It Runs in the Family

There is currently no law against political dynasties despite the very pronounced role of family relations in the entire history of Philippine politics. A dynasty, by definition, is a succession of rulers from the same family or a prominent family whose members hold power at different levels through generations.

Pangasinan, in its recent history, has a long list of what could be considered as political dynasties.

In 1988, the first local election after the 1986 Edsa Revolution which brought democracy back to the country, Conrado Estrella Jr. won as congressional representative for the 5th district while his wife, Techie Estrella, was elected mayor of Villasis and his nephew, Conrado Estrella III, took the seat as representative  of the 6th district.

In the 2004 election, Julian Resuello was elected mayor of San Carlos City while his son Julier was elected vice mayor. This is the first father and son tandem ever elected in one place in the political history of Pangasinan.

Now on his third and last term of office, the elder Resuello will switch positions with his son by running for vice mayor while Julier will run as mayor in the May polls.

Over in San Manuel town, Mayor Salvador Perez ran for reelection with his son Jericho as candidate for vice mayor in the 2004 polls, but while the elder Perez won, his son lost.

There was also a succession of Villars who held the mayoralty post in Sto. Tomas.

Also in 2004, the Agbayanis almost established what the Estrellas did had Luis Agbayani, elder brother of incumbent Governor Victor Agbayani, won as congressman for the 1st district and younger sister Viktoria, a professional singer, won as mayor of Sual town.

The Agbayani saga continues in the coming election with the wife of the governor, Dr. Jamie Eloise Agbayani, all set to compete for the position that his three-termer husband is vacating.

If Dagupan Mayor Benjamin Lim is running for congressman and his son Brian takes a crack at his father’s current position, it could very well be another emerging dynasty.

Former Dagupan Mayor Alipio Fernandez – whose son Alvin is the current vice mayor – is reportedly preparing to reclaim his old post (though we must note that his possible running mate, Belen Fernandez, is not kin despite being namesakes).

Political dynasties are rooted in the feudal legacy of our Spanish past. And until now, our kind of democracy has remained tied to patronage governance and, for better or for worse, these strings of related leaders are actually voted into office by the people.

While there is no law against political dynasties, the Constitution does provide for restrictions on the number of years and terms of office that a person can possibly vie for, win and hold. The overriding wisdom behind that rule is to keep a check on abuse. We have seen how one man, one family, holding too much influence for too long can easily exploit that power.

Good leadership cannot be easily established by simply claiming that it runs in the family. Neither is continuance of supposedly good programs an acceptable justification. Whether at the national or local level, good programs – if they truly are that – are supposed to be institutionalized so that these can benefit the people despite leadership changes.

There is danger in dynasties. Let us keep our guards up.

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