Category: dynasty

The Ralph & Vilma show #RectoDynasty

Because-they-can, as long as a complicit Congress desists from crafting and passing an enabling law prohibiting political dynasties, as provided for in Article II Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution, political dynasts were out in full force, filing Certificates of Candidacy for the 2025 midterm elections.

ALEX MAGNO. So it goes that over the last week we saw whole families filing their certificates of candidacy. We have relatives in Congress and relatives running for mayor and vice mayor in the same elections. Contrary to the intention of the Constitution, term limits encouraged rather than discouraged political family dominance. Seeking elective posts has become a family business.

The most brazen yet, because very high-profile, is the family of Finance Sec. Ralph Recto a.k.a. VATman: “star for all seasons” Vilma Santos-Recto is running yet again for governor of Batangas, son Lucky Manzano is running for vice governor, and son Ryan Recto is running for Congress rep.

Vilma, 70, has been in politics since 1998 when she was elected mayor of Lipa City, and then reelected in 2001 and 2004.  In 2007 she was elected Batangas governor and reelected in  2010 and 2013.  She was elected Batangas Congress rep in 2016, and again in 2019. She begged off running for a 3rd term in 2022, pleading pandemic exhaustion, and Ralph, her mentor, ran and was elected in her stead.

Ralph the Recto, 60, has himself been in politics since 1992 when he was elected Batangas Congress rep, and then reelected in 1995 and 1998. In 2001 he was elected to the senate where he authored the unpopular EVAT Law that cost him reelection in 2007, but he was reelected anyway in 2010 and 2016. He was back as Congress rep 2022 to 2024. Currently he is Finance Secretary of the BBMarcos admin, and quite unpopular again for his handling of Philhealth funds and for pushing and applauding the VAT on digital services that will of course be passed on to us customers.

Can’t help thinking back on the original Recto, Claro M., the nationalist and constitutionalist, and wishing he had lived long enough to have made an impact, an impression, a difference, in the politics of Ralph at marami pang iba who shamelessly revel in this dynastic system that allows them to dance around term limits, claiming that they seek only to serve nation when they really do nothing but take advantage of bad economic policies that do not serve the common good.

Sabi nga ni Franco sa Facebook:

Dynasty is family business disguised as public service.

And please, huwag sisihin ang mga botante, hindi sila bobo. They are navigating the political quicksand of ayudas the best way they know how, in aid of survival. And there is no lifting them up as long as dynasties persist in their viciously greedy and mercenary ways.

Read “Political dynasties choking the Philippines” by Atty. Josephus Jimenez.

These family dynasties which have been dominating the government and controlling appointments and public funds should be held responsible for the sad state of the Philippine economy. They should explain to the people why this country has not progressed in the same manner that Thailand and Vietnam have managed to prosper. Vietnam was pulverized by the bombings in the war between the north and the south. And yet, today, Vietnam has a better economy than the Philippines. We even rely on the Vietnamese to produce the rice that we so badly need. We have more highly-educated business managers and businessmen, industrialists and traders, but Thailand has a better economy than ours.

The political dynasties should explain to the future generation why this country has the worst environmental conditions and take the blame for why our country’s development is stunted and choked by dirty politics, and the massive corruption, which is among the worst not only in Asia but in the whole world. Political dynasties are the biggest cause why this country is going down and down and down.  https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion 

IMEEproblema, IMEEsolusyon

When PBBM announced that Senator Imee was one of the 12 senatorial candidates of his Alyansa 2025, it wasn’t totally unexpected, kahit pa panay ang patutsada ng senadora sa maraming policies of the kapatid’s admin. Blood is thicker than water, after all?  Except that Imee was a no-show at the convention, and the very next day, death anniv of Ferdinand Sr., she released a video thanking her bro, sabay announce that she chooses to run as an Independent.

35 na taon ng nakalipas ngayong araw mula nung pumanaw ang ama ko, ngunit buhay na buhay ang mga aral nya sa aking puso. Kaya’t bilang panganay niya, pinipili kong manindigan nang malaya’t matatag, tulad niya; na wala na dapat kampihan kundi ang Sambayanang Pilipino.”
https://www.facebook.com/ImeeMarcos/videos/523695270524068 

Umm… Marcos was with the Liberal Party until 1964, with the Nacionalista Party during his presidencies 1965 – ’72, “independent” only during the dictatorship 1972 – ’86. But whatever. I imagine that Imee is playing to Marcos loyalists, even as Duterte’s Diehard Supporters (DDS) are demanding na ilaglag niya unequivocally si BBM. Otherwise daw it’s like she’s just namamangka sa dalawang ilog, which she denied in a press briefing with Senate reporters today. https://www.facebook.com/

I’m not sure  that it’s not just more of the sibs playing good-cop-bad-cop to disarm us, even as their kids quietly follow in their footsteps. Lalo na’t hindi naman daw na-offend si BBM: welcome pa rin daw si Imee in case she wants to join the Alyansa’s sorties. https://www.tiktok.com/@newswatchplusph/video

Likewise this from Philstar‘s Cito Beltran gives Imee the benefit of the doubt.

