Sen. Binay, whose father, brother, and sister are also holding elective posts, again stressed her opposition to the anti-dynasty bill.
For her, passing the said bill will only ''limit the people's choices.'' http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/07/11/15/nancy-binay-defends-brothers-posh-office
I’d like to focus my commentary on this captioned news item. So much have been said against the Binay family, but this time I wish to delve on the issue of POLITICAL DYNASTY.
The
1987 Constitution of the Philippines states
in Article II Section 26, “The State shall guarantee equal access to
opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as MAY BE
DEFINED BY LAW.” (Emphasis mine)
This
is the reason why as of now, the government and the COMELEC for that matter cannot
implement the Anti-Political Dynasty provision of the Constitution. There has
to be an implementing law which will define the limits or parameters of
political dynasty; and Congress for obvious reason, as obvious as the one being
espoused by the Binay’s, continue to ignore the need to pass the enabling law. POLITICS WITH THE ACCOMPANYING PORK BARREL FUNDS, S.O.P.'s AND THE POWER AND FAME THAT COME WITH IT, HAS BECOME A VERY
LUCRATIVE FAMILY ENTERPRISE IN THE GOVERNMENT.
Look
how many Estradas are there in the government; one is mayor of the City of
Manila, another mayor in the City of San Juan and there are two senators. The Revilla family of Cavite has a senator, a
congresswoman, and a vice-governor.
Taguig is practically ruled by the Cayetano siblings who are both
senators and another Cayetano as mayor. The Marcos family still rides it high
in Ilocos Norte with a senator, a congresswoman and a governor. The Cojuanco family in Tarlac whose relative
is the Lord of Malacañang, the Abad family of Batanes, the Villar mother and son tandem of Parañaque and Las Piñas, the Angara family of
Quezon and many other families who like warlords, believe that they are the
only ones entitled to occupy lofty government positions. Of course the most
popular among them is the Binay clan who has ruled the City of Makati for
almost three decades now with four family members. As if their “excellence” in public service
remains to be seen, the Binay patriarch hopes to be the President and naturally,
expects to be able to perpetuate his entire family in power.
The
whole country is watching. The people
are growing impatient; and since it is
now given, that the Anti- Dynasty Bill will not be passed in this present
Congress, the electorate hopes to elect more sensible congressional
representatives come 2016. But it is an
ongoing battle between the forces of the greedy warlords against righteousness
and decency in public service. Some ask;
“What if the other family members of an elected official are equally qualified
to hold other government positions? Will
the Anti-Dynasty provisions of the Constitution “deny” the person of the chance
to serve the public... or taken from another perspective, will this same law “deny”
the public from having a “very able” leader?
Even
in most private businesses, siblings or relatives are barred from working in
the same department or in many cases, prohibited by their internal rules to
have relatives in their workforce. The rationale behind this is to avoid
incidents of nepotism or connivance; to maintain an effective system of check
and balance. For, what will happen if the one tasked to approve a requisition is
closely related to the requisitioning party; and what if the one assigned to
audit or evaluate a project and its proposed funding prior to its implementation is deeply related to the proponent of
such plan? If this is being practiced in private entities, why not in public
service. HAVING AN ILLUSTRIOUS NAME
DOESN’T SPARE ONE FROM THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW.
As
I’ve mentioned earlier, chances are very slim that the Anti Dynasty Law will be
passed during this present dispensation. The prospects that the next Congress will tackle and give this issue preferential attention is likewise, far fetched. Nonetheless, the public with its endowed
and sacred power of suffrage guaranteed by the Constitution can and have all
the means to dismantle existing or emergent political dynasties. It is just a
matter of political will and properly placed wisdom. If the voters will only base their choice on the performance records, background and qualifications of the candidate; if the electorate could
have the will-power to reject temptations and baseless promises being dangled
by traditional politicians; if the public could have the courage to thwart any
attempt to railroad election processes and, if they can muster enough spirit of
patriotism to defend and restore the honor of this country, then POLITICAL DYNASTY
WILL HAVE NO PLACE ANYWHERE IN THE PHILIPPINES.
