A political system doomed to fail

The manner by which the 2025 national budget was put together perfectly illustrates how flawed our political system has become. Look deeper into the budget and you will find that congressmen, senators and elected officials put their political and financial interests ahead of national health care, education and even defense. How can our people’s lives ever improve when elected officials take the first and biggest bite of the country’s resources? The system is one that works in favor of dynasties and against the people they’ve vowed to serve. Dynasties have made government a kleptocracy parading as a democracy.

When I speak about our flawed political system, I refer to our presidential, bicameral system with its unique characteristics.

These characteristics include a multi-party system that is personality-driven rather than ideology-based. It is a system where turncoatism is rampant, as loyalties are based on personal relationships and who holds the power of the purse. Thus, the majority of legislators vote according to the agenda of their political patron, not according to national interest or principles.

As for qualifications of elected officials, Philippine electoral laws do not impose academic, experiential or ethical standards outside basic citizenship, age and residency requirements. This is why the system is awash with incompetents, convicted criminals and those morally dubious. Trash in, trash out. What we have is a predominance of populist leaders who pander to the masses with rhetoric and false promises.

Political dynasties dominate the political system in both the national and local levels. Their unfair access to government funds edges out others, thereby limiting political diversity and grassroots leadership. Personalities from show business leverage on the masses’ naiveté to get elected, even if embarrassingly unqualified.

Local governments are granted much autonomy. However, local governments mirror the illnesses of national politics – only worse because they operate like mini fiefdoms. Most local governments are mired with incompetence and grave abuse of power. In short, bad governance where the people are provided the bare minimum in social services. The third world backwardness of most provinces, cities and   municipalities versus the wealth of dynasties tells the whole story.

Extreme corruption remains the foremost challenge. The greater majority of politicians prioritize rent-seeking endeavors for themselves even if it undermines development efforts. Rent-seeking endeavors include mining, power and water distribution, public construction, gaming and real estate development on grabbed land. Many are funded by clean loans from government banks. Less sophisticated politicians capture lucrative contracts like trash collection, retail and transport franchises and supply and procurement contracts. Like I said, a kleptocracy.

Elected officials aligned with the powers that be are immune from anti-corruption laws.

Doomed to fail

Our political system has retarded national development and promoted severe social inequalities. Thus, the country will continue to fall further behind, relative to our neighbors, unless the system changes. Our people’s quality of life will continue to deteriorate while our politicians satiate their greed for power and wealth.

The favorable GDP growth and the stable economic fundaments that government brags about is unsustainable. The fact remains that the economy operates with gaping budget deficits (of approximately P1.5 trillion), which is filled in by ever-increasing debt. This is because our growth is fueled by local consumption and government spending and not by investments and production. Foreign investors stay away due to the corruption and the inefficient bureaucracy our politicians have created. Who can blame them?

Only rent-seeking politicians and their friends benefit from the high growth of the economy. Income inequality remains rampant with our Gini coefficient at 41.2.

What will happen if nothing changes?

Politically, it will result in: the continued dominance of political dynasties and low quality leaders. This leads to low quality legislation and poor governance; accelerated impunity, abuse and impudence among politicians; accelerated corruption; heightened incompetence; further promotion of patronage politics and rampant political turncoatism; further degradation of the justice system and the rule of law.

Socially, it will result in: a wider wealth disparity between the political dynasties and the rest of the population; further degradation of public health care, resulting in lower life expectancies; negligible safety nets for the retired, sick and disabled; persistent shortage of public housing by the millions; degradation of education, causing our workforce to be unable compete with their regional peers; persistence of malnutrition and stunted growth among children.

Economically, it will result in: continued squandering of financial resources to corruption; stunted development and perennially inadequate infrastructure; perennially bypassed by foreign investors; low export revenues; low technological quotient; low level of innovation; severe import dependence due to continued erosion of agriculture and manufacturing; small capital markets.

In defense, the country will continue to be a sitting duck to external threats. Government will have to depend on external allies to defend its sovereignty.

Unless the political system changes, the nation will continue to be a laggard – a failure.

What now?

Political dynasties are the root of the problem and they must be excised to make way for better leaders. Better leaders lead to better governance.

But how? Congress intentionally failed to pass the Anti-Political Dynasty Law despite it being mandated by the 1987 Constitution. How can the bill ever pass when the very people needed to vote for it are the same people who benefit from its absence?

Does our situation infuriate/depress you? It should! But we should not forget that the power lies with us, civil society. We must demand that the Anti-Political Dynasty Law be passed and do what it takes, within legal bounds, to enact it into law. It is an uphill battle but history has taught us that political personalities, however powerful, always bend to the will of the people.

In the meantime, we must reject political dynasties in both the 2025 and 2028 elections. They are the “leaders” that led us to this situation.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan