Suicide by the dynasties

How do you tell the clans that control 80 percent of all local governments to go drown themselves in the rivers unprotected by ghost flood control projects?

- TONY LOPEZ

How do you tell the clans that control 70 percent of Congress to go kill themselves?

And how do you tell the families that control 80 percent of all local governments to go drown themselves in the rivers unprotected by ghost flood control projects?

Answer: ask them to endorse a genuine anti-dynasty bill.

An anti-dynasty bill has been filed by two of the Philippines’ long, entrenched dynasts - Rep. Sandro Marcos of Tlocos Norte and Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III of Isabela.

The Marcos is a 100-year-old dynasty, beginning with the election in 1925 of Mariano Marcos as congressman of the second district of locos Norte. Mariano was the father of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, father of the incumbent President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., who is the father of Congressman Sandro Marcos. FM is the longest serving president, 20 years, including 14 years under martial rule.

Speaker Dy comes from a 61-year-old dynasty, from 1964, with Faustino Ng Dy Sr, a mestizo son of a Chinese immigrant from Guimba, Nueva Ecija. An ambulant trader, Dy Sr. settled in Isabela and nurtured the province’s most powerful political dynasty, serving as mayor of Cauayan, Isabela from 1964 to 1971 and governor of Isabela from 1971 until 1986 and from 1988 to 1992. He was the longest serving Isabela governor, 19 years Dy Sr. married twice - to Erlinda Sanchez and Natividad de Guzman. Erlinda produced three children - Faustino Jr., Napoleon and Bill. Natividad produced four sons who became politicians - Faustino III (the current Speaker), Benjamin, Caesar and Victor. Speaker Dy has been in politics for 42 years, undefeated.

The patriarch Faustino Ng Dy Sr. had a reputation for being brave and was said to been engaged in gunfights with thugs.