“The Philippines is the political dynasty capital of the world,” declared then-Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago in her explanatory note to the Anti-Political Dynasty Act, a bill “prohibiting the establishment of political dynasties” introduced on May 15.th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines in 2019.
A report by the United Nations Development Program stated that out of the 77 Philippine provinces included in their study, 72 provinces or 94% had political families (ABS-CBN News, July 2).
The 1987 Constitution, Article 2, Section 26, provides: The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and shall prohibit political dynasties as defined by law. “…as may be defined by law” is the escape clause that has allowed the political dynasty-dominated Philippine legislature to avoid enacting implementing laws that would finally and truly enshrine the express prohibition in the Constitution against political dynasties in our society. It has been 38 years since the Constitution was made. More than 30 anti-political dynasty bills have been filed in Congress, but none have become law.
Then-President Rodrigo Duterte openly joked in a public speech in Batangas in April, 2022 that “Nothing will happen… because Congress will not pass an enabling law to ban political dynasties because the majority of its members are part of these dynasties and passing such a law would spell doom for their political families” (Factsfirstph-partners rappler.com,
The May 2025 midterm election campaign confirmed Duterte's painful taunt that political dynasties are determined to remain in power. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) highlighted the dominance of a system where power is often transferred within families, raising concerns about its impact on democratic representation and political diversity. Apart from the Marcos-Romualdez clans of Ilocos Norte and Leyte, about two dozen political dynasties were seeking to capture at least five seats after the May elections.
Cited were: Singson of Ilocos Sur; Hataman-Salimans of Basilan; Ortegas of La Union; Isabella's Dis; the Pacquiaos of Tulfos, South Cotabato and Sarangani; Dutertes of Davao City; the Villar family of Las Piñas; The Abaloses of Mandaluyong; Revillas and Tolentino of Cavite; Ejercitos of Laguna and San Juan City; Masbate's Khaos; Rizal's Yanares; the Khonghuns of Zambales; Duranos of Cebu; Dimaporos of Lanao del Norte; the Alonto-Adiongs of Lanao del Sur; the Ampatuans and Masturas of Maguindanao; And the tunes of Sulu.
PCIJ later posted the success of political dynasties in the May elections: 71 of the 82 governors who won in the midterm elections were members of political families. About 58 ruling clans retained control of the provincial leadership, while eight members of rival political clans were defeated. Four other elected governors will replace existing dynastic governors who either formed an alliance with him or did not field a family member to remain in office. Rival dynasties eliminated ruling clans in at least eight provinces.
The PCIJ counted at least 18 “fat” dynasties in the midterm elections. A thin dynasty is one in which a political clan is able to manipulate an elected position over time; A mota dynasty is one in which a political clan holds multiple government positions simultaneously, as defined by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). A political dynasty with five or more clan members active in politics may be called a “thick” dynasty, as defined by the PCIJ.
Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) School of Government Dean Ronald U. Mendoza said that over four decades of voting into positions, political dynasties largely changed from “thin” to “thick” and “thick”, increasing by at least 1% or about 170 positions each election period. PCIJ warns of how political dynasties maintain themselves in power and extend their influence by adopting different strategies, which are replicated to varying degrees in provinces, districts, cities and municipalities. He sought higher positions and swapped roles with family members and associates. They established residence in new jurisdictions and were elected there. He joined the party-list race.
Political dynasties have been blamed for the worsening state of corruption in the Philippines. According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), “Political dynasties lead to corruption and incompetence… because political dynasties tend to monopolize political power” (gulf news30 January 2013). The dominance of powerful families has allowed even politicians facing corruption charges to be elected to public office. Because of political dynasties' control over the bureaucracy and regulatory and justice systems, plunder, bribery, inefficient government contracts, or misallocation of funds can be carried out openly. The power and influence of political dynasty is so ingrained that corrupt politicians cannot realize it and take advantage of it.
And this is why people are now protesting against political dynasties – systemic corruption and blatant abuse of power by firmly entrenched politicians has literally saturated the collective consciousness, leading to disillusionment with the “strong people” they elected.
elections, impeachment, and arrest
According to the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), the national elections on May 9, 2022 “were not free, honest or fair in accordance with international standards”. The ICHRP-appointed Philippine Elections 2022 International Observer Mission (IOM) consisted of more than 60 observers from 11 countries who carefully documented the campaign, vote, and post-election results. “Observers reported that the May elections saw more electronic voting system failures than ever before, as well as high levels of blatant vote-buying, a disturbing level of red-tagging of candidates and parties, as well as numerous incidents of deadly violence. Large numbers of voters did not get the chance to cast their vote, and many had to trust that election officials would later return their marked ballots to vote counting machines. Will put through, thus becoming weak. Secrecy of the vote,” said former Australian senator and IOM commissioner Lee Rhiannon.
