Palace mum on dynasty members as administration bets

MANILA, Philippines - After President Aquino made a categorical call for Congress to pass the Anti-Dynasty bill, Malacañang is mum on whether the administration will field members of political dynasties in its senatorial and local lineup for the May 2016 elections.

“I have no information on the candidates, insofar as local candidates are concerned, but that is the reason why we need an Anti-Dynasty Bill eventually,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a news briefing.

“If we have that law everybody will be able to observe that there’s a certain sense that delicadeza is brought into public governance,” he added.

Research done by Karen Tiongson-Mayrina of GMA News a few years ago showed that at least 85 percent of the country’s elected officials – from the president down to barangay officers – come from political dynasties, based on a definition that political dynasties are those government officials with at least one relative elected and/or appointed, including barangay officials in the grassroots level.

There are more than 600 political families nationwide – from Batanes in the north to Jolo in the south.

Twenty-one of the 24-member Senate belong to political clans while 218 of the 290 districts – both congressional districts and sectoral representatives from party-list groups – also come from dynasties.

In the May 2013 senatorial polls, Aquino’s Team P-Noy was comprised mostly of candidates from dynasties, among them the Escuderos of Sorsogon, Cayetanos of Taguig, Pimentels of Cagayan de Oro, Villars of Las Piñas and Angaras of Aurora.

 They were joined in the slate by now Sens. Grace Poe, Antonio Trillanes IV, Bam Aquino and Loren Legarda; and those who lost – Risa Hontiveros, Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Jamby Madrigal.