Edwin T
3 Aug 2015

 

RE: Hitting the nail on the head

I have written before about political voters and voting. In this I’m going to talk Philippine voting. It is important that voters vote with knowledge of who they are voting for and not what their names are. In the US during the last election many were put off because the did not want a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints to become president. It was their ignorance and bigotry of the Mormon Church that many stayed home instead of going to the polls or mailing their absentee ballots. Instead they voted for someone who promised change and they also voted for him because they “felt good” voting for him because he was Black. That election should be a lesson in knowing who and what you are voting for. I pray the Filipino voters wise up during the next election.
Clans rule 73 out of 80 provinces in the Philippines. Below are a few examples of dynasties Filipinos keep in office and is the reason many believe is keeping the country from progressing.

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Romeo Jalosjos wanted to run for mayor of Zamboanga, a major city in the southern Philippines, in the May 13 midterm elections. Jalosjos plan to run for mayor was thwarted because of child-rape conviction 16 years ago. His brother Dominador was also disqualified to run for governor because of an old robbery conviction.
Jalosjos, a former congressman, is still expanding his political bench, recruiting nine members of his own family to seek top local positions. He claims voters asked him to run members of his family for office. A son and a daughter are seeking re-election as governor and mayor respectively, while a second brother is running for governor in a neighboring province. Two of his sisters are also candidates for mayor.
The Jalosjos family is just one of the 178 dynasties ruling 73 of the 80 provinces in the Philippines. Half come from the old landed elites, while the rest turned up after the 1986 popular revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Senator Miriam Santiago, summed it up when she said the Philippines is “the world capital of political dynasties”, equating political families with “Mafia crime” syndicates.
It has been projected that when all votes are counted in the next election 21 of the 24 Senate seats will fall under the control of political families. That includes former President Joseph Estrada’s two sons from different mothers. In the House of Representatives, about 80 percent of the 229 seats will also be dominated by dynasties. Current President Benigno Aquino III is not immune to dynastic criticism. He is an offspring of two political families. His mother is the late President Corazon Aquino. Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, member of the Cojuangco clan of the North Central Luzon area. His father, Benigno Jr, was a senator. An aunt and a cousin are currently running for the senate. There has been talk that his sister Kris Aquino may also be entering the political ring. Aquino’s predecessor and political nemesis, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is a daughter of another former president. Both of Arroyo’s son Diosdado Arroyo and Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo are right there also as is her brother-in-law Ignacio Arroyo. Then there are the Marcoses. Imelda, who is seeking re-election in Congress. Her son Ferdinand Jr, is now a senator, and is reportedly running for president in 2016. His sister Lmee is a governor. I could go on and on citing examples ignorant voters. This happens in other countries, even in the USA, but not to the extent as it does in the Philippines. Then there are the movie and TV stars, athletes and their spouses who are elected as president, vice president, governors, vice governors and congressmen.
It is the ignorance of the voters that have corrupted the Republic of the Philippines. The country is blessed with an abundance of mineral, petroleum, agricultural land. The country was the first to successfully propagate milagrosa and other variety of rice yet because of politics Thailand and Vietnam are exporting rice to the Philippines and other countries. The country is rich in educated population yet their ignorance in voting has prevented the Philippines to once again be the Pearl of the Orient. Until voters wise up the government will remain under the control of the traditional political parties.

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