On November 3, 2022, former Acting Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology Eliseo Rio, Jr., former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Gus Lagman, and ex-FINEX Chairman Franklin Yasak filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the Philippines, in which they alleged that in the May 9, 2022 presidential election, it would be “extreme, if not impossible” for the Comelec to count more than 20 votes. It was “impossible”. One million votes were cast within an hour (7 to 8 pm) of the polling precincts closing. Nothing happened on his petition, and the recommended electoral changes were not considered for the Comelec.
And so, the Filipino people are no longer even sure that the public officials whom the majority wanted to elect are actually sitting in offices of power and influence over life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
On February 5 this year, 215 members of the House of Representatives signed the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, charging her with corruption, plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, engaging in extrajudicial killings, and inciting rebellion and public disorder. House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said an additional 25 lawmakers have signed documents that include their names in support of the impeachment complaint, bringing the total number of signatories to 240.
On June 9, minority senators Risa Hontiveros and Coco Pimentel attempted to formally launch the Senate impeachment trial of Ms Duterte. The Senate delayed and decided to archive the impeachment articles after the Supreme Court dismissed the complaint based on the “one-year-bar rule” already included in the first three impeachment cases, rendering the fourth invalid. The complaint is sent back to the House of Representatives, which must wait until February 6, 2026, a year after the original complaint, to impeach the Vice President.
But perhaps the worst and biggest blow to the Duterte dynasty is the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the Philippine National Police and Interpol on March 11, under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant charging him with crimes against humanity related to the Philippine drug war. He is now in custody in The Hague, Netherlands, awaiting trial. It all started with a 77-page document titled “The Situation of Mass Murder in the Philippines” submitted by Filipino lawyer Jude Sabio to the ICC in 2017, before Rodrigo Duterte unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019.
The ICC has mentioned nine other co-criminals of Rodrigo Duterte whose names have been redacted in a document. Lawyer Harry Roque said former police chief Ronald Dela Rosa could join them along with four other police chiefs. Philippine Daily Inquirer Reported on 19 March. The Philippine government says it will issue warrants to the ICC in the future if information is provided through Interpol.
flood control
In the growing heat of public frustration and anger over government corruption and crime, President Marcos Jr., in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, vowed to improve flood control projects, reduce threats to life and property damage caused by seasonal typhoons and monsoon rains. He ordered to release the complete list of flood control projects of the last three years for public scrutiny.
On August 11, he revealed preliminary audit findings that P100 billion, or about 20% of the Marcos administration's flood control project expenditures, went to only 15 contractors. News agencies collectively revealed identified projects worth more than P350 billion, without specifying the exact flood control structure built or repaired, as well as multiple projects in different locations that revealed similar designs and materials.
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee launches motu proprio investigation (shown live) into alleged irregularities in flood control projects. Ghost projects revealed. Contractors with triple-A or quadruple-A ratings “leased” their licenses to smaller builders for a fee, a practice associated with substandard construction output. Senators alleged that a small group of contractors had cornered contracts worth about P100 billion, raising concerns over competition and transparency. Mr. Marcos revealed that only 15 of the 2,409 accredited contractors were awarded P100 billion, or 18% of the entire P545.6-billion flood mitigation budget allocated by his administration from July 2022 to May 2025.
Senator Erwin Tulfo, vice chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, described the P545.6 billion flood control program as “a grand robbery”, claiming that kickbacks and commissions of up to 25% left only 30–40% of the funds for actual construction. Based on figures revealed in the Senate inquiry, Greenpeace estimates that up to P1.089 trillion will be lost due to corruption since 2023, with a loss of P560 billion in 2025 alone.
By far the saddest, and most infuriating, revelations, or at least the suspicions, are that people involved in government – senators, congressmen, local government officials, department secretaries and their staff – are complicit in this systemic corruption and personally benefit from it. Powerful political families or dynasties have been accused of manipulating government contracts for public works such as flood control projects.
On July 18, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan filed a Senate bill seeking to prohibit political dynasties in the country – banning persons related by consanguinity or second degree of affinity from simultaneously holding or running for public office.
Amelia HC Ylagan is a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of the Philippines.
ahcylagan@yahoo.com
