It takes one to know one. And amid the degenerative state of Philippine governance, perhaps the most ironic — and therefore politically viable — first step is for two dynasty giants to draft a bill that claims to end clan monopoly over elective posts in their own bailiwicks.

Former House speaker Martin Romualdez’s point man, now-Speaker Bojie Dy, and Majority Leader Sandro Marcos have filed what is now the House leadership’s anti-dynasty bill — prodded by a presidential “instruction,” no less.

On its face, it finally defines political dynasties, even expansively, up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and affinity. That’s a good sign, of course, especially since it does not count for nothing in a Congress that has dodged this constitutional duty for decades.

But read past the headline, and the reform quickly thins out.

The ban is strictly territorial and vertical. Dynasties are only barred from piling up posts within the same government level or locality. Cross-level dynasties? Allowed. Cross-jurisdiction family rule? Allowed. Legislative districts multiplying under one surname? Still perfectly legal. 

This means, for purposes of example, one Duterte or Revilla or Ynares at the national level, another in the province, several more in Congress, cities, and towns — all compliant with the bill. Again, the surnames are just an example, and you know what I mean.

After all, the Constitution does not really outlaw dynastic leadership, but discourages and frowns upon it at the very least—much the same way it would on the fine print of this Dy-Marcos anti-dynasty measure.

Examining it more closely, the bill does not stop dynasty rotation — the oldest and dirtiest trick in the book. When term limits hit, a wife, son, brother, or cousin steps in. This is how families ruled Rizal for 33 years and Batangas City for 37. Other anti-dynasty bills explicitly ban immediate succession. This one politely looks away.

It is also silent on party-list hijacking — the backdoor dynasties now use to entrench power in Congress. Forty party-list groups in the 2025 elections were linked to political families. This loophole is precisely how dynasties expand without “violating” district limits.

To be fair, the bill does close one door: it prevents tandem family bids within the same capitol, curbing joint runs that have turned provinces into private estates.

Still, this is a mild, carefully calibrated reform — designed not to offend a Congress allergic to genuine self-denial. It has merit, yes. But let’s be clear: it trims the branches, not the roots. And even this version faces an uphill fight in a Senate thick with siblings.

But as I said at the beginning, this could still be the start of something good. If it isn’t good enough for all of you — well, allow me to share more good news for this joyous season.

Senator Robin Padilla says he is not running in 2028.

Yes. No sequel.

The country will be spared another six years of legislative performance art, Facebook-poetry governance, and the persistent confusion between the Senate floor and a barangay group chat. No more national policymaking via cryptic posts, macho one-liners, or ideological shadowboxing conducted entirely online.

For once, the exit line arrived early — and voluntarily. Oh, what an early Christmas gift!

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SHORTBURSTS. For comments or reactions, email firingline@ymail.com or tweet @Side_View. Read current and past issues of this column at https://www.thephilbiznews.com

The Senate’s approval on second reading of a P6.793-trillion spending plan for 2026 should usher in a moment of resolve. Now, more than ever, the government must prove it can wield enormous resources with competence and integrity.

What most Filipinos question these days is the ability of the Marcos Junior administration to take on a monumental national budget, when in the last three years, all it has proven is the opposite: that it is utterly inept at making our taxes work for our people.

The nightmare of ghost flood-mitigation projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) remains hanging over our heads. It’s like a gaping wound that exposes how billions can vanish into thin air while communities drown.

These scandals that have dragged many political characters close to the administration to infamy are not just stories for sharing on social media. They’re evidence of criminal acts in government, of a system incapable of tracking, monitoring, or safeguarding funds meant for public infrastructure and basic services. Evidence that every peso we surrender to the state is at risk of spillovers, kickbacks, or outright theft.

Ever so cautiously, Firing Line will commend the Senate for making appropriate adjustments in preparing the spending bill for 2026. Let me cite how it slashed DPWH’s budget by P55.91 billion, cut P68.5 billion from bloated unprogrammed appropriations, and increased funding where it actually matters — classrooms, universities, and internal security.

Senator Ping Lacson deserves credit for pushing the Chamber to remove “allocables” — what he has termed as the “new pork barrel” or those shadowy, pre-identified funds waiting for favored contractors and rigged bids.

The resistance he faced only proves how entrenched this behavior remains among some members of the august body. Pardon me – not so august, since a number of them are actually implicated in the worst government project thefts in history.

More than budget cuts on paper, perhaps the real measure of reform in planning the budget is in ensuring that massive allocations are not allowed to sit idly in department coffers. Some offices of government are praised wrongfully for their “savings,” which are actually project funds that are unspent — ergo, no output.

In other cases, such departments like the DPWH are bloated with funding, but they could only pretend to execute thousands of projects, even if, in actuality, there are too few qualified contractors to faithfully follow the design and finish the job.

We’ve already seen what happens when the big players and triple-A contractors snare the projects but resort to subcontracting down the ladder. Former Public Works chief Babes Singson himself warned how substandard builders end up holding the bag, and the public pays the price in crumbling work and wasted funds.

Congress must protect public money — not just from corruption, but from incompetence. The point is not to brag about a big number when drafting the budget to trillions. The point is to ensure a budget that is realistic, executable, and honest, grounded in the hard truth that government exists to serve the Filipino, not to enrich those who treat taxpayers as collateral damage.

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SHORT BURSTS. For comments or reactions, email firingline@ymail.com or tweet @Side_View via X. Read current and past issues of this column at https://www.thephilbiznews.com