By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
The race is on. It is not to win a gold medal in any sporting event. It is much more than that: it is to ensconce one’s self in the realm of make believe, spiced with a sprinkling of good service.
For many, it is to perpetuate a family name -good or bad, avaricious or well-meaning. That name may have been there even for decades, honorably flying high initially but soon gliding to a niche of dishonor characterized by avarice for wealth, power and influence. That name became synonymous to dynasty. It started locally of course but eventuality inched its way into the national arena.
That name could be found in every region, or even province, of the country. How many of those names smell of acceptable aroma and how many reek of repugnant legacy?
Any earnest discussion of an anti-dynasty bill in Congress, granting that there is a congressman or senator naïve or crazy enough to file such a bill, is only for the committee level. After that, it dies slowly and naturally. It is just a concession for a congressman or senator to have his/her 15 minutes of fame or shame-on-you moment. Surely that short moment will be magnified by the media. So, to file such a bill is not necessarily a naivete or craziness. It is actually designed to make the name of a legislator splash momentary brilliance with a little fragrance.
For others, the race is to make a name glitter a little bit but probably enough to start a new dynasty. Then, the merry-go-round is switched on.
Yes, the Philippine political scenario at present is a merry-go-round. Look at the present composition of the senate, or even before. You have siblings and parent-child sitting together as senators. Many are children, wife or husband of former presidents, vice presidents and senators.To them, it is never enough for only one from the family to get elected to protect or advance the interests of the family. The capability to properly legislate is actually not the major consideration. We should not wonder why we are not progressing as we should. There are so many family interests to protect first.
It is nauseating.
The House of representatives is also an exhibit of dynasty-ism, if there is such a word.
It is the 4th of October as this piece is being written. It is also the 4th day of filing of candidacies for the May, 2025 mid-term elections. Per media revelations of those who already filed their certificates of candidacy, it seems the merry-go-round went a notch higher.
We can only pray that we, the electorate, will be more discerning this time to select the better options. Otherwise, we will be seeing senators or congressmen shouting at each other in plenary sessions in plain view of the public.
Yet, they call themselves in the Senate and the Lower House, as the august bodies. Methinks, the phrase is already a misnomer. Can you imagine a Speaker of the House for example, admitting having girlfriends in addition to a common-law wife? And hinting that every other legislator is in the same boat? They are not even respecting themselves. So, by sheer admission, they do not belong to an august body. To their credit, that phrase is now rarely reverberating in the halls of Congress as legislators seem to dislike uttering it.
Come to think of this too. Even before the filing of certificates of candidacy, there are a number who already spent a fortune in their multi-media exposures to make their name visible or heard. Mercifully to them, the COMELEC explained that the amount spent will not be considered as a campaign expense since they were not campaigning as candidates.
In addition, there are so much tarpaulins in many parts of the Philippines prominently displayed along roads or highways containing the smiling faces of various possible candidates for national elective posts. They were there as early as June this year.
When I saw some of them in Luzon and the Visayas region, I thought to myself that they are going to aspire for a Senate seat. True enough, when senatorial slates were unfolded their names were included.
If these candidates are always looking for ways to skirt the law and spent a tidy sum in doing it, we should shudder if they will get elected. They are the same politicians who will always think of themselves first before reluctantly serving the people. To them, there is a law, but the law is low.
Will you and I have the guts to say no to the overtures of such candidates? **
