From election postscripts, what contributed most to the surprising defeat of too many administration-backed candidates was the Duterte factor. Analysts also hint at a more mature and critical approach towards elections by the youth, who now comprise a good portion of the electorate. Indeed a positive sign, if only because never before has the administration lost so unexpectedly badly to the opposition.
But before anybody becomes giddy with excitement, we must remind ourselves that dynasty rule is at the roots of our problems of mass poverty, unaffordable health care and poor non-universal education and that the Dutertes are a dynasty. The victory, therefore, of pro-Duterte candidates takes nothing away from dynastic power but merely moves it from one dynasty’s grip to another’s. And as long as political dynasties rule, only an elite few enjoy the mainstream benefits of our economy while the majority has to be content with the trickles that flow down to them.
As long as dynasties have the monopoly of political power, they control unfair political and unjust economic systems by way of cultural hegemony about which I wrote in an earlier column. This domination employs transcendental religion and non-critical education so people would accept their situation as normal or God-ordained and consequently not dare to push back against what is in reality a man-made social condition. As a result, a sizable portion of the population will not be healthy and educated enough to sustain a working democracy or resist a subtle aristocracy.
Because we know this, we want an implementing law on the constitutional ban on political dynasties. But even with a ban, unless the election system is radically reformed, rich individuals or members of dynasties will continue to have exclusive chances of winning critical government positions.
We know the problem. What we don’t know is how to go about solving it. Well, not exactly because various groups have different parts of the formula that solves the problem. But these groups, which we presume to be good-intentioned, are divided by a wall of clichés and so far unable to form a solid opposition to political dynasties. We should stop asking who among us has the right formula (cliché?) and instead work on what could possibly unite us into one solid opposition block.
Clichés aside, our economy can simply be said to be unjust, our politics non-participative and our culture non-developmental. We should, therefore, forget clichés and just do whatever it takes to restructure the economy from unjust to just and politics from elitist to participative. But first we must rid ourselves of a mentality or a way of life (culture?) that is non-developmental. This can be done without resorting to violence or without tagging ourselves “progressive” and using clichés that have been co-opted by the extreme left.
In any case, the results of the last elections tell us this nation could possibly be turning a corner. As faint as it may be, there is a glimmer of hope.