POLITICS OF PATRONAGE

Much has been said about the politics of patronage in the Philippines and it is undisputable as the main cause why our governance remains as one of the most corrupt and our country as the poorest in the world.

Two reasons why patronage is rife in our country, first, in the way we disregard the relevance of our indigenous core value into our political and economic systems and, second, the domination of the oligarchs then and now by distorting our values.

Our Filipino core value is pakikipagkapwa and it gives importance to humanity and our being part in a community and to be in solidarity with others. Most European countries with an individualistic core value among its citizens are incorporating human dignity in their entire system of governance, hence the success of their welfare state and the impressive social security system to their citizens.

In the Philippines we failed to incorporate it, instead we let the oligarchs use the booty capitalism to oppress us in the guise of governance or leadership, and hence our State’s inconsistencies with our indigenous values that resulted to widespread corruption, human rights abuses, undignified living conditions, squatters in our land, unequal distribution of wealth, poverty, and various inhuman conditions prevalent today caused by government instrumentalities as controlled by the oligarchs and the political elite.

The value on utang na loob, is one of the surface values of pakikipagkapwa and this value is the one that holds a person to be part of the community or the pakikisama. We give high importance to the goodness given to us and it is obligatory to reciprocate and memorialize the giver for a lifetime and even for generations.

This kind of surface value on debt of gratitude is abused and distorted by the oligarchs and by our own captive Filipino mentality. We are given titles, position, names, properties, work, monies and other form of favors for us to remain captive to the giver’s caprices save those with good intentions. The Filipino is beholden forever to that gratitude given and he is bound by his conscience to reciprocate it not only once but over and over again. Because of pakikisama, as distorted, society will judge us on our failure to reciprocate, thus the ‘crab mentality’ where we will be pulled down and out because we are no longer connected or part of the group.  

Because of this, the oligarchs are thriving in the Philippines. They have the resources, the money, university education, political connections and affiliations and others that they can show or give as favors.

The favor how small it is but for the common Filipinos is an encumbrance even up to his soul that he has to pay usually in the form of vote or support to ensure the oligarchs and their entire political families’ stay in power or sphere of political influence both in and out of the government.

Even the SONA is undeniably and unknowingly promoting patronage. The way projects in a particular region are announced, the appointments of so and so and in recognizing people in the gallery listening are the barest political patronage in basic order.

The pork barrel of our legislators how good their intentions are is the national symbol of the politics of patronage in the highest order in current Philippine political landscape.

Employment both in the public and in the private sector is all filled with patronage of godparents, relatives and even mistresses and the entire entourage based not on ‘what you know’ but more clearly on ‘whom you know,’ a patronage by necessity.

There are some NGOs and other private associations, who are thinking themselves as progressives and if you will hear them speaking like a university trained expressions, it is as if the magic wand of our country’s progress and good future are held by them. But if you will take a closer look, their projects and programs are supported by oligarchs, politicians and businessmen. Sometimes they used their positions as their network and additional data for possible appointments in juicy government positions. This is what we call the patronage of networking.

Simply you can identify them like GMA’s  pantawid gutom, more of bahala na, with lots of photo ops and sometimes with populist type of poses where beneficiaries are either fed, lined up and make believe that these are manna in heaven. Evidence of these leeches is the faces and the names of politicians plastered all over and they are patronage commonly adapted everywhere on whatever occasions or events and even in grief during funerals.

In closing, this is a challenge to everyone on how we are going to fight corruption and solve poverty in the country. We must do first thing first. Patronage, the soul and the air of oligarch’s dominion in the Philippines, must be dismantled first within ourselves. To others who say that we have to dance with their music, there’s no more time with that for sleeping with them will cause us bangungot. The test to this is how united we are in making into law banning political dynasties and monopolies as mentioned in our constitution. For 24 years after the passage of our constitution, our nation failed to act on this thus oligarchs, elites and warlords are controlling almost everything in the country destroying human dignity because we allow patronage.