THURSDAY / JULY u, 2019
WWW.INQUIRER.NET
'End perpetual
i I earlv rzo vears since its colonial birth, the
lI ..,t,tr*'" lesislature remalns an ante-
ll aifuuiuir are"na still'flocke.d with aging
I I and rising political dynasties emblematic
of an old era. This elite institution hardly em-
bodies modern democratic representatiol
since even the party list system-crafted in
jtistice tool"-is also inundat-
1987 as a "socia.l
ed by the powers tJrat be. Some have tried
changing the legislative membership by reviv-
ing antid)'nasty bills, but such an act needs re-
tooling after almost 35 years of futile exercise.
The results of the last midterm elections
show that at least 18o ofall district reiresenta-
tives in the new 18th Congress belong to politi-
cal dynasties. Adding party list members who
are dynastic, the figure rises to 214, or mor€
than 70 percent of the House of Representa-
tives seats. Senators from tlrc same monocra-
cy represent 67 percent of the chamber. Local
elective posts abound with dynasties, indud-
ing governors and city mayors from the sanle
families holding tie same posts for deeades
through a revolving door of kinship. .
In the Bangsamoro, the reign of local dynas-
ties remains uncontested, with all seven con-
gressional districts being held by the Manguda-
datus, Hatamans, Sinsuats and otlers. Oti-
garchic persistence in the region is bome out of
, deeply entrenched feudal ties, where the elite
dominat€ politics even as feuow Muslins die in
I war and poverty. How the dynastic system will
coexist witl the MILF-led Bangsamoro transi-
tion authority's vision of making governance in-
clirsive and arms irrelevant remains uncertai[
Even as tley comprise a trifling -r percent
of the country's populatioq oligarchs have a under President Duterte. After prolonged hospi
power
tal detentioq former president and Speaker
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo piloted the raiuoading
of Resolution of Both l{ouses No. 15. The pro-
C0l'liltllIARY Charter resolution was roundly condemned as a
M.TUAZON
EOBBY scheme to perpetuate political dynasties; it
swept away the present Charter's antidynasty
cunning ability to sprout Aftersdven elections, provision along with the term limits of elective
the party list system, which was envisioned as ofncials. Yet Mr. Duterte sees nothing wrong
a legislative voice of the poor, has been co-opt- with clientelisrL as his own family members
ed by them. By some legal chicanery the sys- now occupy executive, legislative and local gov-
tem is now anybody's game where dynasties ernment positions. His recent declaration
form political parties and rYin seats-34, or against pushing federalism brings dosue to the
nearly 60 percent, of 61 seats in the latest Puno committee's core Chaner provision mak-
count Except for a few minority seats, the par- ing the ban on political dynastieJsef-executing
ty list is packed with millionaires; at least one The chronic power monopoly by the elite
billionate is the richest congressman today. suggests that the people's fair representation in
In the May elections, the same leverages government that enables the country's claimed
pivotal to the resiliency of the dynasty system democracy to woik is nil This is evinced, for in-
were operrtive-electoral edge, name recall, stance, by Congress' failure to enact landmark
money, vote-buying and an automated system institutional reforms like genuine land redistri-
that is vulnerable to fraud. As usual, the lack of butiorl'minimum wage increase and otier pro-
a viable political party system, where issues labor laws, and an implehenting law on lhe
and performance should have counted most, constitutional ban of dynasties.
reduced the election to a feud between politi: The dynasty system is antidevelopment,
cal clans, r,vith machineries emPloyed in the as has been validated by scholars, including .
'
guise of political parties, thus marginalizing former National Economic and Development
aspirants whostood for principled politics. Dy- Authority officials and UNDP and AIM aca-
nasties mock ttre election, which in principle is demics. Not only does it hurt growth and
an accountability mechanism bestoliing pdsi-
' poverty
reduction programs, it also worsens
tions only to tiose with unblemished public social inequality in regions like Bicol and
service records while ensuring an even playing BARMM, where clans are well-entrenched.
field where nondynastic candidates win. Targeting economic Srowth is air ess with-
While in recent years political dynasties out ending the perpeflral power of a few famiiies.
have faced increasing scrutiny because of their
dominance, practice of patronage politics and Bobby M. Tuazon is director for Policy Stud-
links to big-time corruptioq they toughened up ies of CenPEG. He used to head UP Manila's
political science program.
$ rcAE€ -APu