‘Don’t name gov’t projects after officials’ kin’

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is pushing for a ban on government officials’ “self-serving” practice of naming public works projects after their relatives, which she says is a form of premature campaigning.

In Senate Bill 2707, Santiago proposed an amendment to the Local Government Code of 1991, specifically the provision on the naming of local government units (LGUs) and public places, streets and structures.

Under Santiago’s proposed amendment, the provision would prohibit the naming of LGUs, institutions, places or buildings after any living person “or relative by affinity or consanguinity within the fourth civil degree, whether living or dead, of any government official or employee.”

She noted that the common practice in the country is to name public works after deceased parents or grandparents, some of whom share the names of incumbent officials.

“This practice is deplorably self-serving. Not only does it underhandedly increase their own prestige within their locality, it also has the insidious effect of perpetuating their political dynastic line by forcing street goers to repeatedly utter their family name,” Santiago said in her bill.

“This amounts to a circumvention of the law against premature campaigning and at the expense of the taxpayers, no less,” she added.

Santiago explained that the Local Government Code gives the Sangguniang Panlalawigan the power to change the names of the infrastructure within its territorial jurisdiction, the only limitation of which is that they cannot be named after a living person.

Santiago previously filed what she called the “anti-epal” bill, which proposes a prohibition on the use of any official’s image, name or logo on any public works project.