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[OPINION] Pilipinas in Las Piñas

Dean Dela Paz

There is a quaint and quiet suburb just south of Manila quickly turning into a livewire microcosm of Philippine politics. In Las Piñas, the forthcoming national elections to elect the president and members of the national legislature are translated to the local grassroots levels pretty much with the same issues, the same platforms and the same David and Goliath challenges faced in the tumultuous national arena.Extrapolated almost verbatim into the local government milieu, culled from constant and in-depth consultation with the majority of constituents, the following top-of-mind concerns were identified not simply as ever-present, but those candidates need to prioritize as they impact directly on the 2022 vote.Where unemployment, health and education are chief concerns nationwide, in Las Piñas so are these 2022 staples. Among these, add the curse of a perpetuating peculiarity such as political dynasties prevalent in local governments more than the national stage.Las Piñas is where a property company took root and was transformed into a political bailiwick hosting one of the wealthiest families in the Philippines. The roots grew into a massive trunk and from the trunk it branched into the legislature, simultaneously in the House and the Senate as well as the cabinet absent an enabling law to limit the political dynasties the Constitution sought to control.Note the genetic phylum of the frontrunners in the presidential and vice presidential surveys and discern how these are mirrored in Las Piñas.For one, the presidential polls depict a candidate whose margins go beyond pluralities. The Las Piñas congressional race mirrors that.Two, the political dynasty in Las Piñas is not simply aligned with the national ruling house but is bankrolled by the largest campaign coffers in the country. The same is true for the leading presidential frontrunner on the national level.Three, the ever-present and yet un-answered issue of political dynasties that permeates Las Piñas politics is resurrected on the national level by the obvious disparities in platforms and fundamental differences. One banks on inherited familial strength and history however fuzzy. The other, on a clear platform of change in governance.The fourth common denominator is an immeasurable perception-based beta, albeit one with a definitive quantifiable impact on campaign strategies and results.On the national stage, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is not simply the namesake of the late dictator but his tenures in his bailiwicks were due to his family name whether he took on a congressional seat, the governorship, or any other local position his family members interchangeably occupy.Marcos’s running mate and possible successor is likewise a product of political dynasties, her DNA just as thick and potent, and the perpetuation of a familial legacy similarly a dark mirror of the undying dynastic curse. From the perspective of the constitution, both distort and mock the electoral system where one consistently replaces another family member in pursuit of perpetual power.Given the constantly skewed results of surveys by polling outfits, fly-by-night startups, internal self-serving surveys, and those that conjure a consistent lead intended for campaign donors, the David and Goliath challenge evident in the congressional opposing tickets in Las Piñas mimics the macro-political Marcos vs Robredo contest.The leading challenger in Las Piñas correctly prioritizes among his platforms the question of employment, health, and education. It is no coincidence that these align with the national agenda of Leonor Robredo. However, the thickest lines drawn between perpetuating an old system of appalling patronage politics based on political dynasties and change now offered the Las Piñas electorate have to do with finally breaking the dynastic stranglehold.The similarities are uncanny. This is also Robredo’s fight on the national stage. And the congressional battle in Las Piñas is clearly a reflective microcosm.<div>(Dean dela Paz is a former investment banker and a managing director of a New Jersey-based power company operating in the Philippines. He is the chairman of the board of a renewable energy company and is a retired Business Policy, Finance and Mathematics professor.)</div>

There is a quaint and quiet suburb just south of Manila quickly turning into a livewire microcosm of Philippine politics.