‘In our democracy, family names matter.’

PIA is running. Erwin is running. Camille is running. One a re-electionist, the other two seeking to move from the House of Representatives to the Senate.

Arguably, they are qualified for the position they are running for. As are millions of other Filipinos. But why are the three running and the millions of others holding back?

It’s in the name, I guess.

Pia is a Cayetano. Her younger brother is also a senator. Erwin is a Tulfo. His older brother is also a senator. And Camille is a Villar. Her mother is an outgoing senator while her older brother is also an incumbent.

In our democracy, family names matter.

This is not surprising in a country that is family-oriented. We are so family-oriented that our radius of trust – as Francis Fukuyama put it – is almost always just all about our families.

And so for years, we have elected families into public office. From the local government units to national offices – like the Senate and even the Presidency. And it is something that almost certainly we will continue to do.

Everyone has a right to run for public office. This is one hallmark of democracy. But ours is unique because we seem to have a hard time breaking away from the pattern of electing husband and then wife, then son, and daughter-in-law and grandson, and so on, ad infinitum, as if only select families have a monopoly of a sense of public service or the capability to render honest to goodness service to the public, no matter how thankless the job.

Then again, maybe the Filipino electorate is just lazy. Or wary – preferring to choose the devil they know over and over again to someone new. They’re all the same anyway, the more cynical will say, so better stick to the familiar. To the more familiar family, that is, over the fresh new one. At least we already know what we are getting.

Pia, Erwin and Camille, having served in the legislative branch of government for the last three years (at least), do have a record to speak of. Whether their record is sufficient to reward them with a slot on the ballot – we have 12 names to fill – is for each individual Filipino voter to decide on his own.

Whenever my thoughts focus on political dynasties and their hold on the public, I am reminded of the first time Edward Moore (Ted) Kennedy ran for senator of Massachusetts. The year was 1962: John F. Kennedy was president for two years, and younger brother Edward was now aspiring to become the junior senator, a seat previously held by the President himself.

During the campaign, an exasperated rival of Kennedy asked: “Would your candidacy be taken seriously if you were simply named Edward Moore?”

To be fair to Ted, after winning the election in 1962 he went on to win every re-election (there are no term limits in the US) and served until August 2009 – over four decades – during which he was highly respected as a senator and was considered one of the leaders of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

This just goes to show that, yes, perhaps a name could propel a newbie into office over even more qualified others – but that newbie could, through diligence and dedication, become a statesman and respected leader.

Hopefully – and for our sake – more often than not.

That’s because ours is a dynastic democracy.