Why the Dynasty Won’t Die

They’ve been trying to topple down the political dynasty for quite a long time now. But as of now, they have not shown any significant progress. Some candidates, even before have made it a sort of battle cry, a sort of badge of noble intentions, that they have come to put an end to this so-called “political dynasty”. They’ve been campaigning against it, yet have they accomplished anything concrete and prominent so far? Maybe, we should ask, do they really want to? Maybe, candidates and elected officials are just riding on piggyback on it to create some mileage of revolutionary selfless persona.

Just think about it. We could label every district with a political dynasty of varying levels of generations. Even across the Bicol provinces, we could label some provinces, districts or municipalities with political families. More so if we would survey the whole country. We would probably come up with a map of some sort of gang turfs of different sizes, like feudal lords or encomenderos. What does that make of us? Gangland casualties? Serfs or peasants? When I was young, my family used to live near the big house of such dynasty. There were plainclothes men slinging rifles outside the gate. It looked cool and creepy at the same time.

““This problem emanates basically from three factors: (1) the political and socio-economic foundations upon which political dynasties are built; 2) the inability to effectively implement Philippine constitutional provisions by enacting an enabling law; and 3) the weakness of potential countervailing forces that would challenge political dynasties”” (Tadem and Encarnacion-Tadem, 2016). (Whoa! That’s too academic, it hurt my head.) When Spanish colonization started, “the datus were granted positions as “gobernadorcillio” (little governor) and “cabeza de barangay” (barangay head) in the local government. In addition, they were bestowed “principalÍa” (principality) status as members of the indigenous nobility with significant estates.”The “principalÍa status, as well as the government positions held, were hereditary”.” “During the American occupation of the Philippines in the early twentieth century, suffrage rights and government positions for Filipinos were restricted to members of the principalÍa (Teng-Westergaard, 2023).” (So, this goes way back in history.) The study, Political dynasties, business, and poverty in the Philippines found that political dynasties exacerbate poverty in the resource-rich non-Luzon provinces but not in Luzon where there is a competitive business environment (Mendoza et al., 2022). Too bad, Visayans and Mindanaoans get it worse with the dynasties.

Now, here’s my take. Political dynasties have the name. Politicians get to power and stay in power through elections, and much of the process has to do with name. The voting public has to be familiar with the name. The dynasties have a long tradition of having their name among the public. The newbie from a dynasty would have a far better chance than a newbie without a dynasty simply because of the last name which not only has recall, but the legacy, trust and confidence that has been built for decades.

Political dynasties have the advantage of loyal following. The human machinery. Dynasties have the advantage of communities who would rise up at one call because they identify themselves as “people” of the grand patriarch of some political family. Most of the time, these communities or sometimes clans and families themselves have received favors from the grand patriarch or some member of the dynasty from long ago, that they seem to have sworn an oath to offer their support to the descendants whenever opportunity and/or necessity calls for it. Newbies would have a very hard time to catch up with this.

Political dynasties have the experience. Well, they have decades of it. Some have even reached a century or more. Of course, they’re going to have the advantage of experience. The grandfathers and fathers have long established a system of winning elections and staying in power. For the sake of fairness, they may have established a system, a culture, a routine of public service and governance. (Let’s face it. Dynasty does not automatically mean tyranny.) The grandfathers and fathers (or at times, grandmothers and mothers) pass on this experience to the sons and daughters of the dynasty. They also have an easier chance to keep up with the times. You have noticed how they manage to keep themselves relevant despite controversies. That’s because they have gone through similar times and have gotten away with it, and have long prepared for it.

I can go on with resources, relationships and research. More than we realize it, the dynasty is embedded in our culture and psyche. In one way or another, we are a part of some dynasty. Even if we stop one dynasty, we only start a new dynasty. This is not in defense of the political dynasty. This is saying why the dynasty is a dynasty.

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,” -Matthew 20:27