ANTIDYNASTY MOVEMENT Members of a group against political dynasties stage a rally at the Commission on Elections to call for the disqualification of the children of government officials running for senator in the May elections. The Supreme Court earlier denied a petition to compel the Comelec to ban members of political dynasty from running in the May elections. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines–The signature campaign against political dynasties, which was launched two weeks ago in Manila, kicked off here on Sunday.
The Movement Against Dynasties converged in three of Cagayan de Oro’s churches–The San Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral, Nazareno Church and Our Lady of Fatima Parish–to ask churchgoers to sign the petition proposing the enactment of an enabling law that will make the provision of the 1987 Philippine Constitution against political dynasties operational.
Section 26 of the Constitution states that “the state shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”
Danilo Olivares, MAD co-chairman, stressed that after 26 years, Congress has not acted on the proposed enabling law because 70 percent of legislators belong to political dynasties.
Neither the Supreme Court nor the Commission on Elections can be expected to act on petitions to prohibit dynastic candidates from running for the simple and convenient reason that the Constitution does not provide an enabling law, Olivares said.
Olivares, however, stated that MAD is resorting to Sec. 5 of Republic Act 6735, the Initiative and Referendum Act, which provides the people to exercise the power of people’s initiative or referendum by getting at least 10 percent of registered voters.
“If we get at least 3 percent of the registered voters in every legislative district in the entire country to sign a petition, the Comelec will be forced to call for a referendum to enact and pass an enabling law on Section 26,” he said.
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of the Diocese of Cagayan de Oro said he would talk to his counterpart among the Muslims in their interfaith organization.
Olivares is confident the interfaith support will reinforce their advocacy and will make it easier to meet the 5.2 million required signatories nationwide.
The group is also urging President Aquino, as well, to honor the 1987 Constitution that was ratified during the term of his mother. Olivares said the President was violating this very Constitution because the Cojuangco-Aquino is a very big political dynasty.
The group’s stand is that there should only be one official per family up to the second degree by affinity or consanguinity occupying a major political position.
In Cagayan de Oro for instance, the Emano family has been known to rule the city as well as the province for more than three decades. Vicente Emano is the incumbent mayor of the city, while his son, Yevgeny, holds the congressional seat of Misamis Oriental’s second district. His daughter Nadia and her husband, President Elipe, are members of the city council. All four are running for reelection in the May polls.