WHEN THE FRAMERS OF THE SO-CALLED Cory Aquino Constitution winded up their work, a provision in the new Charter seems definite in putting a stop to the proliferation of political dynasties in the various regions of the country.
Unfortunately, the Constitutional provision needs an enabling legislation for the same to become implementable. And adding to the misfortune, many of the framers later became members of the Legislatures either as Senators or Congressmen. As quickly as they decided to include that particular provision in the post EDSA fundamental law, the framers turned lawmakers somehow deliberately forgot about it when they were elected to the Legislature.
We could not remember that there was any one legislator who was among of those who crafted the 1986 Constitution ever attempting to introduce in both Houses of Congress a bill that would have banned the existence of political dynasties in the country. In other words, those who advocated the inclusion of such provision in the Charter conveniently forgot everything about it.
In fact some three decades later, a candidate shrewdly used the Charter change proposal as a vehicle of his political journey to the top. Many were expecting the candidate would make good his commitment. But it turned out that the same aspirant appeared to have dumped the commitment in the canal of oblivion.
And the same aspirant casually did his forgetting by not strongly pushing to Congress the passage of the enabling legislation. The result? Well, dynasties are now ruling the various levels of the political spectrum – from the highest position of the land to the legislative department, down to the Local Government Units (LGUs) and even to the much lower echelon of the government, the barangay.
Now we can see provinces, cities, districts, towns, and barangays controlled by almost single families. Yes, the father, the son or daughter, the mother, the daughter, brothers or sisters, grandchildren running for mayor, vice mayor, councilor, in case of cities and municipalities; or for governor, vice governor, board members in case of provinces; and House Representatives in case of districts.
How many of these political dynasties are lording over in the cities, provinces, regions or towns in Mindanao? There in fact is no need for anyone to look far.
Will there ever be one brave soul in Congress to come out and initiate the filing of a bill that will mandate the implementation of the Constitutional provision of putting a stop to the perpetuation of political dynasties in the country?
Let us just keep the light of every sane citizen’s hope continue flickering. After all hope, as the saying goes, springs eternal.
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We thought top officials of the government led by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. are concerned with issues on national security. But why is Presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos blabbering to the highest decibel about the reported deployment of middle range missile system allegedly in certain strategic areas in the country?
Is not Senator Marcos virtually giving China, or whichever country that may have some interest on the Philippines, advance warning that there now exists certain defense system that could either thwart or totally deter their intentions on our country?
If she is not jeopardizing the country’s national security, why is Senator Imee shouting to high heavens her concern about the alleged deployment by the US of such missile system in the Philippines? Is she trying to buoy up her chances of reelection for the Senate in the May 2-025 polls where she is supposedly distancing from the administration of his brother and hoping for the retention of support from the backers of her friend (?) Vice President Sara Duterte?
Honestly, we could not think of any reason for such posture by the Presidential sister. Or, is Senator Imee afraid that sooner the Vice President would do to her what she did to her brother – tell the public that “we were never friends?”
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Indeed, politicians in the Philippines are now taking full advantage of social media as the new battle ground that they can freely fight with each other. In fact long before the filing of certificates of candidacy the aspiring politicians were already out there in the various social media platforms promoting themselves, or fielding their trolls to spice up their personalities to portray the image they would want to appear in the eyes of the public.
Just how will the government be able to minimize the oftentimes abusive utilization of the social media for the campaign of candidates without being suspected of siding those bets carried by the administration’s party, we have not even an iota of idea.
