Old political dynasties versus new political dynasties. Elite persistence against elite capture. The political system in the Philippines sets the stage for these battles that only the poor people will never win, will make them poorer and will make their country’s growth bereft of inclusivity. ADB’s Bhushan (2013) argues that “for growth to be inclusive, the consumption by the ‘excluded group’ should increase by at least the same rate as the growth rate.”
Filipino voters, wake up. And based on the way things have gone so far, political economy experts and investigative journalists need to keep the fire burning and influence elections.
Term limits are devoid of meaning when powerful political families just fill the elective positions checked out by their incumbent spouses or relatives (Tadem & Tadem 2016; Querubin 2011). Political clans sitting since the 8th Congress have not acceded to their constitutional duty to change the political course by consistently dodging various attempts to support the anti-dynasty provision of the 1987 charter with an enabling law. The trick is palpable for you cannot expect change because they are the ones to decide. They simply decide to stay in power. (Mendoza et al. 2022)
But the Constitution must always be supreme. When Article II, Section 26 says that “the State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law,” the Constitution must be upheld and defended. If it means that the past and present people elected in Congress should be held liable for not passing a law in support of that clear-cut constitutional provision, then so be it. In 2018, the Mandanas Ruling of the Supreme Court gives us a glimpse of hope that we are able and willing to correct deep, prolonged political mistakes such as this. All we have to do is give this dynasty prohibition a chance.
A chance for a change versus no change in the system of dynastic politics. With anti-dynasty law against without. Pamamayagpag nila o ipapagpag natin sila sa ating sagradong boto? These are the kinds of battles that we need to choose. Only then can we say that we are indeed fighting for good government with God’s help. Remember that while He provides the last best hope and aid (Preamble of the Constitution, 1987) for the government and the people, He also tests us. Which brings us to another battle to choose: God versus political gods.
We have that beautiful charter preamble: Building a just and humane society and establishing a government that embodies our ideals and aspirations, promotes the common good, conserves and develops our patrimony, secures to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and regime of truth… Again, we are imploring the aid of Almighty God, not political gods.
Are we helpless, trapped by dynastic politics? Not really. Should we rather expect a legacy from these dynasties? Of course not. Just like in any battle, the legacy can be drawn from fighting a good fight. Do NOT choose political dynasties. This is the bone of contention of academic journal articles here and abroad, top universities the world over. They keep researching, always pointing at more and more deleterious consequences of having political dynasties and elite persistence. Meanwhile, our decision remains ours insofar as getting rid of these bad decision-makers. The election season is not upon us, yet it is time to make that change.
DC Alviar
Professor DC Alviar serves as a member of the steering committee of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO). He was part of National University’s community extension project that imparted the five disciplines of a learning organization (Senge, 1990) to communities in a local government unit. He writes and edits local reports for Mega Scene. He graduated with a master’s degree in development communication from the University of the Philippines Open University in Los Baños. He recently defended a dissertation proposal for his doctorate degree in communication at the same graduate school under a Philippine government scholarship grant. He was editor-in-chief of his high school paper Ang Ugat and the Adamson News.
