Political dynasties are the Noose Around our Collective Necks

My colleagues in the Ateneo Policy Center published a paper in 2022 entitled, Political dynasties, business, and poverty in the Philippines, wherein they showed that a clear majority of political families own construction companies. Today we call them “congtractors”, a clever portmanteau to mark this sinister cabal in government. They form the backbone of the pork barrel cartel that plunders the public coffers every year. You can read the analytical piece on the matter here.

I am reminded of the Supreme Court decision in the case of Belgica vs. Executive Secretary (G.R. No. 208566, November 19, 2013) where one of the petitioners actually argued that the Pork Barrel System enables politicians who are members of political dynasties to accumulate funds to perpetuate themselves in power. Seemingly an assertion that is based on fact and experience. Read the actual jurisprudence detailing how the petitioners claimed our own legislators made us of the scheme here. The recent flood control fiasco is seen as the biggest graft scandals of our time scale-wise since the the pork barrel scam from a decade ago, where lawmakers colluded to fatten their pockets from fictitious development projects.

Bizarrely, the court said that such argument was “largely speculative since it has not been properly demonstrated how the Pork Barrel System would be able to propagate political dynasties.” Of course, even though intuitively true, a court of law would still need evidence to concur with the petitioner’s assertion. It can be argued now that the existence of “congtractors” would be such evidence.

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Lamentably, the proliferation of “congtractors” has created a level of conflict of interest in government so deep and pervasive that it undermines not only the integrity of infrastructure projects but also the safety and survival of ordinary Filipinos. Nowhere is this more visible and felt than in the government’s failure to prevent and mitigate catastrophic flooding all over the country.

When political dynasties own construction firms, the integrity of public contracting collapses. And it is very clear to us now that “congtractors” will influence which projects are prioritized, how budgets are structured, and who wins the bids. This is how they pillage the national budget. Public office, thus, becomes institutionalized looting of the national treasury.

When lawmakers use their position to enrich themselves and their families, the very purpose of public service is inverted. Instead of protecting the people from disasters, dynastic incumbents profit from them. This is why every typhoon season becomes a windfall season for contractors tied to political dynasties. “Congtractors” are literally profiting from our misery.

This predatorial mentality is actually a hallmark of political dynasties. As per the paper cited earlier, “We have anecdotal evidence of this in the Philippines as one dynastic politician shared how some of his relatives argued that it is better for their province to be poor, as that would help ensure that their political clan’s assistance would always be needed.”

We have heard “congtractors” justify themselves as having already divested their business interests. In reality, however, the ownership simply migrates to a spouse, sibling, or child. This is not divestment; it is deception. And “indirect” interest is often treated loosely or ignored altogether. Politicians insist that because they no longer sign the checks or sit on the board, they are free from any conflict of interest.

But ethics and accountability are not mere technicalities. If a public official’s spouse, child, or business partner continues to benefit from government contracts, the conflict remains—perhaps even more dangerously, because it hides behind legal formality. Indeed, the intent to deceive the public cannot be ignored. And we must accept the painful truth that dynastic lawmakers plunder because the electorate allows it.

It is time for us to realize that the permissive attitude toward conflict of interest is a symptom of a deeper moral decay. The notion that divestment absolves a public official of responsibility is wrong. Voters must put an end to the entanglement of politics and business. For as long as political dynasties control both legislative power and private enterprises, the nation will remain trapped in a cycle of corruption and catastrophe.

Right now, media, think tanks, and research institutions must help the public to fully understand how the business interests of political dynasties undermine the budget process. But this effort cannot be just about providing data and information. It must also be about persistently rousing the electorate about how political dynasties callously leave millions of Filipinos living paycheck to paycheck in a constant state of anguish.

Pertinently, a recent OCTA Research survey reveals that most Filipinos are angry over corruption in government infrastructure projects. The strongest reactions came from Gen Z and Millennial respondents, the same demographic that now makes up a decisive share of the voting population. Needless to say, their rage needs to be stoked, not suppressed. But this public fury must also be translated into constructive civic action.

Citizens must take advantage of the tools available to them to hold public officials accountable. For instance, email lawmakers; let them know you are watching. Register your grievances respectfully but relentlessly. Use social media to pressure public officials to uphold this legal mandate: “Public officials and employees shall always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest.” (Section 4 A (a) of RA # 6713)

Conflict of interest, left unchecked, becomes corruption. Corruption, left unpunished, becomes governance. And government, when corrupted, becomes a danger to the people it should serve. Until this cycle is broken, every typhoon will bring not only floods but a terrible reminder of how gravely compromised our politics and governance have become under the domination of political dynasties.

Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco is expert on the 1987 Constitution, a law lecturer, and a senior research fellow of the Ateneo Policy Center, including the Institute for Autonomy and Governance. He has written several papers and policy briefs on charter change, decentralization, and federalism. The lawyer is also a frequent op-ed author for local news organizations. He had served as a consultant to the office of former Senate Minority Floor Leader Koko Pimentel.