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Congress website provides peek at political dynasties


A new feature recently introduced in the website of the House of Representatives allows Internet users to see the roster of Philippine legislators since the early 1900s up to the present time. At the same time, it provides online visitors a history of the political families that have effectively controlled the country’s affairs for the last decades. Raymond Palatino, representative of Kabataan party-list group, noted in his blog that the site’s database “shows that local politics in the past century were dominated by only few families." “While it’s not unusual for a veteran candidate to emerge undefeated in the polls, it’s quite disturbing that the winner is always from the same family," he said. From north to south, influential political clans dominate and determine the fate of their constituents. Among those that Palatino mentioned in his blog were the Marcoses of Ilocos, Ortegas of La Union, Abads of Batanes, Osmenas and Duranos of Cebu, Dimaporos of Lanao, Roxases of Capiz, and Aquinos of Tarlac. Despite the fact the 1987 Constitution has anti-political dynasty provision, Palatino said political dynasties have not only survived but have expanded their influence as well. Under Article 2 of the Constitution, it says: “Declaration of Principles and State Policies, Section 26: The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law." Unfortunately, Palatino said Congress has not yet passed a law which would define political dynasties. Using the new section of the Congress website is easy, according to the youthful legislator. “Simply drag down the select option and type the name of legislator or choose a district, province or region. To search a dynasty, type the province name then sort the list by last name (but listing can be incomplete since some dynasty members adopt new family names through marriages). I played this game during one of those boring hours in the departure gate while waiting for my delayed flight," he shared. — Newsbytes.ph

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