Blood is thicker but venom is a killer
https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2024/09/30/2388918/blood-thicker-venom-killer

At face value, the inclusion of Senator Imee Marcos in the administration’s list of candidates may have seemed like a conciliatory gesture. It was certainly a surprise to people who have followed the political K-drama in Malacañang, where Senator Imee has been treated more as an outsider than presidential relative for at least a year if not more.

It’s tempting to call her inclusion as political window dressing to show that the Marcos Unity Team stands strong against all foes. To take it a step further, it was obviously an attempt to break the Imee-Sara alliance or friendship forged during Imee’s period of “destierro” and paint Imee as a “compromising politician” if she abandoned Sara Duterte.

But to her credit and lessons learned, Senator Imee stood her ground, politely thanked the administration for the inclusion and in the same breath declared her independence. That was a very polite “Thanks, but no thanks.”

It is often said that when it comes to family, “blood is thicker than water.” But judging from the many hits and hurts that Imee Marcos suffered from relatives and ex-friends, I surmise that Imee’s version is now: “Blood is thicker, but venom is more poisonous.”

With all her political experience and wisdom, Imee knows a possible set-up or booby trap come campaign and election time. If Senator Imee relies on her being a presidential sister and administration candidate, she could be left hanging in terms of funds and political support. Imee knows that more than anything, she is window dressing for the administration for many reasons.

But when the campaign and elections get really tough and close, favor will go to the candidates who bring something to the table apart from family ties and an independent mind. Many of those in the administration’s senatorial line-up represent a political party, a bailiwick, interest groups, funds or star power. With PBBM already President, Imee brings nothing else. The chances of her being dropped or “malaglag” are high and inevitable.

She has no guarantee that she will have the full support of the administration, particularly a Congress headed by Speaker Romualdez. Deny it as much as they want, but even their own friends and relatives swear that there is no love lost between them. Instead, it’s all distrust and distaste.

Declaring herself to be an “independent candidate” allows Imee to have her cake and eat it too. She can thumb her nose at those who cancelled her politically, show Filipinos the value of loyalty to those who stood by her during her political “exclusion” and prove to the Duterte supporters that she has courage as much as her friend Sara Duterte.

There is a popular post on social media that says: “Don’t stay where you are disrespected. Go where you are recognized.” If Senator Imee lives up to her independence, loyalty to friends and cause and continues to be tactical and strategic in her narrative and objectives, she may have more to offer to voters than the troublemakers or “Gawa Gulo” inside the administration.

Honesty, lies and Sara Duterte

this was first published in march 2019 @inquirerdotnet, when the mayor was campaigning for her senatorial bets. now that she seems to be on the verge of running for president sa 2022, time to double up. the marcoses are not nag-iisa.

RACHEL A.G. REYES

We are not naïve, stupid or gullible. We know and even accept that in politics and in public life, white lies, untruths, evasions, dissimulation, feigning, pretense and bullshit are at times necessary, even required for political wheeling and dealing.

At the same time, truth and honesty are universally valued and cherished in social and private lives. We categorically believe that lying is wrong. Lies rebound on the liar, and we know how a single lie can wreck lives and destroy reputations. Plato was unequivocal. He said lies were evil and poisoned the soul of the person who uttered them. The French Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne concurred. “In plain truth, lying is an accursed vice,” he said. “We have no tie upon one another, other than the reliability of our word.”

We can be similarly uncompromising. We demand truthfulness and honesty from our elected public servants and from our colleagues and friends. We teach our children to be truthful and honest and regard as treacherous the lover, husband or wife who is found to be untruthful and dishonest.

That said, I have been trying to fathom Sara Duterte’s thinking. The President’s daughter has recently been saying a lot about lying and honesty. But given the nature of politicking in this country, the talk has spiraled out of the realms of reason.

Sara’s thinking

As far as one can gather, her argument can be unpacked as follows: (a) all politicians lie, everybody lies; (b) honesty should not be an electoral issue; (c) there is no legal requirement for senatorial contenders to be honest, truthful and of good moral character. Neither are academic qualifications necessary. Philippine citizenship and being able to read and write would suffice.

