Political dynasties are suffocating the Philippines

Before the establishment of ASEAN in 1967, the Philippines was economically stronger than Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and even South Korea and Taiwan. Today, our country is much poorer than all the founding countries of ASEAN. Thailand and Vietnam, which were among the poorest then, are today in a better situation than our country. What are the causes of the deterioration of our country's economy? There are many, but the most damaging is that of political dynasties.

Compared to Singapore and the rest of ASEAN, we had more mineral resources, our location is strategically better placed as a gateway to the Pacific, we had a better quality of education and in the 1960s, Asia's best universities and colleges were found in the Philippines. Our human capital was superior in terms of education, skill, credentials and credibility. Today, our natural resources are almost gone and control of the national wealth has fallen into the hands of corrupt officials and their foreign masters. The quality of our education has deteriorated to the point of becoming the laughing stock of the Asian educational community.

The causes are poor governance, mismanagement of our economy and corruption in government. We have never had a leader of the caliber of Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir Mohamad or Joko Widodo. For a very long time, government was dominated by traditional politicians, mostly from political dynasties. The best proof of this is that among the 17 Philippine presidents, six came from only three political dynasties; the Marcoses, the Macapagals and the Aquinos. The fourteenth president, GMA, is the daughter of the ninth president, Diosdado Macapagal. The fifteenth president, PNoy was the son of the eleventh, Corazon Aquino. The seventeenth president, BBM is the son of the tenth, FM Sr.

The sixteenth president, the PRRD, is in the process of making his daughter, vice-president, the eighteenth. If that happens, God forbid, this nation will surely regret it again. Imagine we have a Senate composed of 24 supposedly more experienced and statesmanlike legislators, whose wisdom and erudition are at levels that should unify and inspire the entire nation. It is regrettable that this august chamber is currently dominated by political dynasties. We have a mother and a son, the multi-billionaire Villars, who represents the small town of Las Piñas. A brother and sister, the Cayetanos, represent the small town of Taguig.

The microscopic town of San Juan, whose population is smaller than the barangay of BF Homes, Parañaque, or even smaller than the barangay Guadalupe of Cebu City, and even smaller than the town of Alcantara in the 7th district of Cebu in terms of area, is represented by two half-brothers, the Estrada/Ejercito royal family. There was a time when Erap's wife and son both served in the same Senate. There was also a time when Sonny and Serge Osmeña sat in the same Senate. Today, the five million Cebuanos have no representation in the Upper House of Congress.

These family dynasties that dominate the government and control public appointments and funds should be held responsible for the sorry state of the Philippine economy. They should explain to the people why this country has not progressed in the same way that Thailand and Vietnam have managed to prosper. Vietnam was pulverized by the bombings of 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 we so desperately need. We have more highly skilled entrepreneurs and businessmen, industrialists and traders, but Thailand has a better economy than ours.

Political dynasties should explain to the future generation why this country has the worst environmental conditions and take responsibility for delaying and stifling the development of our country through dirty politics and massive corruption, which is among the worst not only in Asia but also in Japan. the whole world. Political dynasties are the main cause of the continued downfall of this country.