Marcos prioritises anti-dynasty bill. For Cardinal David, the “ball is now” in Congress's court
The Philippine president urges Congress to focus on four reforms, including a bill limiting the power of large political clans. The Church welcomes the initiative, but doubts remain as to whether a Congress dominated by powerful clans will agree to curb their own influence.
Manila (AsiaNews) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has asked Congress to give top priority to four reforms, including the Anti-Dynasty Act, a bill aimed at limiting the power of large political families entrenched in the Philippine political system.
The announcement came after a meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), which coordinates the government’s legislative agenda.
“The President directed Congress to prioritize the following proposed legislative measures: Anti-dynasty bill, Independent People's Commission Act, Party-list System Reform Act, and Citizens Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act,” said Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro. “[T]he President also instructed both houses to take a closer look at the four bills, and prioritize the passage as soon as possible," she added.
Card Pablo Virgilio David, former president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and current bishop of Kalookan, was among the first to react to the government's move.
It is “Never too late. The ball is now in the court of Congress and the Senate,” he said, noting that, after weeks in which the government seemed set on curbing the role of independent oversight bodies, Marcos’s decision represents “an unexpected blink – but a most welcome direction, nevertheless.”
“Now let us also be clear about the order of urgency, because some reforms make the others finally enforceable,” the prelate explained.
For him, “no reform works without an independent watchdog.” The Independent People’s Commission Act “creates a permanent citizens’ body to investigate corruption and abuses of public power”.
Regarding the Citizens Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability Act (CADENA Act), David stressed that “transparency in public finance is the lifeblood of accountability. If the people can see where money goes, abuse becomes harder to hide.”
With respect to party-list reform, “representation must be restored to those it was meant to serve – the marginalized, not political extensions of the powerful,” he said.
As for political dynasties, they “strangulate democracy at its roots.” Thus proposed legislation “levels the playing field and opens space for genuine public service,” the cardinal explained.
In the Philippines, political power is most concentrated in the hands of a few large clans. The 1987 Constitution already banned political dynasties, but the lack of enabling legislation has allowed some families to monopolise power.
Today, approximately 80 per cent of Members of Congress and 50 per cent of local officials come from political clans. This got worse in the last elections in 2022. Among provincial governors, the percentage even exceeds the estimated 80-85 per cent.
A recent study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) highlighted how so-called fat dynasties, i.e. families that simultaneously control multiple offices, are growing and are particularly strong in provinces with higher levels of poverty, violence, and poor public services.
Families like the Marcoses (the incumbent president is the son of infamous dictator Ferdinand Marcos) and the Dutertes, with their alliances and rivalries, influence the economy and politics.
The incumbent vice president, Sara Duterte, is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte and has long been engaged in a tug-of-war with Marcos for power.
This situation, combined with economic inequality and fragile institutions, has favoured the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few, and fuelled a cycle of corruption, cronyism, and poverty for the majority of the population.
Several members of the Marcos family hold political office. The president's son, Ilocos Norte Sandro Marcos, for example, is a congressman, while his sister, Imee Marcos, is a senator who recently spoke out in favour of the Duterte family against her brother.
Several of the president's cousins and nephews are also active in politics and have been implicated in the country's recent corruption scandals.
Another factor that explains Marcos's move is the public works corruption scandal that has put the entire administration under pressure in recent weeks.
Public opinion immediately pointed the finger at several dynasties involved (directly or indirectly) in the ongoing investigations.
For Cardinal David, the question that has dominated public debate in the Philippines these days is, “Will the members of Congress and the Senate choose personal interest and political expediency, or will they make the historic choice to pass into law what truly safeguards the common good?”
Although the Marcos administration appears set on presenting itself as the champion of a new era of reform, it is unclear whether the dynasty-dominated Congress will approve measures that would ultimately diminish their power.
During the election campaign, Marcos Jr. himself had defended the dynasties, arguing that elections are “the best way” to get rid of them, but that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with their presence in the country’s political life.
Now, however, the president admitted through his spokeswoman that abuses of power by some clans make it necessary to have a law that offers citizens a choice “that depends on merit and not on surnames.”
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21/09/2022
18/06/2022 16:25