One could take the view that championing lying, as Sara does, is hard-as-nails pragmatism. Lies can decrease conflict, promote harmony, forge compromise. In this way, one is able to justify lies, accept the utility and necessity of telling lies, if the outcome is beneficial—if more good than harm can come from falsehood. The unbounded pessimist Friedrich Nietzsche went further. He said: “That lies should be necessary to life is part and parcel of the terrible and questionable character of existence.”

Yet, society cannot possibly function if, as Sara contends, we accept that everybody lies all the time. Society, writes the British philosopher Anthony Grayling, operates on probity and integrity. “For the ordinary transactions of daily life, we have to believe that most people are telling the truth most of the time.”

But public office is a public trust

Those who penned the Philippine Constitution would agree. Section 27, Article II is explicit: “The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.”

Moreover, Section 1 of Article XI states: “Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.”

I can’t see how these passages can be read as anything but a stern rebuke of Sara’s legal justification for lying and dishonesty in public life.

Sara is mayor of Davao City and running for reelection. She has been doing no campaigning of her own. This seems to be because she is very busy being the campaign manager and spokesperson for senatorial candidates running under her regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago. Clearly, she is confident of winning the Davao mayoralty without too much effort on her part.

She’s loud and she swaggers

Loud and swaggering, Sara has enormous presence. She is not a senatorial contender but acts like one. Those who think that she has her eye firmly on the presidency and aims to succeed her father are probably right. Which is precisely the reason why we should listen to her carefully. She is amassing power before our very eyes.

Sara advocates lying and dishonesty as acceptable for those in public life. Why should this be so troubling? Because, as Grayling writes: “To tell a lie you have to know the truth but deliberately intend to communicate its very opposite to your audience. You thus commit a double crime: of knowing but concealing truth, a precious possession; and of purposefully leading others away from it.”

Would Sara apply this standard on her children? Would she allow her husband to deceive her with lies and dishonesty?

Rachel A.G. Reyes (rachelagreyes@gmail.com) is a historian of Southeast Asia and writes commentary pieces on science, gender and politics.

 

between kris and duterte . . .

. . . we are being forced to confront the dementor ways of dynasty.

duterte is a stand-up comic-tragic figure whose mission as president in midterm is to distract us from his failure to deliver on the BIG CHANGES he promised — hindi pala niya kaya, ang hirap pala, akala ay madadaan sa kamachohan, takutan, but how do you make takot the entrenched oligarchy (heavily represented in the cabinet) into changing their ways and moderating their greed for the sake of nation, what do they care about nation  —  and so deliberately he distracts us from the higher prices, harder times, under his watch, and of course he can blame the price of oil only so much, and so he resorts to his favorite pasttime, talking dirty, talking sex, best seller forever, the dirtier the more shocking the better, and boy has he amped it up, nasa bedtime pornography na, for general patronage even.  i hate to imagine what next.  such a low way to go.  meanwhile, the country continues to go to the dogs.  soon there will be nothing left.

kris aquino is only a little less disturbing.  in her latest, current war, this time vs former business manager nicko falcis who has denied her charges of “qualified theft” — woman scorned nga ba? — falcis has  accused kris of seriously threatening his life, “PAPAPATAY KA NG PAMILYA KO  … DARE TO STEP IN THIS COUNTRY, AND YOU WILL BE DEAD.”  totoo ba ito?  bakit hindi dine-deny ni kris?  dahil walang nagtatanong?  bayarán ba ng reyna ang lahat ng media?  totoo bang the queen is  “guarded & sacrificed for above & beyond all costs. No Kris Aquino, no contracts, and no millions. Do not think I won’t go in all directions.” — did she really say this in one of her final messages to falcis?

“PAPAPATAY KA NG PAMILYA KO  … DARE TO STEP IN THIS COUNTRY, AND YOU WILL BE DEAD.”  sounds like duterte.  and sounds like alice in wonderland’s queen of hearts: OFF WITH HIS HEAD!   if true, she threatened falcis, and if she spoke sincerely, what does it say of the family culture of the aquino-cojuango clan, the political dynasty she proudly belongs to?  which could be why she’s distracting us with her health woes, invoking ninoy and cory to boot, tugging at heartstrings grown brittle, bored stiff by her paawa dramatics.  what a waste of ninoy’s DNA.

kris fancies herself a queen — megalomania much?  digong is himself a kingpin, the patriarch who dares break all the rules of civilized society.  kumusta naman kaya ang ibang dynasties diyan?  nakakabaliw ba, nakaka-adik ba, ang sobrang yaman at kapangyarihan?

we should do them all, and nation, a favor by not voting for any of them, or their ilk.