Political Dynasties Should Be Banned
Equality stands for fair chances. In the Philippines, the names Ejercito, Aquino, Cayetano, Angara, and Binay are only some prominent political families that holds position in the government. It is impossible to miss any of these names in elections, whether in local or national elections—there is always someone from a political family in the ballot. There are good outcomes that these families pioneered in the past through their expertise, however, a glitch in the system appears as time passes by, and dynasties are created and with it comes negative results that are in favor of these families’ interests. A political dynasty, as defined in the House Bill 837 from the House of Representatives in 2013, “is the consecration, consolidation, or continuation of public office and political power by persons related to each other” (House of Representatives, 2013). It may come off as an occurrence that should be ignored but today, it is more prevalent than ever in the country. Moreover, it has come to the point that these families control most of the archipelago. In Bernardo Villegas’ 2015 article, he quoted Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson from their 2013 article that “sixty percent of congress people elected in 2007 had previous relatives who were also in [the] congress. In roughly half of the 80 provinces of the Philippines, the governor is related to one of the congress people” (Ademoglu & Robinson, 2013). This contradicts the morals of democracy as not everyone is transparent and involved in the decisions and actions of the government. Also, it creates an avenue for the social gap to grow bigger. Even though these families insist that they contributed a number of good deeds to the country, it does not mean they will come clean of their wrong actions. As a republican and democratic state, political dynasties should be banned as it hinders democracy, limits deserving and competent leaders, and breeds corruption in the government.
Back in 1986, Filipinos staged the People Power Revolution to instill democracy and stop the Marcos family from controlling the country for as long as they want. I stand with the revolution’s belief in democracy and so, believe that political dynasties hinder democracy. One of the main principles of democracy is that it stands for equal opportunities for everyone. If the opportunity to run for a position and serve the country is exclusive to members of political families, it contradicts the idea and limits the potential of the country to grow. Each citizen in the state has the right to run for a position if deemed qualified and the chances of electing a competent legislator is narrowed down if political dynasties continue to dominate the political scene. Furthermore, if more power is given to specific people in the same circle, inclusiveness is tainted. Again, one of the goals of democracy is to be inclusive to both citizens and legislators. They say that with power comes great responsibility but what if the elected official is far from it but gained the position because of his name? The more power they have, there is a bigger opportunity for them to commit violations against the constitution and get away with it. Villegas (2015) also highlighted the Asian Institute for Management Policy Center for Competitiveness’ paper where they stated that political dynasties are inclined to conflict of interest, going further to the point that “the ‘police power’ of the state could be invoked to justify regulation of political rights that may be exercised against the common good.” Moreover, political dynasties in the Philippines “tend to dominate the major political parties” (Mendoza, 2012). From this point, they already have the upper hand and can control the elections and consequently, the government, which once again, violates the concept of democracy for a government that is transparent and inclusive.
My second argument against political dynasties is that it limits deserving and competent leaders. Public office positions and the leadership attached to it should be earned fair and square. One reason is instead of maximizing the country’s brilliant minds and potential, locals are limited to what these dynasties have to offer because they are the ones who has the upper hand and are in office. There should be an equal opportunity for every citizen to run for office as long as the candidate hopeful is deemed competent to hold a public position. In an article from ABSCBN News (2015), the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) stated that an anti-dynasty law “will allow more Filipinos to participate in politics and governance.” It will provide a bigger avenue for Filipinos to be involved in the decisions of the government. The knowledge of a brilliant citizen would go to waste if not given the chance to run for a position because another person from a dynasty grabbed the slot. Members of political dynasties run and gets elected even if they are not equipped with the proper knowledge and passion because they came from a known family. To back it up, a section from the House Bill 837 stated “political office becomes a family heirloom which politicians hand to the next generation without considering talent, competence, and integrity” (House of Representatives, 2013). In order to avoid this glitch, another citizen should be given the chance to also run instead of having someone from the same circle for a change. In the same article from ABSCBN News, PIDS mentioned that “one important dimension is broadening political inclusiveness.” The law, if passed, will enable and strengthen inclusiveness that democracy has been promoting all along.
Lastly, corruption is another cancer that the Philippines should be rid of and I believe that political dynasties breed corruption in the government. With persons coming from the same family and agenda, one can easily continue what the other has been doing wrongly against the state. It is a domino effect. Ronald Mendoza (2012) stated that political dynasties contribute to the large scale poverty in the Philippines as a study in the 15th Philippine House of Representatives from 2003-2007 showed that at least 80% of elected officials that came from political families had a raise in their total net worth. It is another push to extreme poverty and growing gap between the rich and the poor. CNN Philippines mentioned in a video one of the statements from PIDS that “either poverty leads to the creation of political dynasties or dynasties worsen poverty conditions” (CNN Philippines, 2016). This is another level of corruption that needs to be stopped. Moreover, Michael Yusingco, in one of his articles, quoted the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that through political dynasties there is “abuse of pubic power for private benefit through bribery, extortion, influence peddling, nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement.” With the power that they yield while in a public post, they also the power to steal from the nation’s wealth. Case in point, the World Bank projected that the country lost about 48 million dollars in 1977 to 1997 (Yusingco, n.d.). With notable families in office, they have a strong hold in the nation’s wealth and can do what they want with it. In addition, David and Legara (2015) stated in their article that the rate of dynasty share increased from 2004 to 2013, “the average dynasty share grew from 0.30 to 0.44, representing a 47% increase.” In the same article, provinces from Northern Luzon reported the most growth in dynasty wealth, specifically in Northern Luzon, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Apayao, and Isabela. Even if they say that their wealth came from their family itself, it is uncertain and most likely came from the national wealth.
