Electoral Reform

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan says unemployment's climb to a four-year high and growth stuck below target show that how the country picks its leaders is holding back the economy, days after former House Speaker Martin Romualdez's arrest on a ₱7-billion plunder case.

Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, sponsor of House Bill 8389, insisted the chamber's anti-political dynasty measure is a "positive development" that breaks a family's monopoly of power in a locality — but business and civil society groups counter that the bill lets relatives beyond the second degree hold office across every level of government simultaneously and permits unlimited succession and position-switching.

For the first time in Philippine history, the House of Representatives approved an anti-political dynasty measure on final reading, with 267 votes in favor on June 3 — but legal scholars and former co-authors of stronger versions say the bill's deliberately narrow prohibitions make it a constitutional fig leaf rather than genuine reform, raising the question of whether dynasties have legislated a dynasty bill safe enough for dynasties to pass.

The Commission on Elections publishes the official roster of candidates for the 2025 midterm elections, featuring political veterans and newcomers vying for 12 Senate seats.