In one journalism outreach lecture in Bangued, Abra sometime in 2004, our team of lecturers from Baguio were invited to Tayum by then-mayor Rogelio Elveña who treated us to dinner and karaoke singing after his office workers finished their Friday afternoon clean-up of the municipal grounds.
We were all seated in front of the municipio while each one waited for their turn to belt out their version of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” when I noticed that the names of the past officials of barangay Poblacion from the chairman down to the last kagawad that were etched on the stage were all surnamed “Cariño.”
The first thing that came to my mind was to find out if at one time in the past this barangay was under a dynasty. And so after swinging a few gulps of the mayor’s favorite mix, I liberated myself from my Ibaloyness and mustered the courage to ask one of the councilors if a dynasty ruled the affairs of the barangay.
I liberated myself from my Ibaloyness and mustered the courage to ask one of the councilors if a dynasty ruled the affairs of the barangay.
His answer was a clear “No.” I believed his reasons which I wrote down in my small pad and stored in my mind through the years. First, although they were related by blood, they were very independent in making decisions for the community.
Second, the councilor of Tayum clarified that conflicts and problems in the barangay were resolved thoroughly in a discussion by all council members and the punong barangay regardless of the personalities involved. Cases rarely reached the regular courts, he added.
Third, he claimed that the mayor and municipal council all the more distanced themselves from interfering in the affairs of the barangay upon knowing that the officials carried the same surname.
Lastly, he spoke with certainty that, in return, the barangay officials after being chosen in a clean and honest barangay election, despite carrying the same last names, have not abused their power and authority over other members of their community.
The situation in Tayum is familiar, especially in many LGUs in the Cordillera, particularly in Benguet towns where local bets are related by blood, although they do not have the same names.
This proves one thing. You could be related by blood and could all become elected officials of a community but may never function as a dynasty. This, as long as each elected official respects the role of other officials, and avoids overlapping each other’s functions.
Although lately, I heard comments that in Baguio, certain local officials were in a hurry to become congressmen or senators by stepping on the shoes of others, sometimes. To me, that looks like the true face of a dynasty.
When an executive official acts like a legislator in an unofficial capacity, has control of the police and further tries to influence the judiciary; I believe that is a dynasty. Having control of the functions of an LGU by one person or by a closed group that moves around that one person is a dynasty. Having the same names and being related by blood or by affinity is not.
The series of dynasties in China rose due to political, cultural and economic control but slowly weakened because of moral corruption. In the Philippines, even wealthy families have yet to get to the dynasty level that the Chinese reached, but they are already on a decline.
That means, no dynasty will ever happen here even if the politicians carry the same surnames. The more chances that a dynasty will happen in our time is when politicians keep recycling themselves or keep on going back to the same position after finishing the allowable three terms. This should be amended to let in new faces in politics.
Another situation that could lead to a dynasty is when politicians who do not have blood relations but occupy positions in different branches of the government, become allies and get rid of the check and balance principle of governance. For politicians who carry the same surnames, attempting a dynasty is not an easy act because all eyes would be on them.
