There are old and new political dynasties, families reclaiming the base they lost, emerging and rising clans, old money buying fame and influence, the nouveau rich disrupting local dynamics, ambitious operators with extensive connections, malevolent politicians cultivating local and foreign patrons. Successful in their electoral bids, they proclaim their “destiny” to govern. The peculiar living examples of the distorted version of the “theory of relativity” – relatives occupying positions of power with no other goal than to reinforce their political stronghold.

There are political dynasties in other countries too but our bitter and painful experience during the long Marcos dictatorship has compelled the drafters of the 1987 Constitution to introduce a provision prohibiting the proliferation of this political monstrosity. But alas, they made the fatal error of assigning Congress to complete the task.

Almost four decades later, the dynasties are still the lords of Congress and local government units. From north to south, governance is under the iron grip of power-obsessed families.

Political dynasties delude themselves by hiring supporters, experts, and influencers who conspire in misleading the public about the real consequences of the uninterrupted dominance of a few clans in politics.

They represent dysfunctional politics but it is presented as a reflection of the people’s will. The monopoly of political control is
normalized by hyping the supposed benevolence of political dynasties.

We can have a better understanding of the malicious intent to condition the minds of the public by identifying the spurious narratives promoted by powerful clans.

The most absurd notion is propagated by the denialists who bluntly refuse to acknowledge that having multiple relatives holding elected positions at the same time constitutes a dynasty. They even claim that they succeeded in getting elected into public office on their own even if they belong to well-entrenched clans.

Then there are the legalists who hypocritically profess to support the banning of dynasties yet shamelessly engage in the practice of dynasty-building by citing the absence of a law against it. They nonchalantly admit their affiliation to a dynasty but insist it’s not illegal or a crime since they are not breaking any law.

Denialists, legalists, and apologists are the plutogogues of political dynasties who make a career in legitimizing the irrational and unjust rule of the few even if it contravenes the interests of the majority. They excel in obfuscating the absurdity of petty monarchs extending their pathetic reign in the fiefdoms of our sad Republic. They cite obscene arguments from the legalistic (‘no definition under existing jurisprudence’) to the blasphemous (Divine mandate for ruling families).

They shield their benefactors from popular criticism by bombarding the public with fantastic but meaningless numbers to prove that dynasties are doing their duties as public servants. They end up defending not just the families they serve but also the political order designed to preserve the power of the wealthy.

It is not enough to engage politicians since we also have to actively expose the spin and decisively smash the fallacy about the supposed unlimited potential, intellect, and dedication possessed by political dynasties.

The recent midterm election campaign has exposed the self-care network of political dynasties that spread falsehoods and inanities about the nefarious legacy of elite rule in the country. Our post-election debriefing should include a mapping of the overlapping networks of insidious political operations intended to maintain the hegemony of the ruling factions represented by the Marcos and Duterte clans and their subordinates. This should also name the various new ways that political families are able to consolidate power and their deployment of digital tools to frame public discourse.

Political dynasties may have their army of educated and miseducated defenders but the opposition forces against them are more formidable in their determination to win the struggle for genuine democracy and people empowerment.