To counter the arguments above, it is not illegal in the Philippines to have political dynasties, thus, there is no limitation for members to run whether they are equipped for a position or not and it is likely that they have experience and can produce good projects after being exposed in a political family. To start, persons from affluent political families can run whether they like it or not but the citizens will still have the final say and most of the time, vote for the known candidate because they believe they have the experience. President Benigno Aquino himself stated that as a member of a political family, it helped him today as “his training and experiences shaped him into who he is today” (Rappler, 2012). Moreover, most successful politicians came from a political family and provided good outputs because of the innate knowledge gained from being exposed in the family field. Also, without a legal restriction for members of the same family to run simultaneously, it is alright to run and if qualified, what is wrong with it? The problem is that there is no concrete definition of a political dynasty and how it should be limited given that a law restricting it is passed. Vice President Jejomar Binay stated in an article from Interaksyon.com that he has no problem with dynasties. Furthermore, he stated in his interview from Interaksyon.com that “kailangan lang po ay magkaroon ng malinis at marangal na halalan. Pero kung qualified sa isang malinis at marangal na halalan, bakit ninyo haharangin dahil lang sa kamag-anak?” (Binay, 2016). There is substance and truth to what Binay said and case in point, what if the member really has the right values and knowledge, is he still not worthy to run because he came from a family of politicians? Lastly, popularity and wealth can be deceiving. Members of dynasties can say that the popularity and wealth they have did not come from the national wealth but from their family that was passed on to them. There is no definite proof that the wealth they have is from the money of the people. Sure, there are some cases but not everyone because most political families have roots from politicians even back in the Spanish colonization. The popularity that their family enjoys because of the long standing presence they have in the public scene and their deeds. Just because they are popular and wealthy means they are corrupt and not worthy of serving under the government.
In opposition to the arguments stated beforehand, most people disapprove of dynasties, thus, the push to legalize its prohibition is getting stronger by the people’s influence. The reason personalities from notable families are so blunt and confident towards running for public office is because there is no legal restriction halting them from doing so. Ergo, in order to finally stop it and offer an avenue for competent and deserving leaders, an anti-dynasty law should be approved. President Aquino himself stated in an interview relayed by Rappler from BBC in 2012 that political families should also have its limits, going to the point that “there is a conscious attempt to have a monopoly of economic power…when the playing field is not leveled” (Aquino, 2012). If there is no equal playing field, democracy itself is contradicted. Moreover, not everyone in a political family is responsible and modest enough to come clean and serve the state with integrity. Either way, the nation will not know if a bad motive is up in their sleeves. The temptation is there and it is a free way to get wealthier. Up until now, Binay has insisted that he is not guilty of corruption because he has not been properly tried so he will continue to have the confidence to run for the highest position in the country. During the first presidential debate, he said that he came from a poor family then later defended his assets that his parents on to him. The nation will never know the truth of his motives. And lastly, note that most political families amass a good amount of wealth, for instance, the Marcos family, who has not fully returned the Philippine fortune they stole back during Ferdinand Marcos’ rule, and yet they hold positions in local and national government. Even if members of these families already have a bad reputation, people still vote for them because they come from the same region or they are popular. Sometimes, the problem is with the people and how they can easily get blinded without realizing their mistakes. One of the problems that these political families take advantage of the people is how the citizens can be easily blinded to vote for them.
Banning or imposing limitations against political dynasties will come a long way but it is needed to keep the essence and integrity of democracy and the rights of the citizens, to maximize the citizens’ potential to serve, and to stop the rampant corruption the country has experienced for many decades. The good thing is that a step into banning dynasties was made when President Aquino signed the law prohibiting political dynasties in the Sangguniang Kabataan or SK (Diaz, 2016). With political dynasties, the founding principles of democracy is slowly fading. As Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago—one of the main authors of the pending anti-dynasty bills—remarked, these dynasties in the constitution embodies evil because of the monopoly they cause within the government that hinders other citizens to run. Case in point, it limits potential leaders outside of the dynasty to run for public office and in consequence, there is an unequal opportunity for citizens to run for public service. Political dynasties should be banned as it ruins the potential of not only growing economically but also culturally.
ABSCBN News.com. (2015). Why the Philippines need an anti-dynasty law. Retrieved from http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/08/20/15/why-philippines-needs-anti-dynasty-law
CNN Philippines. (2016). Anti-political dynasty bill. Retrieved from http://cnnphilippines.com/videos/2016/03/02/Anti-Political-Dynasty-Bill.html
David, C. & Legara, EF. (2015). How much of our country will we lose to political dynasties in 2016? Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/109892-how-much-country-lose-political-dynasties-2016
Diaz, J. (2016). Noy signs law banning political dynasties in SK. Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/01/20/1544416/noy-signs-law-banning-political-dynasties-sk
House of Representatives. (2013). An act defining political dynasty and prohibiting the establishment thereof (pp. 2, 3). Quezon City.
Interaksyon.com. (2016). Binay on political dynasties: ‘Bakit pagbabawalan kung qualified naman?’. Retrieved from http://interaksyon.com/article/124355/binay-on-political-dynasties--bakit-pagbabawalan-kung-qualified-naman
Mendoza, R. (2012). Dynasties in democracy: The political side of inequality. Retrieved from http://www.voxeu.org/article/dynasties-democracies-political-side-inequality
Rappler. (2012). PNoy on BBC: ‘Hereditary power’ has pros, cons. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/nation/6576-pnoy-on-bbc-hereditary-power-has-pros,-cons
Villegas, B. M. (2015). Pros and cons of dynasties. Retrieved from http://www.mb.com.ph/pros-and-cons-of-dynasties/
Yusingco, M. (n.d.). The problem with political dynasties. Academia.edu. Retrieved 26 March 2016 from https://www.academia.edu/8137937/THE_PROBLEM_WITH_POLITICAL_DYNATIES
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