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| These honorable people are clapping for the accomplishments of the President ... or so it seems. |
Yes, it seems like the Philippines is still travelling the long and winding road instead of the long and straight one for more than a year now. Change is indeed a long-term and very difficult process. But why is change so difficult to administer in a nation with quite a lot of manpower and resources to do so?
It all started during the era of Spanish colonization. As much as the Spaniards have influenced our culture, traditions, and behavior, they never introduced the concept of an efficient, centralized government. For one, the Philippines is an archipelago, with the natural boundaries of water and land limiting chances of effective unification of any kind between the pre-colonization Filipinos and, later, the post-1521 Filipinos. Also, in this feudal-like system of government, aside from the kiss-my-ass mentality of the ruling class to their grateful subjects, the supposed head of the Philippine Islands, the governor-general, only acted in a limited capacity as the representative of the King/Queen of Spain, while it really were the friars who were ruling the islands, equipped with the power of their “Lord” (which happens to be themselves) and the strength of their All Mighty Iron Fists.
With such a weak rule over the archipelago comes a lack of effective administration over the economic trends in the Philippines at the time. As Spain itself is a nation which lacks the resources to support themselves (which is the driving force behind their unintentional discovery of the Philippines), they saw the need to involve themselves in trading and commerce with the Chinese, British, and other nations at the time. This exclusive group of families and/or individuals who gained the opportunity happen to either be Spaniards or mestizos, or at least have significant Spanish blood in them with education from Europe. This allowed them to build their wealth through the accumulation and improvement of their lands and create a constant source of wealth for future generations to come. In other words, these families acquired a strong economic base independent of the state, allowing them to exert unprecedented influence over the state officials and civilians alike without getting their hands dirty in the game of politics. Of course, during the Spanish period these families needed to make a pledge of allegiance with the religious orders to ensure their safety, in exchange for economic stimulus packages for the friars.
This will continue as the Philippines was transferred from Spain to the United States. If you must know, the United States federal government is decentralized as well, and since pretty much every colonial power models the colony’s form of government is modeled after that of the colonizer, the Philippines will endure a lack of a prominent central leader for a while longer. This time, however, the families I mentioned have built such a strong base of wealth and influence that they have actually monopolized almost every single aspect of living in their respective local areas. As a result, to easily spread their control over the islands, the Americans decided to ally themselves with these future oligarchs. This creates a special relationship that will form the template for years to come: with the backing of the Americans (or in the future, some powerful economic figure), a local economic power will look to enter politics as a means to further protect his/her interests while he/she rewards his/her sponsors with free gifts, usually in money form or loophole-in-law advice.
As the Philippines gained its independence, this common practice became widespread, with the war-weary people willing to accept anything from any politician to bring the Filipinos back on their feet. Along with the changes in the social, economic, and moral institutions in Philippine society came the changes in the ideologies, laws, and political theories. With the ensuing massive corruption in the early post-war era, the Filipinos became more vigilant of their leaders, actively supporting laws that will ban any no-democratic practice. As a result, a powerful authority figure will usually resort to asking his/her wife/husband, sons, daughters, and any other relatives to take over the operations of his mini-empire until he/she becomes eligible again.
You may ask at this point, just what in the name of love am I talking about? Well, to put things in a simpler perspective, what I just flapped my virtual gums about is basically how a political dynasty is formed in the Philippines. And these dynasties are mostly, if not the sole reason why the Philippines is still stuck in the long and winding road we have been trying to get out of for so long.
If you have any doubts about my assumption, just think about this: there is a specific clause in the 1987 Constitution that clearly defines just what is legal and what is not. Article II Section 26 of the Constitution states “The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law”. So if the highest law of the land explicitly prohibits political dynasties in the Philippines, then how come the country is dominated by them?
The answer is simple. Just look at the current composition of our House of “Representatives”. Whatever these “honorable” congressmen are representing, there is no doubt that there is a strong presence of political families in the lower house. Did you know that at least 114 members, or 39.86% of the lower house are undisputed members of political families? Of course, there are other representatives who are closely identified with political clans or already have sold their souls to these families but are just too shy to admit it to the public. So if half of your representatives (and senators) are representing political families instead of legal political units, how are they going to effectively govern for the public good? And I am certain that all of us are aware of the situation in the local governments, especially around the Muslim Mindanao area. To top all of that, with all due respect to our capable, honest, and respectable leader, our current President is a member of not one, but two of the oldest and most powerful political (and economic) clans in Philippine history.
The bottomline is, well, it is our fault. Every day, we complain about how the Philippines is still stuck in a deep hole without any hope of climbing out of because moles keep on digging deeper to find more gold underground for themselves. Every week, you blame your professor for giving you what you deem as difficult requirements though the truth is, you did not exert enough effort to do better. Every year, we whine about how things are going to be different now that we chose new highly advanced gadgets that look fancy yet in the end, it just does the same thing as your old gadget.
So come July 25, if you have the time to watch or listen to the SONA of President Aquino, I suggest you do so. After all, despite all the possible non-sense that we may hear on that day, keep in mind that he has been in the office for only 385 days. And the Filipinos trust his leadership, more or less. So do I. The SONA is not just some way to promote yourself like some overhyped pop sensation; it is for us, the common Filipinos, to learn not only the state of our nation, but also what we can do about them in our own ways.
It was never one man’s fault. It has always been the fault of the political families. Just do not forget that we all have a contribution to whatever is happening in the Philippines, no matter how bad, small, or insignificant it looks like.
Perhaps July 25, 2011 will not be much of a waste of time after all.
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