The callous shamelessness of political dynasties

What makes members of the same families run over and over again, as if there is no other qualified candidate? What drives families to monopolize political power and control the government? If you tell me that it is pure love for the people, I would retort: Tell that to the Marines, I was not born yesterday. Only in the Philippines are there towns where the husband is mayor, the wife is vice mayor, and the children are council members. Even the barangays and SKs are controlled by the grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Perhaps these people think they have the monopoly of brains, and all the rest are stupid robots to be bought, hoodwinked, or cheated.

In Makati, the mayor is the sister of her number one opponent for the same post. The brother who is running against the sister aligned himself with the mortal enemy of their father. The father, a former vice president of the republic, is running against the ally of his own son. It appears the father and sister are opposing the son's ambition to be mayor again. The other sister is in the Senate seeking reelection. In Taguig, the husband is running in one congressional district and his wife in another. If both win, they will be members of the same House, making Congress look like their ancestral home. The sister of the husband is seeking Senate re-election. The other brother is running for city mayor. This makes Makati and Taguig look like a two family corporations. Sort of another tale of two cities.

In Ilocos, the Marcoses, Singsons, and Fariñases run politics like a family business. In Pampanga, the Macapagals, Pinedas, and Nepomucenos do the same. In Pangasinan, Tarlac, Bulacan, and Nueva Ecija, it’s the same story. In Manila and San Juan, the Estradas and Ejercitos are running again as if they are the gift of God to Filipinos. They are not contented with brothers Jinggoy and JV running for the Senate again, they also want to control the city governments of Manila and San Juan. The same is true in Pasay, Parañaque and, of course, Las Piñas of the Villars and Aguilars. The same pattern repeats itself all over the Philippines.

Here in Cebu, I need not tell you the biggest political dynasties in the province. You know better than me. Their families do not seem to have another occupation but politics. Well, their usual retort is that they are, after all, elected by people. They can tell that to the naïve, unthinking, and politically ignorant people. Those who use their brains know very well that by using superior logistics, political maneuvering, and indecent transactions, these notoriously undesirable tradpols edge out and set aside more qualified and honorable candidates who could serve with more integrity and competence than them.

Our country remains poor, corrupt, and dirty because of, among others, political dynasties. The fault lies not only on them but on the stupid electorates who keep voting for these nincompoops, rascals, and scoundrels. Or the fault lies on the helpless voting populace unable to stop rampant cheating, terrorism, manipulations, and rigging in our electoral exercises. Poor Philippines is crying for salvation from all these evils in our midst.