Why the Philippines Needs Anti-Political Dynasty Law

 

                             

“The state shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibits political dynasties as maybe defined by law,” says Section 26, State Policies, 1987 Philippine Constitution. The congressmen and senators are therefore required to pass laws to implement that provision. However, after three decades they are yet to act on it. Instead of fading out, political dynasties have grown bigger, dominating the political landscape from Luzon to Mindanao. 

The country has had leaders from political families from the national to local levels since its independence from the United States. However, issues such as poverty, corruption, underdevelopment and others persist, and people think that their leaders or their political systems have failed them. It will be an exaggeration to say that political dynasties are the root cause of our problems, but certainly it is one of them. Eliminating one of the issues which is political dynasty is a step in the right direction to move this country forward.  It is imperative for the legislators to pass anti-political dynasty laws because: 1) They are mandated by the constitution to do it, 2) the people expected them to do their duty, and 3) the good of the people must prevail over their self-interest. Below are some more reasons to have an anti-political dynasty law:  

Political dynasties treat government offices like family business. The head of political dynasty is not content with having an elective position all alone. He wants to share the privilege with his family. This will result in a family with members holding multiple government positions all at the same time from the national down to local levels including the barangay. An example of dynasties monopolizing public office is the senate where there are four pairs of siblings who are senators which is equivalent to 1/3 of the total number of 24 senators in that chamber. 

Political dynasties undermine our electoral system. Most often, politicians from political families are among the rich in a community. They have the name, the money, and the political machineries for an election. Over time, long entrenched politicians who mostly belong to political families would learn the tricks of winning elections. These include vote buying and patronage politics such as giving ayudas which are aimed especially to lower income groups who comprised the largest percentage of voters. For these reasons, it is hard for a qualified and well-intentioned candidate to beat them. Candidates from dynasties always win elections because the playing field is not level on the side of their opponents.       

Political dynasties hijack the party list system- The party list system is introduced in the 1987 constitution to enable the underprivileged and underrepresented sectors to have a voice in congress. However, political families also intruded into the party list so that some of its representatives came from dynastic families. This creates a situation where two or more representatives come from just one family or clan. This situation has defeated the purpose of party list representation in congress. 

Political dynasties breed corruption. Long serving politicians such as senators and representatives who belong to political families have a say on government infrastructure projects under their jurisdiction. This will make them in contact with DPWH officials, other government agencies and private contractors involved in project implementation. Over time, their connections make them close to each other, and it’s highly likely that kickbacks and commissions will become a secret deal in their transactions. In the flood control investigation by congress in Bulacan and other parts of the country hundreds of billions of pesos are wasted through corruption. Most of those involved politicians came from dynastic families. It is not just enough to punish the culprits since people who will take their place might be as corrupt or more corrupt as the people they replace with. Fixing the system might be a better way to prevent the wrongdoings from persisting.

What can be done to check the growth of political dynasties:                                                                

Massive information campaigns should be conducted to educate the people about the negative effects of political dynasties. This can be done through the social or mainstream media and even through the ordinary people since nowadays information can be easily accessed with a cell phone. Church, civil society, schools, students and the youth particularly the millennials and Gen Z generations should be tapped for this endeavor. Their clamor will make the topic of anti-political dynasty an issue in the 2028 election which will make voters support anti-political dynasty candidates. If majority of them win, then a law could be passed in the next congress.

If above method fails, then a people’s initiative will be another remedy. People can make laws they want if the lawmakers are negligent or unwilling to perform their mandate. The initiative needs the verified signatures of 10% of total number of registered voters in the Philippines, with at least 3% of total number of verified registered voters for each legislative districts.

The last resort is a constitutional convention. This time there will be delegates who will deliberate not only on political dynasty but also on other matters of importance. There will be amendments or changes to the 1987 Constitution as the delegates may deem appropriate under the circumstances.

 

A Job Well Done by Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes on the Party List Sytem

Photo Credit: Philippine Daily Inquirer

At present the Filipino public has taken its hat off to COMELEC chairman Sixto Brillantes who is seen to have done a good job as a head of that government office. Brillantes denied the accreditation of several groups as Party List. He disqualified 7other groups which have already sitting representatives. He also did the same to still other groups which were previously registered in the last election but failed to garner enough votes. Brillantes’ action is in contrast with that of previous commissioners who accredited and registered groups as party list as if what they were granting were a commodity in the public market.                                                                                                                                                  

Many people are not happy or satisfied with the party list system since its implementation because the constitutional provision is abused by powerful and influential groups. This malpractice has defeated the vision of the framers of the 1987 constitution that is to provide opportunities to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of the society to have a voice in the Philippine Law making process. Some groups that are in the party list are just front of a political party or powerful political family whose aim is to expand its political power thus promoting political dynasty. Others are apparently identified with a religious groups or organization and still others can hardly be categorized as belonging to marginalized groups. And most of the nominees of the party list groups are millionaires and some of them do not even belong to the group they are supposed to represent.

Some Filipinos want the party list system abolished because it has only served the interest of the elite and the privileged group rather than that of the poor. A glaring example of abuse of this system is the party list group of the son of a former president who is supposed to represent security guards, tricycle drivers, farmers and small businessmen. However, he was never any of them and above all he does not belong to a marginalized family being a millionaire. Records also show that he has not done a deliberate effort to help these groups in his three years in office as their representative. He only authored one bill for security guard that is to extend the expiry of his license from one year to three years. Unfortunately, the bill is still pending for approval in congress.                                                                                              

The party list system is embodied in the Philippine constitution so that it cannot just be abolished unless the constitution is amended or replaced with a new one.  Philippine Constitution provides that the house of representative shall be composed of 250 members and this number includes the members of the party list who will constitute 20% of all its members who come from labor, peasants, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, overseas workers, the physically handicapped, veterans and professionals to exclude the religious groups. Since then the number of legislative districts has increased to 229. If that is 80% of the regular members of congress then the total number of all members shall be 286. And the 20% of that which is composed of the party list members shall be 57.

Commissioner Brillantes’ mettle will be tested in the May 2013 mid-term election. It will be the first main election that will be conducted under his watch. A clean and honest election next year will be a feather in his cap. 

Related article:

Political Dynasty in the Philippines, a Social Ill That Should Be Eliminated