Duterte backs political dynasty ban but doubts if it will work

Despite belonging to a family of politicians himself, President Rodrigo Duterte said he was not opposed to the proposal of “principled men” to prohibit dynasties, though he doubted if this proposal would gain traction.

Speaking before mayors on Tuesday evening, Mr. Duterte also came to the defense of dynasties by saying that the people themselves ask for the relatives of incumbent officials to be in public office.

“A few of the principled men, I would say, want this kind of thing about dynasty [to be] abolished. I am for it. The problem is, would that pass?” Mr. Duterte said.

Monopoly of power

The consultative committee he formed to propose changes to the constitution want to regulate dynasties in order to prevent the monopoly of power in the hands of a few influential families.

But the committee can only make recommendations, and it remains to be seen if the House of Representatives and the Senate, themselves made up mostly of the scions of political families, would take up the suggestion of the legal experts.

Political dynasties have been blamed for a lack of progress in the towns, cities, or provinces.

A study by the Ateneo School of Government showed that “fat” political dynasties, or those that have more than two family members occupying government positions, were behind the worsening poverty in the country’s poorest areas.

The 1987 Constitution has a provision against political dynasties, but it required an enabling law from Congress. Lawmakers never passed a law on the matter.

Legacy continued

Mr. Duterte, whose father was a Davao governor, also said that people actually wanted members of the same family to continue holding public office.

“Because in our case, after your term is ended, they would ask for your son or your wife,” the President said.

In his case, his daughter Sara replaced him as Davao City mayor after his term ended. Sara’s vice mayor was her brother Paolo, though he resigned last year.

The President, who said his daughter was a “character and she can be mean,” asserted that people in Davao wanted his legacy to be continued.

“The Davaoeños want to continue what I accomplished. Why is it so peaceful, so clean? Drugs is minimal and the law and order is very good. It took me about three terms really to perfect the system,” he said.