MANILA: Dynasties are synonymous with Philippine politics, a captive yet rambunctious democratic system that at least one academic has dubbed an “anarchy of families.”
But a new provision introduced as part of a constitutional reform drive seeks to loosen the grip of these legacies, in the noble name of uprooting corruption, promoting diversity and alleviating poverty.With a Congress audit showing two-thirds of elected positions nationwide are dominated by a handful of political families, meaningful political and economic reforms have always been a tough ask of the country’s ruling class.
President Rodrigo Duterte, whose family rules the southern city of Davao in dynastic fashion, has vacillated on earlier populist vows to tackle the influence of big political families.
A 20-member team, known as the Consultative Committee, or ConCom, is now drafting a new constitution to move the country from a unitary political system towards federalism – one of Duterte’s campaign trail promises to break Manila’s domination and devolve more power to the provinces.
