BEWARE OF POLITICAL DYNASTY!

I happened to talk one of the priests of a high position in the Archdiocese of Manila sometimes in August the other year. I was shocked hearing his appalling dissent against VP Jejomar Binay's race to the Presidential election on 2016.

Out of curiosity, I asked him why?

His answer was plain and simple, "I simply do not like government officials who bolster political dynasty."

I do not like to bother myself any further regarding political dynasty, so I dismissed his answer until these recent horrific and disgusting allegations of the Binay's which caught my attention.

I digged into papers and sites which tackles "political dynasty," and I found out what seems the reason behind of the priest's critique against Binay's. And I quote, "Some have pointed that oligarchy" which is equivalent to "political dynasty" in the Philippines, is the root problem of all the corruption in the Philippine government" (italize is my inclusion in the quotation).

Let's have a closer look of the Binay's political regime in Makati:

§  Jejomar Binay - a husband and a father of Binay's is the Vice President of the Philippines (2010-present). He was the former Mayor of Makati for 3 consecutive terms (1986-1987, 1988-1998, 2001-2010);

§  Elenita Binay - the wife of Jejomar Binay was former Mayor of Makati (1998-2001);

§  Maria Lourdes "Nancy" Binay - daughter of the Binay's is a Senator of the Philippines (2003-present);

§  Mar-Len Abigail "Abby" Binay - another daughter of the Binay's is a Congresswoman of Makati's 2nd District (2007-present);

§  Jejomar Erwin "Junjun" Binay, Jr. - son of the Binay's is the Mayor of Makati (2010-present). He was formerly a Member of the Makati City Council from the 1st District (2001-2010), and was a former Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman of Barangay San Antonio, Makati (1992-2001).

Accordingly, the Court of Appeal freezes the alleged 242 bank accounts and estimated 600 million of the Binay's. They were described already not as a rich but as super rich. How did they get this amount of money?

I don't have the knowledge and expertise to guess and illustrate to you the many probabilities of getting public or private funds into one's pocket. So I'll leave that matter to my mature and professional readers.

I don't have anything against the Binay's. Actually, they're not the only family who holds political regime throughout the country. They're in the spotlight today for whatever reasons might also be a blessing in disguise for everybody to know the havoc it caused to our nation both politically and economically.

But I dare to talk about political dynasty in general out of respect to our constitution which promulgates the equality amongst its constituents. True to its spirit, let us exercise what is pleasant and favorable to everyone. Article II Section 26 of the Philippine Constitution states, "The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law."

But to this day, no bill yet which support the prohibition of political dynasties in the country were ever formulated in the congress. So you know why it remains unresolved.

Yet we are not handicap for this problem. We just need strong political will to do what is right for the country.

Three audiences I should address my words of petitions:

To the voters: let us be mature enough to use our right of suffrage correctly. Get rid of patronage. Do no sell your vote. Vote the right person for the office.

To the politicians: if you have enough, give chance to others. Your opportunity to be in office for a term or three doesn't give you the absolute right to remain in the office perpetually. You have your chance to publicly prove yourself your ability to govern. But I don't think you are the only one of the kind, give chance to others.

To our legislators: feel the urgent need to pass a bill against political dynasty. It's been a long time now since the amendment of our constitutions on 1987, but to that effect nothing is implemented to regulate can afford families to unlimited seat of government office. Do not be threatened for your own political career as there are many opportunities to serve the country for men of good will.

Let us pray unceasingly for everybody to have courage to do something for the welfare of our country.

Sources:

The Philippine Daily Inquirer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_families_in_the_Philippines#Binay_Family_.28Makati_City.29

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/04/23/14/why-congress-must-pass-anti-political-dynasty-bill-now