POLITICAL DYNASTY

Please allow me to use Pilipino once in a while in this blog,. Ang paksang ito ay itinuturing kong medyo espesyal, kung kaya't nais kong maibukas ang buo kong damdamin tungkol sa paksang ito.

The 1987 Constitution,  under Section 26, Article II, provides: "The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasty as may be provided by law.  This constitutional policy  expresses a national commitment to democratize election and appointment to positions in the government and eliminate a principal obstacle to "equal access to opportunities for public service."  The dominance of political dynasties in our midst does not only keep deserving but poor people away from running or winning in elections;  it also allows affluent and powerful politicians to corner appointive positions for members of their clans.   

Ang political dynasty ay masasabing nagsimulang mag-ugat sa Pilipinas noong panahon ng mga Kastila, kung kailan naglabasan ang kung tawawin ay "gobernadorcillos" o "alcaldes," mga taong binigyan ng katungkulan -- meaning appointed, not elected -- ng mga Kastila upang mamuno sa bayan. Even in those early times, that already left a bitter taste in our ancestors' mouth.  Sa panahon ng mga Amerikano, nang sa pamamagitan ng Philippine Bill of 1902 ang mga Pilipino ay mabigyan ng karapatang sumali sa pulitika, nagsilitaw naman ang mga kung tawagin ay "ilustrados" -- meaning educated, karamiha'y mestiso at siempre'y galing sa mayayamang angkan -- at ihalal  ng bayan, gaya ni Quezon, at ng mga Lopezes, Cojuangco, Osmenas, at iba pa.  Sila ay parang kabuting nagpatuloy sa pagdami pagkatapos ng regimeng Marcos.

Political dynasty is equivalent to "oligarchy,"  a system of government where rich families prevail and which has been generally shied away from by most democratic societies worldwide.  It continued to dominate our political horizons, preventing the relatively less-moneyed class to run and win in elections, where guns, goons and gold do indeed prevail.  This was precisely the reason behind the above provision in Cory's 1987 Constitution.

Subali't nakalulungkot isipin na hindi pa lantarang dinerecho ng Saligang Batas ang pagbabawal sa political dynasty;  naglagay pa ito ng kondisyong "as may be provided by law" -- meaning there is a need for a specific enabling law to be first passed by Congress before it could be totally outlawed.  Today, even as not a few such enabling laws have since been filed by some right-thinking lawmakers in the last 25 years, political dynasty still reigns supreme in our midst and times.  'Ika nga naming mga Batangenyo, "Ala eh, loko ga si Pilo,?  -- meaning the Congress, to pass a law that would kill "the duck that lays the golden eggs," as far as they are concerned.

Ang pagpatay, kung gayon, sa malagim na sumpa ng political dynasty sa ating mga halalan ay matanggap na sana nating  imposibleng manyari kung patuloy tayong aasa sa mga inihalal nating mambabatas.  Ito ay isang bagay na tanging ang bayan lamang ang huli at siyang tanging dapat humatol.  Totoo ngang hindi natin ito maisasakatuparan sa darating na halalan, or even in a few subsequent ones.  Pero merong isang kasabihan tayong mga Pinoy:  "Ang pinakamatigas mang bato ay kayang butasan ng walang tigil na patak ng ulan!"  

Umpisahin na sana nating butasin ang matigas na baro ngpolitical dynasty sa ating bayan sa darating na eleksyon sa Mayo.  Huag na sana muna nating isipin na si ganito at si ganireng kandidato ay mahusay naman at may karapatdapat na kakayahan kung kaya't patuloy na dapat ihalal.    Our foremost priority now is to shout to the four winds that we abhor "dynasts" or candidates from political clans to rule the land, because we are for true democracy, not for oligarchy.  If we continue to make our voices hoarse in shouting that and yet also continue writing their names in our ballots, than aren't we becoming sheer hypocrites? 

Methinks there is valid reason to believe that had we only begun the campaign against political dynasty soon after the 1987 Constitution and pursued it thereafter election after election,  either of two things could have happened by now.  First, the needed enabling law had been passed, or second, candidates from political clans would have vanished in our political scenes.  True, given that most of the candidates, especially some senatorial re-electionists, do come from well-known clans,  many voters may still tend to vote for them lest they be not able to complete 12 candidates in their ballots,  'Ika nga'y sayang naman.  No!  So be it,  vote for only 3 or five senators if necessary.  Let's realize that this campaign is a relatively long-term one.   Otherwise, what is sayang is our only chance to start fighting against the incorrigible reign of political dynasts in Philippine society.  Tayo lang naman, among the many democratic societies worldwide, ang ganito, di ba?

For me personally -- allow me to also humbly urge others -- I will vote nect May, and every poll season thereafter, ONLY for candidates without a sibling, wife, brother, sister or other near relatives already in the elective public service.  I may be a bit harsh for some who I know are good, but my first priority is to first eliminate their ilks and kinds in the political horizons. Methinks it is high time we had drawn a sharp  line between a primary and a secondary objective.  As I earlier said, it may take us several elections to achieve our goal.  Let it be so!  The Almighty will take care of the rest.  At the end of the day, the familiar saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes!"