Puno: Political dynasties ‘desecrated’ democracy

https://twitter.com/JLeonenINQ/status/973791351539208192

Political dynasties have long mocked the essence of democracy, retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno said on Wednesday as he cast his vote in favor of anti-political dynasty provisions.

Puno, chairperson of the Consultative Committee (Con-Com) tasked to review the 1987 Constitution, said that “we can no longer wink away the fact that political dynasties have putrefied our politics.”

“Along the journey, this sovereign right (of electing people) has been stolen, diluted, defaced and desecrated by a new breed of monarchs known over the world as political dynasties,” Puno said during the en banc session..

“By making elections a family affair, dynasties have mocked democracy’s definition as a government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people,’” the retired Chief Justice stressed.

Puno then noted the “sacred promise of federalism,” saying that it would “strengthen democracy because it allows constituent units of the federation, the rights of self-rule and shared rule, through the correct allocation of the powers of government.”

“In drafting a Constitution, we should be blind to any bias, hence, we cannot be blinded by any fear, even the fear of the omnipotents in our politics. With our vote today, they shall be omnipotent no more,” he said.

As of writing, members of the Con-Com was voting whether or not it would finalize the provisions that prohibit political dynasties from further participating in the country’s political process. /je