Anti Dynasty Bill Position Paper

ANTI DYNASTY BILL
What is anti dynasty bill?

Anti Dynasty bill is a bill against political dynasties and was sponsored by Senator Francis
N. Pangilinan, chairperson of the Senate committee on constitutional amendment and revision
of codes. The bill defines political dynasty as the concentration, consolidation, and/ or
perpetuation of public office and political powers by persons related to one another within the
second degree of consanguinity or affinity.
Throughout the Philippines history, the political dynasty has taken on a negative
connotation. Often linked to problems like graft, corruption, and abuse of power, it has taken
on a detrimental role to society. Perhaps the most infamous of all would be the political
dynasty of the Marcos family. Alleged to have embezzled between US$5 billion and US$10
billion from the Philippines, transfarency international has ranked Ferdinand Marcos at second
on a list of the world’s most corrupt political leaders of the past to decades; surpassed only by
former Indonesian President Suharto. Names like the Estradas/Ejeratos and the singson families
have also linked the image of the political dynasty to allegation of graft and corruption. Luis
“Chavit” Singson, governor of the province of Ilocos Sur, alleged that he had personally given
Estrada the sum of 400 million pesos as pay off from illegal gambling profits such as “jueteng”,
as well as 180 million pesos from the government price subsidy for the tobacco farmer’s
marketing cooperative. Singson’s allegation caused an approar across the nation, which
culminated in Estrada’s impeachment trial by the house of representatives In November 19,
2000. A more recent example, would be that of the Ampatuans’, whose name has been thrust
to the limelight after the event of the “Maguindanao Massacre” where 58 individuals consisting
of their family rival’s, the Mangudadatus, relatives and some journalists were shot and killed
preventing them from filing their patron’s certificate of candidacy.
Families linked to political dynasties flood the news with allegations of all sorts of
crime ranging from corruption, theft, murder and even rape. Regardless of whether these are
proven or unproven, it all translates into the tarnished and dirty image that the political dynasty
holds in today’s society. This is exactly what Michel Foucault talks about in the spectacle of the
scaffold wherein there is a display of an excessive use of power through torture. As Foucault
mentions, there are three criterions where punishment must follow in order to fall under the
category of torture. The first being, that it must manifest pain ona center degree, that could be
seen in the example of the francois damiens’ torture. The second being that such pain is
regulated in a way that suffering is maximized rather than imposing death immediately because
this suffering would insure a more effective notice of change on the offenders part. Last but not
least, perhaps the most important would be that tortures marks the individual and that it
should serve as a spectacle. Torture making the individuals means that there is a reclaiming of
the sovereign by the ruler and that the marketing of the execution as a spectacle would serve
as a public display of the ruler’s sovereignty. Such a public execution seeks to reach out to the
whole society by letting the thought of punishment run through their consciousness making
them aware of the total power of the sovereign, them serving as his subjects.
The context of the logic of torture is that there is contempt for body, wherein the body
serves a possession of the sovereign. There is a political need for the sovereign to display his
power which will serve as a recognition of his dominance over his subjects. In addition, this
display power actually runs through an internal organization of politicization and serves as a
disciplining factors towards order. As Foucault mentions how the enlightenment period called
torture as an atrocity “atrocity as one of those that best designates the economy of public
torture in the old penal practice. (Foucault 1997) Furthers, he states that “insofar as being the
crime before everyone’s eyes In all its severity, the punishment must take the responsibility for
this atrocity: it must bring to light by confessions, statements, inscription that make it public, it
must reproduce it in ceremonies that apply it to the body of the guilty person in the form of
humiliation and pain. Atrocity is that part of crime that the punishment turns back as torture in
order to display it in the full light of day. (Foucault 1977) inlight of michel foucaults study
power, he show how the display of excessive power can serve as a negative connotation
towards disciplining society. In relation to the existence of political dynasties, their displays of
excessive power by means of running private armies or reliance on coercion in order to
established and maintain their power, could very well serve as a detriment to public order as
well as to their own existence. This is where Vladimir lenins theory on organization can come
into play because power alone in a democratic society, especially excessive power, canclush
with the values of democracy while power coupled with proper organization could compromise
with the said values. Organization, furthermore, would tweak how power is distributed,
dispersed and used on the sovereign’s subjects. In the case of political dynasties where power is
seen to be a tool used For political domination, power alongside organization can produce an
effective dynasty, which operates on behalf of and for the public rather than for itself and its
interests.
Therefore, political dynasty in the Philippines should be prohibited because it adversely
affects the progress of out country. POLITICAL DYNASTY actually, many filipino voters are
shading the names in the ballots during elections, not because they know the personality and
background of a specific candidate, but rather the surname sounds familiar. Another instance
is, they are satisfied with the “catchy” advertisemets of these candidates. Our country, the
Philippines, has been is a system like this for decades, and it is called the political dynasty.
Political dynasty is very evident in our country .

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ANTI DYNASTY BILL

What is anti dynasty bill?

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