DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 Feb) — Ending the reign of political dynasties will depend on the electorate and the lone woman candidate among three challenging reelectionist Paolo Duterte in the first congressional district here is confident that Dabawenyos are capable of discernment and “can step up and make decisions that they need to make because they know that it will be good for them and for the city and the rest of the country.”
“I decided to run as representative of Davao City’s First district in the belief that people can make better choices in the political arena but for the electorate to vote wisely, options have to be made available to them,” development worker Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana said during the “Candid Dates 2022” online forum on Friday
If she gets elected, Maglana vows to push for a measure that would implement the constitutional prohibition on political dynasties to give Dabawenyos and others in similar circumstances, more and better choices of candidates.
Addressing the problem of political dynasties is important to allow others the opportunity to serve the public.
Section 26 of Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution provides that “State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”
“Napakalinaw sa ating Constitution pero yun nga lang wala pang nagagawang batas para ipatupad itong Anti-Dynasty provision. Sa tingin ko kapag nabigyan ng maraming choices ang mga taga Distrito 1 isa itong paraan para ma uphold ang prinsipyong ito ng ating Constitution (It’s very clear in our Constitution but there is no law that implements the Anti-Dynasty provision. I think, if people from District 1 are given more choices, this is one way to uphold this principle under Constitution),” she said.
Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana delivers her opening statement at the Candid Dates 2022 online conversations between candidate and voters on Friday, 11 February 2022.
Maglana said it is important that the problem of political dynasties is addressed since there is an established relationship between “obese dynasties and underdevelopment.”
“Ang pinoproblema natin ay yung mga ‘fat and now are obese dynasties.’ Ito yung mga tumakbo na pareparehong pamilya at iba ibang position ang hinahawakan ng sabay sabay (We are more concerned with ‘fat and now obese dynasties.’ These are those candidates belonging to the same families who are running and holding different positions all at once),” she said.
Political dynasties are common nationwide and several studies have pointed to the lack of a law on the constitutional ban because Congress is dominated by political dynasties.
Across Mindanao’s 27 provinces nad 33 cities, dynasties thrive, and Davao City is no exception.
The Duterte family has ruled Davao City for more than three decades. Before he was elected president in 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte served as mayor from 1988 to 1998, representative of the first district from 1998 to 2001, mayor from 2001 to 2010, vice mayor to his daughter-mayor from 2010 to 2013, and mayor from 2013 to 16 with son Paolo as vice mayor.
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, now a candidate for Vice President and running mate of former Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., served as vice mayor from 2007 to 2010, mayor from 2010 until 2013, was elected mayor in 2016 when her father ran for President, and was reelected in 2019 with youngest brother Sebastian as the vice mayor. Paolo, the President’s eldest son, was councilor from 2008 to 2013, vice mayor from 2013 to 2018, and elected representative of the First District in 2019.
Maglana said other people who desire to seek public positions must be given equal chances to serve.
“The reality is that if you are an incumbent, you have all the advantages in terms of exposure, in terms of access to programs to promote yourself. This means that people are not given alternative choices since ‘fat and obese’ dynasties are well entrenched. That can be a problem,” she said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
