Political Dynasties in the
Philippines: Persistent Patterns,
Perennial Problems
Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem, PhD
Professor of Political Science
AND
Eduardo C. Tadem, PhD
Professorial Lecturer of Asian Studies
University of the Philippines-Diliman
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Political Dynasties in the Philippines: Persistent Patterns ..., Summaries of Political Science
This signified the continuing general trend in Philippine politics whereby 70 percent of the 15th Philippine Congress is dynastic. Page 5. I. The General Nature ...
Typology: Summaries
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Political Dynasties in thePhilippines: Persistent Patterns,Perennial Problems^ Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem, PhD^ Professor of Political ScienceAND^ Eduardo C. Tadem, PhD^ Professorial Lecturer of Asian StudiesUniversity of the Philippines-Diliman
Introduction
‘Political dynasties’
generally refer to
traditional political families or the practices bythese political families of monopolizing politicalpower and public offices from generation togeneration and treating the public elective office
almost as their personal property.
This paper, therefore, examines the generalnature of the current Philippine politicaldynasties, the reasons for its continuingexistence and its adverse impact in the country.
I. The General Nature ofPhilippine Political Dynasties^ • Of the 200 elected House of Representatives,
were
members
of
pre-
traditional families. This signified the continuinggeneral trend in Philippine politics whereby 70percent
of
the
15th
Philippine
Congress
is
dynastic.
I. The General Nature ofPhilippine Political Dynasties^ • Furthermore,
the
Philippine
mid-term
national elections established the rule of politicaldynasties in the country.
It showed that all 80
provinces have political families and 74% of themembers of the House of Representatives comefrom political families.
B. Situating Political Dynasties inPhilippine Patrimonial Politics^ • These developments – in the central bureaucracy
and local patron-client relations, as well as in theexpansion
of
governmental
economic
responsibilities
-^
highlight
the
seeming
strengthening
of
patrimonial
features
within
the
postcolonial Philippine state. Because these patternsbecame more pronounced in recent times, as accessto the state began to be more important for securingpatronage and rents, the term
neopatrimonial
helps
to capture the historical sequence.
II. Variants of Political Dynasties
^
Political families in the Philippines have perpetuatedthemselves through the following means:
A. Rent-seeking
Eugenio Lopez who used his commercial and legalskills to become the Republic’s leading rent-seekingentrepreneur. Simultaneously, his younger brotherFernando maintained the family’s political base inthe home province of Iloilo and used it to bolster hisclimb to national elective office.
B. Political Violence
John Sidel (1999) has referred to such a situation as “bossism”
whereby
in
the
Philippines,
bosses
have
included
small-town
mayors,
provincial
governors,
congressmen, and even presidents.
II. Variants of Political Dynasties C. Electoral Politics and Networks
^
A third power base of political dynasties in thePhilippines
is^
through
electoral
politics
and
networks, i.e., “political dynasties which have builttheir power not through bureaucratic, military oreven economic position but by electoral means. ^
Resil Mojares points to the Osmenas of Cebu asan example.
III. Adverse Effects of PoliticalDynasties A. The perpetuation of poverty and
underdevelopment. B. The propagation of political and socio-
economic inequality. C. The continuing prevalence of massive
corruption.
IV. Constitutional Attempts toChallenge Political Dynasties B.
The Anti-Dynasty Provision C.
The System of Party-List Representation^ ^
The party-list representation system, however, is marredby several deficiencies among which are the following: 1)^
Limited to only a three seat representation
The party-list law stipulates that only parties
or organizations that receive 2 percent of the party-listvotes cast nationwide are eligible for one party-list seat.Those that receive 4 percent of the vote are eligible fortwo seats, with those receiving 6 percent, three seats.However, no party is allowed to have more than threeseats, regardless of how many votes it received (Park2008, 121).
IV. Constitutional Attempts toChallenge Political Dynasties
2.
Co-optation by the traditional politicians 3.
Stiff competition from evangelical groupswhich have their own political dynasties
D. The 1991 Local Government Code
V. Other Potential Challenges toPolitical Dynasties^ E.
Weakness of the Philippine leftmovement.^
Such a break between the hard-liners (RAs) and theoppositional faction (RJs) occurred in mid-1992.
RAs
(“Reaffirm”) maintained that the CPP “should continueto strictly adhere to the orthodox Marx-Leninist andMaoist principles that they had advocated from theearly days of the CPP, while the RJs (“Reject”) rejectedit”.
F. Civil society movements against political
dynasties.