Political Dynasties in the Philippines

Photo taken by King Rodriguez, Malacañang Photo

Political dynasties have been a long feature in the Philippine political scene. They are characterized as families that have established their political or economic dominance in a province and have coordinated efforts to move on to involvement in national government or other positions of national political prominence. Political dynasties usually have a strong, consolidated support base concentrated around the province in which they are dominant. Members of such dynasties usually do not limit their involvement to strictly political activities, and have been found participating in business or culture-related activities.

Due to the increasing number of political dynasties in the Philippines, majority of the positions in government are held by politicians that are members of political dynasties. Among the most notable political families in the Philippines include the Ampatuan (Maguindanao), Aquino (Tarlac), Duterte (Davao), Marcos (Ilocos), Ortega (La Union), and Roxas (Capiz) to name a few.

Although political dynasties have been present in the Philippines for a long time, it was only recently that the public started clamoring for a change in a system. The public support for the bill against political dynasties has steadily increased because the president, while part of a dynasty himself, fully supports the passage of the Anti-Dynasty Bill. In a provincial scale, political dynasties are often held in higher regard- contrasted with dynasties that oversee a wider public, where reception is mostly negative.

As of the moment, there are no legal documents or laws that officially define a political dynasty in the Philippines. There have been bills that attempt to define a political dynasty such as the Anti-Dynasty Bill. However, such attempt usually miscarry and end in failure, as proven by the defeat of the Anti-Dynasty Bill in Philippine Congress on February 2, 2016.