Political Dynasty (Essay)

Political Dynasty
We should not allow political dynasty in our government.
The Philippines has been always exposed to political dynasty since the establishment of the Philippine
1 Republic in the 19th century. A political dynasty occurs when a specific family takeover or govern a
st
particular area. The question is, is it really a good idea for our government and for the people? The
answer is simply no, it is not.
Several known political dynasties have occurred in the Philippines in the past and even today namely;
Aquino, Marcos, Roxas, Binay, Ampatuan, Estrada and Ortega. These dynasties have major negative
effects in terms economy, human rights and equality.
Firstly, the family who is undergoing on a political dynasty will seek for more possessions and
authorities. Being in power gives nicotine or dependency to the person who’s at power, this is
comparable to drug addiction. The addiction for power continue to merge as goes by when tolerated.
For instance, a very good example for this is the Marcos political dynasty. The Marcos political dynasty is
one of the most recognized dynasty in the country. It started when Mariano Marcos (father of Ferdinand
Marcos Sr. and a lawyer) became a member of House of Representatives way back 1925. The dynasty
went at it’s highest peak during Marcos’ presidency especially when he declared Martial Law in 1972.
During his term, the country was filled by debt-driven accomplishments because of inappropriate
borrowing of money internationally. The country became poorer and poorer during the Marcos era as
he borrowed massive amounts of money in the world bank. The country was drowned in an unpayable
debts. Also, during his term the Gross Domestic Product or the GDP growth rates has dropped year by
year especially during his last 3 years in the position the GDP rates went negative which is a mimic for
his fraud governance. In addition, the International Criminal Court and the Supreme Court of the
Philippines have proven that the Marcoses are liable for an ill-gotten wealth. Currently, the PCGG has
already recovered a total of 175 billion on their ill-gotten wealth and there is an estimate of 125 billion
ill-gotten wealth left. Moreover, numerous injustices were tolerated during the Marcos era. The
freedom of expression was surpressed, you cannot write or say against Marcos or else you’d be dead.
Also, many innocent people was tortured and died during his ruling. Furthermore, despite of countless
negative effects and controversies of the martial law, the Marcoses still remains superior in Ilocos Norte.
As of now, Ilocos Norte is the poorest in Region I which is being governed by the Marcoses. Even the
people of Ilocos Norte hates the Marcoses. Those are merely people who are politically aware and does
not condemn fake news instead, they do fact checks before believing in a specific argument. Until now,
Marcoses still haven’t admitted that their father was never a good president for the country and he’s
achievements were merely debt-driven accomplishments and corruptions (being guilty in multiple
international courts). However, the Marcoses are still being praised by the so called fanatics/pro marcos
& people who got brainwashed by fictious lies. Majority of those people were close minded people who
only believes what they want to believe. They ignore facts and condemn lies. Some were just
uneducated that’s why they can be easily get brainwashed and manipulated.
Secondly, it disables the equality and chances for individuals to have a privilege to run for a certain
political position because of high level authority and possession of power. A normal person can’t just
compete with a monster. That’s it because when they do, they’re finish plus they don’t have enough
resources to do so. In short, they are underdogs. The best example for this is the Ampatuan political
dynasty. It started when Andal Ampatuan Sr. was elected as a Governor of Maguindanao in 2001. Later
then, the region was ruled by 80 Ampatuans. During Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s presidency, she granted
the Ampatuans to have a private a army which raised their superiority in Maguindanao. Finally after
years of unmatched candidacy for Ampatuans, a different breed decided to oppose the Ampatuans in
the 2010 elections which is Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu that set fires to the most famous mass murder
in the Philippines “The Maguindanao Massacre” that killed 57 people consists of Emael’s wife with her
unborn child, journalists and civilians. This started when Toto decided to have his wife file his Certificate
of Candidacy (COC) in assurance that his opponents (Ampatuans) will not harm his pregnant wife
because at that time, Toto Mangudadatu is already receiving death threats from Ampatuans. His
decision did not change anything but just worsen the situation. Toto’s wife and other people in 6
convoys were ambushed by armed men that led to a ruthless killing. After that, Arroyo declared martial
law in Maguindanao following the conviction of Andal Ampatuan Sr. as the mastermind of the crime
together with his brothers Anwar, Datu Andal Jr. and Zaldy guilty in 57 counts of murder and was
sentenced for lifetime imprisonment. The Maguindanao Massacre is the most bloody and traumatizing
mass murder above the Hda. Luisita Massacre. It was a proof that power droves people to do evil things.
Until, the region was still being ruled by the Ampatuans despite what happened due to their great
influence. No one is attempting to opposed them because they wouldn’t want the consequences of
their move and this is terrifying.
Lastly, it increases the possibility of power abuse to those families who are under political dynasty
because they are free to do what they want disregarding whether it is good or bad knowing that all the
people that are on power are their relatives. No one will oppose to their wrong doings and no one will
dare to oppose them knowing that they are powerful enough to put you 5 feet below the ground. A
notable example for this the Estrada political dynasty. It started when Joseph Estrada became a mayor
of San Juan in 1969. After decades of succesful political career, Estrada decided to run for president in
1999 and became the 13th President of the Philippines. This is the start of his abusing of power where
anomalies and corruption happened. In the same term, his wife and first lady Loi Estrado is also holds a
political position as a senator. The presentation of evidences against Estrada’s governance led to
impeachment and was late provoke him to resign from presidency. The country during Estrada’s time
was at a ‘sick man’ level in terms of economic growth averaging 2.30% Gross Domestic Product in his 4
years of ruling. He is one of the worst president the country has ever had due to anomalies and vulgar
corruptions.
What happened during well-known Political Dynasties were all disadvantages to people of the countty
and an advantage to those who are in the verge of power. This hasn’t proved anything good. It is just an
another version of greed and cruelty.

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Political Dynasty

We should not allow political dynasty in our government.

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