A decade ago I asked a Metro Manila mayor about dynasty building. He was then preparing to field one of his sons to succeed him as his three-term limit neared its end.
The mayor said that if his constituents were unhappy with his performance, he could not build a dynasty. Neither of his two sons wanted to follow him into politics, and he managed to persuade only the less political type to run. I told some of his supporters that the young man came off too aloof and too rich in a city teeming with the poorest of the poor. The supporters said if voters had put the mayor in city hall for nine years, they must be happy enough with him to vote for his son.
The supporters guessed wrong; not even the equity of the incumbent could save the son from being trounced by the mayor’s archrival. The family has never returned to city politics.
So perhaps the argument about performance being the overriding factor in sustaining dynasties is valid. In Metro Manila and other parts of the country, we have seen dynasties being broken, never to rise again. Surely voter dissatisfaction plays a role.
The comment about dynasties and performance is quite common among members of political clans. Former vice president Jejomar Binay, emerging from retirement and now seeking a congressional seat representing the first district of Makati, gave the same explanation.
Similar comments were given by Sen. J.V. Ejercito, who is seeking reelection, with his half-brother Jinggoy Estrada making a comeback bid in the same chamber. Jinggoy is doing better than JV in the surveys, and the younger sibling attributes it to name recall. So he might yet seek Commission on Elections (Comelec) approval to append “Estrada” to his name on the ballot. There might be room for two of Joseph Estrada’s children in the Senate.
Two of Binay’s children, on the other hand, are gunning for the same seat in their home turf: Abby and Junjun will be splitting the Binay votes for mayor of Makati. If they don’t settle their feud, the Yabuts may stage a political comeback in the city.
The Binay patriarch and J.V. Ejercito faced The Chiefs in separate episodes on Cignal TV’s One News channel.
They’re not the only members of political dynasties in this country. Both chambers of Congress are packed with dynasts. President Duterte himself has a dynasty in Davao. I’m sure he and his relatives will say that the city’s voters can toss them out any time.
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Binay also argues for the lifting of term limits, and an amendment of the current three-year term of congressmen and local government executives to the pre-EDSA revolt term of four years.
A newcomer to an elective position will take about a year just to get the hang of the job, Binay told us. The newbie will have about a year to focus on governance before being distracted in his third year if he intends to seek reelection.
Lifting term limits will also allow the politician to keep running, without the need for succession by relatives in between the allowed terms, until voters throw him out. This is the case in the United States and several other democracies. In a way, term limits contribute to dynasty building.
The consultative committee or Concom formed by Duterte to craft a federal constitution in fact recommended the lifting of term limits – but only if an anti-dynasty provision would also be passed.
Concom members, however, were realistic enough to propose limits rather than a total ban on dynasties.
But members of the House of Representatives were even more realistic, and did away entirely with the anti-dynasty provision in the HOR’s draft Charter.
Ejercito supports proposals to limit each family to one candidate for a national position and another for local, with the limit covering those related by blood or marriage up to the second degree.
It’s not just lip service; Ejercito sponsored the country’s first anti-dynasty law. While the measure covered only the Sangguniang Kabataan, it’s a miracle that it passed at all, since the SK is a training ground and entry level for the youngest members of political clans. The law was applied in the SK elections this year. The Comelec believes this was the reason for the dramatic fall in the number of SK candidates, with some areas having no bets at all.
Concom members earlier said that the anti-dynasty provision in the draft federal charter was non-negotiable. But now that their work is done and they have submitted the draft charter to Duterte, and the HOR is working on its own draft, “non-negotiable” has become meaningless. What will the Concom members do – resign?
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The argument about performance is valid, but proponents must admit that there is also basis for criticism of the abuse of dynasties. An entrenched dynasty can hinder inclusive growth and undermine mechanisms for transparency and accountability. The vice mayor, for example, chairs the city or municipal council, which provides checks and balances to the mayor. How is this possible if the mayor and vice mayor are close relatives?
Dynasty-building has also reached bizarre proportions, with clans not only running in their turfs but also becoming carpetbaggers, running for office in the cities of their birth (or even of their parents’) even if everyone knows they haven’t lived there for decades.
The battle of the Binay siblings has been eclipsed by the phenomenon in neighboring Taguig where the Cayetanos are running for Congress representing different districts. Maybe it’s none of our business if husband and wife are living together or not, and maybe the only requirement is residency in the same city to represent any district, but it adds a novel dimension to dynastic politics.
Outside Metro Manila, in areas with limited police presence, much of the political violence can be attributed to clan wars.
Why do people readily kill for positions with modest pay and a three-year term? Because politics and family fortunes are inextricably linked in many parts of this country. Families that dominate politics own many businesses, and build the roads, bridges and other infrastructure to favor those businesses in their turfs. There is no red tape for those in power.
And because they often control the criminal justice system in their turfs, they can kill rivals and critical journalists with impunity.
Books have been written as far back as the 1990s about the incestuous links of families, wealth and Philippine politics. Next year’s elections will show that little has changed.