Former SC Justice Carpio urges youth to lead charge vs political dynasties

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The success of a legislative push to pass a genuine anti-political dynasty law “rests heavily on the mobilization of the youth and citizen action,” former Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said here on Wednesday, October 14.

Carpio spoke at the Archdiocesan organizational meeting of the “Dapat Isa Lang” (D1L) campaign held at the Patrick Cronin Hall inside the San Agustin Metropolitan Cathedral Compound.

The former SC magistrate pointed out that relying on politicians to dismantle dynasties is a dead end.

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“When you ask a group of students how many of them are planning to go abroad after they graduate, about 70 percent,” Carpio said during the forum.

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“And if you go down to the root of the problem, this is a really deep political dynasty system. [They’re] getting more entrenched,” he observed.

Because politicians will not push for a referendum, Carpio noted that the success of this endeavor relies entirely on citizens’ mobilization.

He is asking the people to sign up for the initiative by visiting the “dapat isa lang” website.

The D1L campaign seeks to utilize a People’s Initiative, a direct democracy process enshrined in the Constitution that allows the public to pass a law without going through Congress or the president.

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The movement is drawing broad ecumenical backing, viewing the monopolization of power as a fundamental injustice.

Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) Bishop Felixberto Calang, who attended the meeting, told the Inquirer that the concentration of power is not merely a political issue, but a “profound human rights violation.”

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“Public funds meant to uplift the marginalized continue to revolve around a handful of entrenched political families,” Calang said on the sidelines of the meeting.

“When resources for vital community services become the personal treasuries of a privileged few, the ordinary citizen pays the ultimate price,” he remarked.

He also raised the possibility on how the D1L movement can restrict dynastic behavior, for example, if politicians field cronies to fool the system.

“Pre, I’ll make you run for mayor and take care of everything, provided you keep funneling my 25% share into my pocket,” Calang said, illustrating a hypothetical conversation between a political kingpin and a non-relative proxy.

Echoing the campaign’s stance, Calang emphasized that dynastic monopolies block capable new leaders and “perpetuate policies that keep people trapped in poverty.”

“True democracy cannot thrive where inequality is institutionalized,” he said, expressing the IFI’s full solidarity with the youth-led initiative.

Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro (ACDO) Archbishop Jose Cabantan framed the initiative as a “legacy of people power.”

This legacy places the responsibility of changing the political landscape back into the hands of the citizens.

“We are waiting for Congress to legislate. We are waiting for Congress to pass this third bill,” Cabantan said during his inspirational message at the opening of the meeting.

He believes that “with [this power] from the people, we can change our political system.”

Public sentiment has favored an anti-dynasty law.

According to a Pulse Asia survey conducted from Feb. 27 to March 2, 2026, a 64 percent majority of Filipinos support passing an anti-dynasty law.

Support for the measure was highest in Luzon at 74 percent, followed by the Visayas at 73 percent and the National Capital Region at 69 percent. Support was lowest in Mindanao at 32 percent.

Nevertheless, ground data cited by organizers shows that 18 percent of people in Mindanao want to sign up for the initiative, alongside 64 percent of the population nationwide.

Ground operations are already underway to harness this support.

Karlo Abadines, who provided the D1L orientation at the event, noted that training has commenced for local volunteers.

“What they did was they split the 120 students into squads of eight. So, there are15 squads,” Abadines explained.

“What will those squads do? They will hold political education drives in communities. They will be deployed in different parishes, various schools. Talks and workshops will be done,” he said.

To protect the millions of signatures required to enable referendum, the campaign has established strict digital security measures.

Addressing cybersecurity concerns on the database, Carpio guaranteed that the platform was vetted and deemed secure by the National Privacy Commission and the Department of Information and Communication Technology.

“Website sign-ups take approximately three minutes, after which the data is immediately purged from the online system, and securely transferred to an offline hard drive to prevent hacking,” the former Supreme Court justice stressed.

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If successful, the proposed ‘Dapat Isa Lang’ Genuine Anti-Political Dynasty Law will mandate that not more than one member of a family within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity may run or hold a position at the national level, and not more than one at the local level for the same province. /apl