A study by researchers and professors from Ateneo de Manila University is recommending a second-degree limit on political dynasties as a practical approach to curbing the concentration of power in Philippine politics.

In a January 2025 paper, the researchers said banning family members within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity from running for office at the same time could help reduce political dominance by a single family while keeping elections competitive.

The proposal allows what the researchers described as “thin dynasties,” where family members may run for office one after another, but not simultaneously.

“Our proposal for practical political viability of the dynasty regulation law is simple: bawal ang sabay-sabay pero pwede nang payagan ang sunod-sunod (simultaneous candidacies should be prohibited, but successive runs may be allowed),” the researchers said.

“Democracy can still thrive when families choose to succeed each other only one at a time,” the paper added.

The study explained that first-degree relatives include parents and children, while second-degree relatives cover siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren.

Under the proposed framework, this setup preserves voter choice while preventing multiple relatives from holding office at the same time.

The researchers pointed to the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act as a workable model, noting that it already imposes a second-degree restriction and demonstrates that such limits can be implemented.

“The anti-dynasty provision in the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act already leads the way in possible reform. This regulates dynasties up to the second degree of consanguinity, allowing many political clans to continue fielding their ‘best performing’ and ‘most experienced’ family members,” the paper said.

“It will remove the worst performing and meagerly prepared, and this should lead to a marked improvement in public policymaking and governance,” it added.

The study estimated that applying the same rule across the broader political system could open up at least a quarter of local elective positions to new leaders.

However, the paper cautioned against extending the restriction beyond the second degree, warning that verifying more distant family relationships would pose operational challenges and could weaken enforcement.

“Drawing on the existing experience with the SK Law, a restriction up to the second degree may work best, given the operational challenges of tracing linkages up to the fourth degree. Such prohibition must apply to multiple territories, or to both local and national elections, and to the party-list system as well,” the researchers stressed.

To ensure effective implementation, the paper recommended that restrictions be enforced as early as the filing of certificates of candidacy and that a specific government agency be designated to oversee compliance.

“First, the law must clearly state that no person shall be allowed to run for a national or local office when it is established upon the filing of a certificate of candidacy that he or she is related within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity to another candidate with a duly filed certificate of candidacy,” the study said.

“Second, the statute must task an agency to enforce the law and specify the actions it can pursue to ensure its full implementation,” it added.

Both chambers of Congress are currently deliberating various versions of an anti-dynasty bill, each proposing different limits on family relations and scope of coverage.