Zia Alonto Adiong

A unanimous ruling grants a writ of mandamus compelling the Senate and House to finally enact the constitutional ban on political dynasties — the same Congress that passed a widely criticized "watered-down" version in June and then let it stall in the Senate.

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.