President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs has, undoubtedly, produced results in just less than 90 days. Considering the extent of the drug menace, however, Duterte says he needs more time to eradicate this problem. The President’s dedication to his anti-drug crusade will almost certainly prompt the public to give him all the time he needs.
It is also very likely that Congress will need additional time to study the President’s wish to establish a federal government in the Philippines. Since federalism is an untested political concept in the country which may need some thorough study before it is actually implemented in the country, and there being conflicting opinions over the advantages of federalism, the additional time will certainly be necessary.
One reason why many are attracted to federalism is the unmitigated graft and corruption in public office, and the proliferation of abusive public officials. If these problems are eliminated, perhaps President Duterte may even reconsider his proposal for a federal system. A change in his plans does not mean that federalism is a bad idea. However, because federalism is a radical change in the national political environment, it may be necessary to ascertain if less radical solutions are available to solve existing problems.
Therefore, before we go federal, it is imperative that we take a shot at eradicating graft and corruption, and abusive public officials, through means other than charter change.
Political dynasties are the cause of these twin problems. When government is controlled by a political dynasty, government becomes a family enterprise with little or no room for non-relatives. Dynasty members who hold office become complacent because they are assured of remaining in power. Complacency, in turn, breeds ineptitude and a lack of genuine concern for the public interest. Public office ultimately becomes nothing more than a private milking cow, and the election is reduced to a periodic mismatch between the powerful incumbent (or the incumbent’s relative), and an opponent who has virtually no chance of winning. In worse cases, the incumbent (or the incumbent’s relative) runs unopposed. This rotten system embodies everything that is opposite to the democratic and republican government the Constitution says exists in the Philippines.
The Binay political dynasty continues to dominate Makati. Signages bearing the letter “B,” which obviously stands for “Binay,” are omnipresent in the city to remind everyone that city projects are undertaken out of the infinite goodness of this political dynasty. Although the Binays claim that Makati became prosperous under their dynasty, the slums of Makati have remained as is throughout the 30 years the Binays have been in power.
Prior to the May 2016 elections, the Binays held the vice presidency, one seat each in both houses of Congress, and the big desk at city hall. When Vice President Jejomar Binay was running for president and was still doing well in the surveys, a Binay family member reacted sharply to a critic of the vice president by saying that when (not if) their family eventually seizes Malacañang, all their critics will regret opposing them.
When Junjun Binay was the city mayor, he ordered the gates of a private gated village in the city opened for him and his entourage even when it was already late at night. Today, the ex-mayor is facing graft raps for the alleged overprice in the construction of a parking building near city hall.
Mandaluyong City hosts the Abalos political dynasty, which has been in power for about three decades. Billboards bearing the names and images of Abalos dynasty members adorn the city to remind the electorate that specific city infrastructure projects were undertaken under the benevolent Abalos dynasty, using public funds.
To add insult to injury, public places are brazenly named after deceased politicians identified with the Abalos political dynasty.
Like in Makati, the Abalos political dynasty has not done anything to resettle the slum areas in Mandaluyong. These communities provide the votes that keep the Abalos dynasty in power.
While the street where the ancestral home of the Abalos political dynasty is located is always well-lit at night, and secured by city cops round the clock, there is no police presence in the Mandaluyong City segments of Ortigas Avenue, United Street, and Shaw Boulevard, between the Boni Avenue tunnel and the RFM area, and the entire stretch of Sheridan Street. Reliance Street near Edsa has crater-like potholes. Despite these badges of government neglect, the incumbent Mandaluyong mayor has billboards claiming that her administration believes in public service.
Pasig City has been controlled by the Eusebio political dynasty for about two decades. Sidewalks have been converted into private parking lots and restaurant extensions. The areas near city hall remain prone to flooding. There is no police presence in major roads like Shaw Boulevard, Pasig Boulevard, and the eastern segment of Julia Vargas Avenue. Because cops are nowhere to be found, reckless jeepney and taxi drivers violate traffic rules with impunity, particularly along Shaw Boulevard.
In an illegal attempt to ease vehicular traffic in the city proper, minions of the Eusebio dynasty prohibited private vehicles from using some of the city roads, three or four times a week, depending on their license plates. Meanwhile, vehicles of city politicians and those with connections to city hall are exempted from the measure.
Quezon City is held by the Bautista political dynasty, and its mayor, Herbert Bautista, is fond of labeling city infrastructure projects with tiles bearing his initials—HB.
In August 2014, the mayor beat up a suspected Chinese drug dealer in front of a television news crew. Lately, however, he has been very accommodating to his younger brother, city councilor Hero Bautista, who recently admitted being a drug addict. Instead of resigning his post, as decency demands, Councilor Bautista has gone on leave to undergo rehabilitation, with the approval of the mayor.
The slum areas of Quezon City have expanded. These areas provide thousands of votes for the Bautista political dynasty.
It’s time these and other political dynasties were dismantled.