Extemporaneous Speech – POLITICAL DYNASTY

A contentious issue that frequently sparks disagreement is how political dynasties affect the
political and economic standing of Philippine society. Fellow classmates, I include myself among
those who support ending political dynasties. Some argue that this is entirely fine because
everyone who meets the requirements has the inherent right to compete for public office.
However, political dynasties limit political competition, escalating poverty, corruption, and
power abuse. In our case, the issue is not one of right, which should have been changed in the
first place in accordance with the provisions of the current Constitution. It concerns the long-
term effectiveness of government.

In our country, families that have built their political or economic dominance in a province and
have coordinated efforts to advance to involvement in the national government or other posts
are often referred to as political dynasties. Accordingly, Political dynasties usually have a strong,
consolidated support base concentrated around the province in which they are dominant.
Members of such dynasties usually do not limit their involvement to political activities, and may
participate in business or cultural activities. Based on my research, dynastic activities are only
forbidden among Sangguniang Kabataan members despite the public's disapproval of political
dynasties and the link between them and corruption. Every single person in this society is
affected in some way by the political dynasty. For instance, our country suffers from
widespread corruption, which developed from the Spanish colonial period. In the Philippines,
political dynasties have been accused of increasing corruption. Political dynasties "promote
corruption and inefficiency" because they dominate political power, claims the Catholic
Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. Politicians accused of corruption have been elected to
public office due to the influence of wealthy families. Furthermore, corruption serves as the
region's political and governing culture. In order to maintain its position of authority, the
dynasty drives out rivals from political competitions by either giving them lower positions or
buying them out. Sometimes a family would set up a false opposition simply to have the
appearance of democracy on their territory. The most efficient strategy would be to purchase
the voters if certain men refused to give in and continued to challenge the monarchy. In some
instances, not only the voters but also the election officials in charge of the elections would be
bought. As stated in the article I've read, political dynasties' ability to gather influence in local
governments can limit the supply of public goods and behavior with regard, as well as local
economic growth. Political dynasties are more common in the Philippines' poorer regions. One
can consider the connection between political dynasties and poverty to be an empirical issue.
Political dynasties are in control of the Philippines' 10 poorest provinces. These provinces "are
plagued by poor levels of human development, weak governance, violence, and terrible
business climates," claims one research. According to research, political dynasties either arise
as a result of poverty or as a direct outcome of poor governance and deteriorating
socioeconomic conditions. Although political dynasties have existed in the Philippines for a
considerable amount of time, the public has only recently begun to demand a systemic change.
Because our president, who is a member of a dynasty himself, completely supports the
approval of the anti-dynasty measure, public support for it has steadily grown. On a local level,
political dynasties are frequently seen favorably; in contrast, dynasties that rule over a larger
population are typically viewed negatively. However, as compared to candidates without such
political networks, dynastic politicians have a statistically better probability of winning elections
from the very beginning of their political careers. This advantage is presumably the result of
factors like popularity and the electability advantage. Due to their reliance on dynasty
connections rather than academic or administrative proficiency for their position, dynastic
politicians also typically have lower levels of education. Despite how this particular issue has
such detrimental impacts on its society, it is impossible to overlook the fact that it also has
certain advantages. Political dynasties may be more motivated to create their own jurisdictions,
in accordance with one view. Political dynasties might profit from their family directly or
indirectly. Also, they are responsible for the growth in female political participation. Due to
their connections, female politicians from political dynasties can enter politics with ease.

Nevertheless, Political Dynasty continues to have consequences that are difficult to ignore and
are generally destructive, as I've already explained. They effectively reject otherwise highly
qualified prospective public servants, increase opportunities for corruption, and foster distrust
about public service, all of which pose serious problems for our democracy. It is unfair because,
in actuality, a family cannot manage the government on its own which is obviously not a
business. Ultimately, since we are all affected by this issue and if we desire a better well-
managed government, we should all work together to overcome it. At the very least, we must
all be aware of the truth and reality.