The Commission on Elections has dismissed the petition for disqualification filed against former President and now Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and four others, including former Vice Governor Peter Cua, for allegedly being members of a political dynasty.
In a ruling on SPA No. 24-147 (DC) promulgated Aug. 5, 2025, the COMELEC Second Division junked the petition filed in October 2024 by Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, retired police officers PMGen. Wilfredo Franco, PBGen. Noel delos Reyes and MGen. Reynaldo Reyes, former Air Force Col. Guillermo Cunanan, Luisito Redoble and Atty. Alexander Lacson.
The petitioners sought the disqualification of Duterte, Cua, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc, Leyte First District Congressman Martin Romualdez and Las Pinas Rep. Cynthia Aguilar on the ground that they are members of a political dynasty.
They cited Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which provides that “(T)he State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”
Hence, the spouse, child, parent or sibling of a graduating governor or mayor is prohibited and disqualified to run for the same position to replace and succeed the incumbent but graduating governor or mayor under Article X, Section 8 of the Local Government Coe in relation to the said Constitutional provision, the petitioners claimed.
The Duterte family has occupied the position of Mayor of Davao City for a total of 33 years in the last 37 years and has ruled the city continuously in the last 23 years since 2001, the petition, with both Rodrigo and son Sebastian running in tandem for Mayor and Vice Mayor in the May 12, 2025 elections.
The Manotoc family, on the other hand, has occupied the position of Governor of Ilocos Norte since 1971 and has held it continuously for the past 26 years since Matthew’s uncle, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was elected governor in 1998.
The Romualdez family has occupied the position of representative of Leyte’s First District since 1995 and Martin and his wife have held the position continuously for the past 17 years.
Three-termer Senator Villar’s family has continuously held the position of representative of the Lone District of Las Pinas for the past 26 years since husband Manny was first elected, with the Aguilar family ruling the city for the past 30 years.
As for Cua, the petition said Peter sought to replace his brother Joseph, who had continuously held the position of governor for the past nine (9) years.
In ruling that the petition is not meritorious, the Second Division said that while the petitioners have legal standing to file the instant petition, it cannot be persuaded by their argument that Article II, Section 26 of the Constitution is self-executing against members of the immediate family of the incumbents.
Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS, the C0MELEC stated that Article II, Section 26, needs a legislative enactment before it can be implemented.
“This is very clear from the provision of the law itself that prohibition on political dynasties may be defined by law,” it stressed. “At present, there is no enabling law enacted by Congress that defines the parameters and coverage of a political dynasty as contemplated in Section 26, Article II of the 1987 Constitution.”
As such, there exists no legal standard by which the Commission may validly assess or determine whether a particular candidacy falls within a prohibited political dynasty, it added.
The COMELEC pointed out that in the absence of such law, any attempt to disqualify a candidate solely on the basis of alleged political dynasty would not only be premature, but also tantamount to judicial legislation – an act beyond the Commission’s constitutional and statutory authority.
Without a statutory framework, it cannot arrogate upon itself the power to define and enforce prohibitions against political dynasties, it argued further.
“To do so would be to infringe upon the legislature’s exclusive prerogative and, ultimately, deny the electorate their fundamental right to choose their representatives through a fair and democratic process,” the Second Division stated, adding that a disqualification petition has specific grounds and COMELEC cannot vary legislative enactments and judicial pronouncements to widen the scope of these grounds.