Since the May 12 election day is just around the corner, we look at the names of candidates, and one observation we easily make is that many of them have the same surnames. In the 1987 Philippine Constitution, there is a provision that prohibits the existence of political dynasties.
But to be implementable, the Constitution requires the enactment of a law. Without that law, the prohibition against these dynasties does not have any effect at all.
It has been 38 years since the passage of the recent Constitution, but no law has been approved to execute this constitutional provision. Obviously, Congress does not consider it a priority in its legislative agenda. I do not want to speculate and hazard a guess. You know why?
Because I think having political dynasties is good for the country. Consider these reasons: Having them win in elections repeatedly is a sign that the voters trust these dynasties. They trust that these dynasties will implement what they promised in the campaign. They think that the saying that “promises are made to be broken” is false. There is no such intention.. It is a statement of purpose and policy that the candidate will fight for once elected.
These groups and lineage can also be good at determining the behavior of people since they have been in their positions a long time. They have studied the character of people they deal with. They can identify those who can be trusted. These inherent traits cause fewer mistakes in governance. These trusted lieutenants will perform according to the standards they have set. There is no more learning curve. They already know what is expected of them.
A big plus is they know how the government works and will be able to quickly work on their jobs without having to do a lot of learning. Therefore, they will make fewer mistakes than those who are new in their jobs.
And of course, they have a name to protect. They will never do something their fellow members of the dynasty will dislike. They will uphold their image and will do the best they can to perform their jobs as elective officials.
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