Duterte family role model of political dynasty —De Lima

Detained opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Sunday deplored the "dynastic" succession to government office in the country and pointed out that the Duterte family has become the role model of political dynasty.

In a dispatch from her detention cell in Camp Crame, De Lima said that the Duterte family is fielding all three children as candidates for elective posts in Davao in the 2019 polls.

Also, she said that in no other time in the country's history has political dynasty been "more pronounced" than under the Duterte administration.

“The prevalence of impunity and lack of accountability enabled by Duterte has further engendered the culture on which political dynasties thrive, including the thirst for monopoly of power and dominance in patronage politics.” 

“It is therefore no wonder why other political families would follow suit in this showcase of avarice for political power,” she said. 

President Duterte’s three children —Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is seeking re-election; her younger brother Sebastian would be her running-mate; and their eldest Paolo, is seeking a congressional seat for the first district of Davao.

No doubt, Duterte and his family treat Davao as their kingdom, De Lima said, adding, “It takes a special kind of lack of delicadeza for a family to surmise that public office is a birthright and a personal entitlement.”

The Senator from Bicol maintained that with the presidential family as role model, the extent of dynastic domination of politics is pushed further than ever before.

“So now, we see spouses running for different congressional districts and siblings offering the voters of the country’s premier city no other choice but themselves,” she said. —LBG, GMA News