STOP POLITICAL DYNASTY

A Politician's family. Photo: politicalissuexe1.wordpress.com

Sec. 22, Article II of the 1987 Constitution provides, “The State guarantees equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”

Philippine politics have been dominated by a few families virtually controlling and owning their respective territory. The 2016 Elections will be the same as the previous elections. Political families will once again dominate Philippine politics.

The President, Rodrigo Duterte, has his own political dynasty in Davao. They have been holding Davao for more than 3 decades and the people of Davao keep voting them.

Last Presidential Elections, Jojo Binay ran but lost. Since his appointment as Officer-in-Charge of Makati City in 1986, he has built his own Dynasty. His wife, is a former Mayor of Makati City, his daughter is the current Mayor of Makati, his son is the former mayor and another daughter is an elected senator.

DFA Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano, a vice presidential candidate and running mate of the president belongs to the Cayetano dynasty. His wife is the current Mayor of Taguig City, his sister is the Taguig Representative and was a former senator.

Political dynasty is more prevalent in the local level but it is slowly invading the national level as seen in the previous elections.

The Constitution prohibits political dynasty but since 1987, Congress of the Philippines did not pass any enabling law. This is the problem because the framers of the 1987 Constitution failed to define the law to implement the prohibition of political dynasty. They left-out the construction of the enabling law on how to implement the prohibition of political dynasty. They entrusted the task of making that law in Congress. This is the biggest joke ever made by the Constitutional Commission of 1986. As one writer says, “you should not expect the ‘wise men’ of Congress to shoot their own foot and hoofs.”

For 28 years since ex-President Ferdinand Marcos was ousted, the Philippine Congress has been sitting in their hands continually ignoring to make a law that will implement what the Constitution said in prohibiting Political Dynasty in the Philippines. Congressmen are so busy renaming streets, buildings, etc. In fact, the first law passed by Congress is renaming the Manila International Airport to Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Congressmen are incapable of defining what politically dynasty actually means.

Some of the political family. Photo: Wikipedia

The Senators and Representatives are tasked by the Constitution to pass a law and obviously, these “honorable” beasts have failed on their job in defining the prohibition of political dynasty. Because of this failure of the Congressmen, the provision in the Constitution on political dynasty is just a mere decoration.
As seen in the previous and current Congress, political clans/families have been walking all over the Philippine Senate, House of Representatives, local and national public offices. Grandparents, father, mother, and siblings are taking turns on different seats of power all over the archipelago.
What is the reason why people keep voting them? Name recall? Familiarity with their names? Family name is all over their place…waiting sheds are named after their family names, basketball courts, schools, etc. Naming government projects (using taxpayers’ money) after a politician is wrong. In fact, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago passed a bill to prohibit this things, it was called “Epal Law”. I don’t know what happen to that bill now.

Another reason why people keep voting them is there are no other choices. In some places, all the political competitors belong/connected to the same families that are politically active. Their family members take turns on official political positions in the government.

Congress will never pass an enabling law to prohibit political dynasty because it will greatly affect them. Bunch of selfish politicians.