MANILA, Philippines – At a young age, Mikee Defensor was told politics was in her blood.

Growing up surrounded by politicians, Mikee, daughter of former House representative Mike Defensor, felt the pull of public office from an early age. Her grandaunt is the late senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. The Defensor family is a known political clan in Quezon City and Iloilo.

But instead of following the expected path, the 29-year-old lawyer is asking younger generations of political dynasties to help dismantle the cycle of inherited power.

“It’s also a call to younger generations belonging to dynastic families to put an end to the practice of inheriting positions. Kasi hangga’t walang umaayaw, tuloy-tuloy pa rin ‘yung pagmana ng position kasi ganun na ‘yung naging kultura, na-normalize na siya,” said Mikee, co-convenor of the Anti-Dynasty Network, in a Rappler Talk episode aired Friday, December 12.

(Because as long as no one opts out, the passing on of positions will continue. It has become part of the culture, something that’s already been normalized.)

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Her upbringing, surrounded by politicians, initially reinforced the notion that “politics is in your blood,” influencing her decision to study political science at Ateneo de Manila University.

But her education also made her question this path and political dynasties.

“When I went to college, that’s when I met people who actually had the courage to talk to me about this, to hold me accountable,” she recalled. “It’s never good when power and resources are concentrated within a single family or clan. Unless we put an end to this, the vicious cycle will continue for more and more family members.”

Despite repeated encouragement to run for office, Mikee declined. “I don’t think I deserve to be in a position just because I share the same last name as my father,” she said.

Her willingness to defy expectations has been public before. In 2020, she went viral for speaking out in defense of ABS-CBN while her father, then a congressman, voted to deny the network its franchise. “I’ve had my own share of arguments and debates in my own home in order to prevent all this from happening,” she then said in a tweet.

“But at the end of the day, I’m not the one in Congress. And more importantly, I am NOT my father. My heart goes out to those greatly affected, especially the 11,000 workers who lost their jobs in the middle of a pandemic.”

Mikee acknowledged that opting out is not always easy for other young members of political families. Some feel pressured to run for office out of fear of being cut off from their families.

“Especially in Filipino culture, we’re taught to deeply respect our parents, and family matters are treated as sacred,” she said. Still, she stressed the importance of stepping away from that mindset to understand the broader democratic and social costs of dynastic politics.

Fight for anti-dynasty law

The Anti-Dynasty Network, a coalition of reform-minded dynasts, academics, and public servants, launched its campaign for an anti-dynasty law in the wake of the flood control corruption scandal.

Under its draft proposal, the coalition is pushing for the following key provisions:

• No family member may immediately succeed an incumbent in any elective post.
• The restriction should apply up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity, covering grandparents, parents, spouses, in-laws, children, siblings, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and first cousins.
• The ban should cover overlapping constituencies.
• No two relatives within the fourth degree may simultaneously run for or hold the positions of president, vice president, or senator.
• No two relatives within the fourth degree may simultaneously run for or hold office within the same province, city, or municipality.
• No local official may be related to the district representative of the same area.
• No relative of an incumbent official should be fielded as a party-list nominee.

The network is composed of descendants of prominent political families who oppose dynastic rule. Among its members are Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto; Francis Aquino Dee, grandson of the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino; and Patrick Ramos Jalasco, grandson of former president Fidel V. Ramos.

Aika Robredo, an Ateneo faculty member and the eldest daughter of Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo and late interior secretary Jesse Robredo, is also part of the coalition.

A day after the network’s launch, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Congress to pass an anti-dynasty law.

His son, Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos, along with House Speaker Bojie Dy, filed an anti-dynasty bill.

Mikee, however, said the measure was “watered down” compared with what the network envisions for the anti-dynasty law.

In a statement released on Friday, the Anti-Dynasty Network said the Marcos allies’ bill “imposes no limit on how many relatives may simultaneously hold public office, does not address overlapping constituencies, and does not tackle dynastic succession, the most common way political families pass on power.”

“A law this limited can easily become a performative measure that appears to introduce reform even if it falls short of what the Constitution instructs: preventing the concentration of political power in the hands of a few and protecting equal access to public service,” the coalition said.

There have been several bills filed to prevent a political dynasty but there’s little to no progress.

Mikee, however, said that she’s hopeful this time because of the increasing number of people who are demanding for accountability.

“It’s a start to fixing our democratic institutions and making government more inclusive, holding public officers more accountable,” she said. – Rappler.com