Political Dynasty

Topic: Political Dynasty

General  Purpose: To inform

Writer's Persona: Student

Audience: Grade-11 Stem Students

Level of Formality: Semi Formal

Political dynasty is when two or more members of the same family have a prominent position in a democratic government.Political dynasties have long been present in democracies, raising concerns that inequality in the distribution of political power may reflect imperfections in democratic representation. Nonetheless, the persistence of political elites may simply reflect differences in ability or political vocation across families and not their entrenchment in power.Political dynasties should be stopped because it causes politicians to abuse their power. 

There are some characteristics of some political families in the Philippines such as the Ampatuan, Duterte and Marcos. The Ampatuan family has exercised political crowd control over the Maguindanao region since 2001, with several of its members holding positions in government. The family’s patriarch, Andal Ampatuan Sr., was elected Governor of Maguindanao in 2001. His sons, Andal Ampatuan Jr. and Zaldy Ampatuan, were the former mayor of Datu Unsay and former Governor of ARMM respectively. Duterte dynasty, Rodrigo Duterte was the president since 2016 and mayor of Davao City from 1988-1998, 2001-2010, 2013–16, his daughter Sara Duterte is a mayor since 2016 and his eldest Paolo Duterte is the vice mayor since 2013.The Marcoses are one of the most well-known political dynasties in the Philippines. The dynasty started with Mariano Marcos, a lawyer from Ilocos Norte who was a member of the House of Representatives back in 1925. Ilocos remains to be the Marcoses’ political stronghold today.

There are issues related to Political dynasty like having biased elections, abused of political power and corruption. Biased Elections, political dynasties results to a biased election due to people favoring candidates with connections to the government. Candidates who are part of an influential family gains an advantage over those who do not since they could use their potential power to bring in favor from the people.Abused of Political Power, political dynasties give permission for politicians to abuse and exploit their influence and power in the government. Some politicians use their power to remove or ensure the defeat of their oppositions. Some uses their power to steal form the funds of the government.   Corruption, political dynasty breeds corruption. It makes politicians think that they have gained enough trust from the public that they wouldn't give a second thought about them using their power for their own personal interest. As the public continues to be blinded by the image of those political leaders, those politicians continue to be more powerful as they take advantage of the public's trust to fuel their own personal interests. Those selfish politicians continue to prosper while the country remains as it is. Although corruption is not the only hindrance to a country's progress but it still has a great impact on it. The funds that should have been used for the people have gone into the hands of those selfish political leaders who think of nothing but themselves.

Political dynasty can be possibly prevented by having ways like Quality Over Popularity, No to "Vote Buying" and  Changing Constitution. Quality Over Popularity, we people should value an individuals quality over his or her own popularity. Just because that particular individual is part of an influential family it does not make him or her a competent and trustworthy leader. Judge the capabilities of a candidate based on their qualities and capabilities to lead and not based on the influence that their family have. No to "Vote Buying", never ever sell your privilege to designate a leader that you consider is best for the country. Never be blinded by the money and other things that they offer. The fact that they bribe you already shows how unworthy they are. Keep in mind that progress is better than the amount of wealth you would derive from them. Progress is long term and it could benefit everyone including the future generations.Changing Constitution, we should revise the constitution by implementing the "Antipolitical Dynasty Law" that can greatly affect to those dynasties which are already administrative leaders. Political relations who run for a governmental position are can't be qualified for they are to many and so called dynasty, so in order for it to be fair, only one family member of a political family can be qualified only in elections.

Citations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_dynasties_in_the_Philippines#Ampatuan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_dynasties_in_the_Philippines#Duterte

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_dynasties_in_the_Philippines#Marcos