebook column, “Recto illegally spent our PhilHealth’s P60B for flood works, documents show,” Dec. 3, 2025.

I reported to FB the “coordinated inauthentic behavior” that flouts its policies. I pray that FB investigates and blocks the 19 obvious trolls: • seven of the troll accounts began posting only on Oct. 28, 2024;

• others’ first posts were on April 29, May 1, Nov. 24 and 25 and Dec. 2, 2024;

• some posted only on Feb. 8 and 10 and April 15, 2025.

The accounts were created on Feb. 2 and June 5, 2024; 16 accounts have a private friends list; one account is friends with 15 of the 19 suspicious accounts; one more is friends with 10 of them; another is friends with nine accounts.

All have no older profile photos, implying alias accounts (how come they don’t have other self-photos, did they steal identities?). All have no messages to or photos of family and friends, not even “like” or “laugh” reactions, meaning no normal social-media life.

All claimed that Recto did no wrong in taking PhilHealth’s P60 billion. Most even justified Recto’s use of PhilHealth money for flood works.

They came in one wave from 12:04 p.m. to 12:11 p.m.

One operator can handle five fake accounts for P30,000-P80,000 each a month. The cost of this trolling runs to millions of pesos.

*      *      *

Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8 to 10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM).

Follow me on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/Jarius-Bondoc