Pinoys back law banning political dynasties – poll

March 14, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — A majority of Filipinos support the passage of a law that will prohibit political dynasties, a recent survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed.

The survey, conducted from Feb. 27 to March 2, found that 64 percent of the respondents supported legislation prohibiting political dynasties.

Only 17 percent disagreed, while the remaining 19 percent could not say if they agreed or disagreed with the proposed policy.

Support for a law that would ban political dynasties was highest among those in balance Luzon at 74 percent, closely followed by those in the Visayas at 73 percent and Metro Manila at 69 percent.

It was lowest among those in Mindanao, where only 32 percent said they agreed with a law against political dynasties.

At 39 percent, more residents in Mindanao disagreed with the proposed legislation.

Pulse Asia also asked those who agreed and those undecided about an anti-political dynasty bill for their perspective on details regarding the proposal.

Seventy-six percent said it has to cover both national and local government positions, while 11 percent said it should only apply to national positions. The remaining 13 percent said it should only apply to local positions.

Another 69 percent said they agree with a policy that would prohibit relatives from holding the same elective position consecutively, both in the local and national levels.

There was also significant support for a ban on relatives holding elective positions at the local or national level at the same time.

Asked about the proposal to limit the number of family members running in an election to two – one for a national position and one for a local position – 70 percent agreed, while only nine percent disagreed. The remaining 21 percent were undecided.

The survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus 2.8 percent.

Meanwhile, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña, one of the principal authors of the Comprehensive Anti-Political Dynasty Law (House Bill No. 5905), welcomed the latest Pulse Asia survey showing support for an Anti-Political Dynasty Law.

The lawmaker said the high public support for the bill should be seen by Congress as a wake-up call to finally pass the measure delayed for almost 40 years.

“The public has long been waiting for Congress to fulfill its mandate under the Constitution to make the Anti-Political Dynasty provision a law,” Cendaña said.

“I hope my fellow colleagues share our sense of urgency. But I hope we do not act in such haste that we fail to pass a law that truly adheres to the spirit of the Constitution and reflects the aspirations of our people,” he added.

Cendaña, along with Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, Rep. Dadah Ismula and Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, are the authors of HB 5905. — Jose Rodel Clapano