Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao on Sunday said he is open to the enactment of a law that would prohibit political dynasties but the government should make sure it must be strictly implemented.
Pacquiao admitted he has reservations about passing a law on political dynasties as this may trample on the rights of an individual to seek an elective office.
The Philippine boxing icon-turned senator said it is important to balance the interest and the rights of the public and politicians, especially if there are elected officials who have served faithfully and truthfully to their constituents.
“It’s unfair sa family na nag bigay ng serbisyo ng tapat at tumutulong talaga sa taombayan (It’s unfair to the political family who really served faithfully and honestly to the people),” Pacquiao said during the presidential debate hosted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday.
“Hindi naman lahat nagnanakaw sa gobyerno. Meron din naman na tapat naman talaga at nagsisilbi sa bayan (Not all are thieves in government, there are really those who served their constituents honestly),” he said.
He said the only way to ensure that political families would be held accountable for any corruption or abuses under a democratic system would be to audit them.
“Ang tinitingnan natin dito, ikonsidera din natin yung rights ng individual, yung karapatan ng bawat isa kasi para mong inaalisan ng karapatan. Nawawala na yung karapatan ng isa na tumakbo. Nasa konstitusyon naman natin yun (We need to consider also the rights of the individual, because we might be trampling on the rights of another person. The other person’s right to run for public office because that is also in our Constitution),” Pacquiao said.
“Ngayon kung gusto talaga ng taombayan, eh di gumawa ng batas at sumunod tayo sa batas. Kaso lang ang daming batas dito sa ating bansa na pasado na, hindi naman sinusunod. But if the people really want, then let’s make a law and let’s follow the law. The problem is in this country, not all people would follow even if the law has already been passed into law),” he lamented.
“Ang nakaksunod lang dyan ang mga mahihirap pero yung mga mayayaman hindi nga sumusunod, ultimo pagbayad ng taxes hindi sumusunod (Only the poor are able to follow, but the wealthy ones do not, they couldn’t follow even just by paying the correct taxes),” he said.