PHILIPPINES
Manila Times-Feb 16
The poorest provinces in the country are governed by so-called “fat” political dynasties, with more than a dozen top local officials belonging to a single political clan, a study conducted by the Ateneo School of Government showed.
Dean Ronaldo Mendoza of the Ateneo School of Government presented his study on Thursday during the public hearing on six Senate bills seeking a ban on political dynasties in elected offices.
“We’re talking here of 12 members of a political clan holding elected office, or 20 of them in elected office. For example, the governor and vice governor, and three out of the five mayors in a province are relatives,” he said.
Mendoza, however, declined to answer directly a reporter’s query on whether President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, belong to a political dynasty.
“Well, if we look at the evidence, anything with more than two family members is (considered) a ‘fat’ dynasty,” he said.
The top 15 poorest provinces where “fat” political dynasties exist are Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Northern Samar, Sarangani, Sulu, Bukidnon, Siquijor, Zamboanga Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Agusan del Sur, Western Samar, Eastern Samar, Masbate, Negros Oriental and Lanao del Norte.
Mendoza said political dynasties affect governance. “They affect our anti- poverty policies. They affect the business environment. So, our focus here is not just any dynasty.”
“It’s not nice to see the governor have relatives sitting as board members in the provincial board because the provincial board, under the Local Government Code, serves as the check and balance (on the Office of the Governor),” he said.
“The provincial board is the place to actually vet ideas and vet the [utilization of the]budget,” he added.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said his colleagues were “open” to the passage of a law prohibiting political dynasties, but declined to assess the House’s acceptance of the proposed measure.
Angara, Estrada OK with anti-dynasty law
Pangilinan, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation, made the remark after ending public hearings on the anti-political dynasty bills.The committee tackled Senate Bills 49, 230, 897, 1137, 1258 and 1688 filed respectively by Senators Panfilo Lacson, Franklin Drilon, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Grace Poe, Loren Legarda and Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th.Asked about the Senate’s pulse on the proposed anti-political dynasty measure, Pangilinan said: “My sense of the Senate is that the senators are more open to have an anti-political dynasty [law].”“All we have to do is to define it (political dynasty) by law…It could just be a one-page bill, a one-page committee report because we would just define political dynasty and who should be covered,” the opposition senator said.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who comes from a political family in Aurora province, said “spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren” must be included in the prohibition. “That seems like a reasonable definition [of a political dynasty].”
Ejercito, son of former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada and San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez, said, “I have always advocated the anti-political dynasty.”
“I believe in giving chance to others who are willing to serve but do not have the name or means to get elected. We are 100-million strong. I am sure there are others who are equally capable,” he said.
He and former senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, both former mayors of San Juan, are half-brothers.
“I authored and introduced the anti-political dynasty provision in the SK (Sangguniang Kabataan or youth council) Reform Law. Power, whether economic or political, should not be monopolized,” Ejercito added.
