Congress, both the Senate and the House of Representatives, was envisioned to be the house of the people. Our house! It is supposed to be the tangible manifestation of the Philippines as a “democratic and republic state” as declared in the 1987 Constitution.
Yet today, close to 80% of lawmakers belong to fat political dynasties.
The wealthiest Filipino is the patriarch of a political dynasty. His wife and son are in the Senate. His daughter is a Deputy Speaker in the House of Representative. His daughter-in-law is part of the current administration. And it is not an exaggeration to describe their local government as a family fiefdom.
In a democracy, especially one as vibrant as ours, the emergence of political dynasties is foreseeable. But to have this many, and to have dynasties this huge, is no longer normal. “Dynasty on steroids” was how one journalist branded our political dynasties.
Congress, both the Senate and the House of Representatives, can hardly be characterized as the house of the people today. How then can it be relied upon to be a house for the people?
We have heard the argument that not all dynasties are bad. That there are indeed “good” dynasties out there, if one looks hard enough. But we only need to apply common sense to know that the country is being held back by the fact that fat dynasties dominate our politics and governance.
The dynasties have certainly flourished in their wealth and well-being, but most of us have fallen way, way behind most development indicators. But somehow, voters still refuse to admit that political dynasties are the noose around our collective necks.
The dictionary defines dynasty as follows: “a powerful group or family that maintains its position for a considerable time”. Thus, by their very nature, political dynasties instinctively aim to keep their hold on political power for as long as they possible can.
Inevitably, the primary objective of their members whilst holding government posts, is to consolidate the grip of their clan over political and economic power. The public interest will always be a secondary (or incidental) consideration for dynastic politicians.
At this stage, it might be appropriate to repeat that the wealthiest Filipino is the patriarch of a political dynasty. His wife and son are in the Senate. His daughter is a Deputy Speaker in the House of Representative. His daughter-in-law is part of the current administration.
So, it should terrify us that at this point, our Congress may have deviated quite a distance from their very raison d’être.
Our country is beset by a long list of intergenerational problems. We have the education crisis, catastrophic flooding everywhere, food insecurity that is only getting worse, a huge public debt, crippling economic inequality, and a whole lot more.
Intergenerational problems require legislative action. Meaning, only our lawmakers can provide the ultimate solutions to these existential challenges. But sadly, this is no longer the case given that dynastic politicians control Congress now.
Recall that just last week the House Committee on National Defense and Security and the Special Committee on the West Philippine Sea conducted a hearing (purportedly an inquiry in aid of legislation) in Masinloc, Zambales. According to these lawmakers, they wanted to hear the grievances of our fishers firsthand.
Expectedly, these fisherfolk were not content just reporting to the lawmakers how difficult earning a decent livelihood has become for them. They also wanted a commitment to action from these members of the lower house.
The committee hearing would have been the best chance for these lawmakers to explain to the fishing community the benefits of several bills now pending in the legislative mill such as the Maritime Zones Act, the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, the Blue Economy Act, and the Self-Reliant Defense Posture Act.
But instead, the responses the fisherfolk got from the lawmakers ranged from the usual Trapo (traditional politician) spiel such as increasing the budget for the coast guard, to simplistic suggestions like fishers should just fish as a group to deter “bullying.”
The irony here is that it was the fishing community which conveyed the most powerful message, when one of them blasted this truth to the patronizing lawmakers:
“Kapag eleksyon kilala mo kami. Pagdating sa problema hindi niyo kami kilala.”
And so, voters have an important decision to make in 2025. Should we just allow our Congress to be dominated by fat political dynasties? Or should we reclaim it from them?
(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Michael Henry Yusingco, LL.M is a law lecturer, policy analyst and constitutionalist.)