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Monsod: Dutertes, Marcoses, Arroyos aim to solidify grip on power in 2022 polls

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ABS-CBN News

[EMBED COMPOSITE PHOTO]MANILA—The May 2022 general elections may mark the strengthening of power of several political dynasties in the Philippines, according to a former elections chief, as these families seek to occupy the highest positions in the land.Speaking to TeleRadyo Friday, lawyer Christian Monsod described the scenario as &quot;frightening&quot; as he said this could lead to &quot;authoritarianism&quot;.&quot;The way the plan is panning out, it looks like there is a plan just beyond accountability. It&#x27;s to consolidate power, consolidate total power in a coalition that brings together the Marcoses, the Romualdezes, the Arroyos and the Dutertes,&quot; he said.&quot;If they can pull it through, we will really have authoritarianism especially if the Supreme Court again defers to the President by ruling that the Anti-Terrorism Act is constitutional.&quot;That will complete the picture of a plan for total consolidation of power in our country and that&#x27;s frightening,&quot; he added.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/09/21/sara-duterte-drops-mayoral-run-in-davao-city">Sara Duterte drops reelection bid, clearing potential run for higher office</a></li></ul>Monsod made the remark after a recent shake-up leading to the crowded polls, which saw Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio quitting the mayoral race, stoking speculations she is gunning for a national position.The daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte then joined former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo&#x27;s Lakas-CMD party, which had said it was open to having Duterte-Carpio as its standard bearer.Meanwhile, the party of presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Davao City mayor could be a running mate of the namesake son of the late Philippine dictator.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/10/21/bongbong-party-keen-on-president-position-says-sara-ok-to-be-vp">Bongbong&#x27;s party keen on presidential bid; Sara Duterte welcome as VP</a></li></ul>Monsod believes this is more than Duterte&#x27;s plan of allegedly just avoiding accountability before the International Criminal Court.The Hague-based international tribunal is investigating the President&#x27;s centerpiece policy—the bloody narcotics crackdown, which according to human rights group left between 12,000 to 30,000 civilians killed.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/15/21/icc-chamber-greenlights-probe-on-ph-drug-war-davao-killings">ICC Pre-Trial Chamber greenlights probe on PH drug war, Davao killings</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1828267" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>Asked if it could be all part of a grand plan, he said, &quot;It seems to be heading toward that because now they&#x27;re grabbing the idea of the President running for Senate and becoming Senate President.&quot;&quot;We already have heard of Arroyo becoming Speaker of the House.&quot;&quot;So, you have a Marcos as President and a Duterte as Vice President. That completes the picture of [3] political dynasties that covers the entire Philippines.&quot;Arroyo is seeking another term as representative of Pampanga&#x27;s second district.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/23/18/arroyo-completes-house-coup-after-sona">Arroyo completes House coup after SONA</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/04/21/gloria-macapagal-arroyo-files-coc-through-proxy">Arroyo files COC through proxy, seeks return as congresswoman</a></li></ul>Monsod also raised concern on the people being appointed to government agencies, which are part of the system of checks and balances.&quot;It&#x27;s about appointing their own people to positions in the checking powers of the Constitution, like the Office of the Ombudsman,&quot; he said.Commission on Audit chair Michael Aguinaldo is set to end his term in February 2022 while there is a vacancy in the Commission on Human Rights after its chair succumbed to COVID-19 in October, he added.&quot;Where will the checking powers be in any abuse of power?&quot; Monsod said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/01/21/poll-watchdog-wants-comelec-f2-transport-deal-canceled">Poll watchdog seeks cancellation of delivery contract between Comelec, Dennis Uy-linked logistics firm</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/14/21/in-2022-polls-comelec-packed-with-duterte-appointees-group">In 2022 polls, Comelec packed with Duterte appointees - group</a></li></ul>However, Monsod noted that &quot;storms do not last forever.&quot;&quot;The good stories about us is the lessons of the struggle and we did it before. We did it at EDSA. We were able to bring down a dictatorship through democratic means,&quot; he said.&quot;But we have to awaken ourselves. We have to nurture new, young leaders who come from the poor. I think there will be no real change until we have a new generation of leaders who come from the poor.&quot;

The 2022 elections may mark the strengthening of power of several political dynasties in the Philippines, according to a former poll body chief.