EDITORIAL — Dereliction of duty

Last week the Supreme Court clarified that contrary to a published report, it had yet to rule on petitions urging the tribunal to compel Congress to pass a law against political dynasties. The clarification inevitably led to people asking when the SC might rule on the petitions, which cite the constitutional prohibition on dynasties as may be defined by law.

That law has yet to be passed by Congress, where dynasty building has reached shameless proportions and may get even worse in the 2025 midterm elections. There’s no end in sight to the appalling growth of clans wanting to control all aspects of governance in their fiefdoms, from barangays to local governments to national posts.

Isn’t this inability or unwillingness to pass the enabling law a dereliction of duty on the part of Congress? Dynasty building has short-circuited the system of checks and balances needed for a functioning democracy where transparency, accountability and good governance ensure the efficient delivery of basic services and judicious use of public funds.

Dynasty building has also doomed the creation of a merit-based society, which is needed for national competitiveness and survival in a highly competitive globalized environment. Between the political clans and influence-peddling special interest groups that hold sway in nearly all aspects of national life, personal advancement is an uphill battle for ordinary Filipinos. Little wonder that the Filipino Dream is to leave the country for other lands where a person’s worth is measured based on capability rather than surnames or connections.

Dynasts have argued that if people are unhappy with their clans, they can always be voted out of office. Many clans, however, have a stranglehold on nearly all the government resources for dispensing dole-outs and carrying out tax-funded projects in their fiefdoms, leaving little room for outsiders to challenge their political control. Dynasty building also undermines the criminal justice system, with clans controlling the police, prosecution, judiciary and jail facilities in their turfs. This has engendered impunity, as the nation has seen in so many brazen political killings.

The dynasty-dominated Congress cannot be expected to change a system that has made politics a major family enterprise in this country. It’s up to the Supreme Court to open the doors to the long-delayed reforms.