Far East: Political Dynasties Dominate 75% of Philippine Cities Despite Constitutional Ban
Martin Ramos
Amid the apparent battle between the Marcos and Duterte factions during the midterm elections last May, a deeper issue lingers, one that has long existed in Philippine politics but has remained largely unaddressed by the public. What appears to be a two-party political system is, at its core, a power struggle between two political dynasties, a kind of Game of Thrones-style politics to see which family can hold on to power the longest.
Despite the country’s seemingly “democratic” engagements, such as the high voter turnout at 81.65%, problems such as vote buying and electoral-related violence still prove prevalent in the Southeast Asian nation. The European Union’s election mission has warned that the country’s election code and party-list system are now “outdated”, and multiple organizations have posed concerns over its limited political pluralism.
With the Supreme Court’s recent move to petition Congress to relinquish power once held by a political dynasty, the path forward for the Philippines remains unclear, raising the question of whether its institutions will yield or uphold the country’s democratic ideals.
An Outdated, Irrelevant Election Code
The Philippines held its midterm elections earlier this year, marked by national and local races that reflected the image of an increasingly polarized nation. While the Senate race was the one that has caught much attention and publicity as no single party received a majority in the Senate, the mayoral elections are the ones that point to the real crack in the country’s democracy: out of 149 city mayors, 113 belong to political dynasties.
Over half of the Philippines’ 1985 election code is now obsolete, being overwritten by the 1987 constitution and other amendments. With that being said, the election code has proven to be outdated and incapable of ensuring that elections are as fair and democratic as they need to be.
During an interview with the South China Morning Post, Marta Temido, the EU Election Observation Mission, noted that the electoral legislation is “scattered and not harmonized” with huge barriers to accountability, making democratic reforms almost impossible.
Temido also noted that at least 86 out of 155 registered party-lists were tied to political dynasties or companies with questionable sectoral representation. These ties and power struggles between political dynasties, however, are not new. The history of fights between political families has been presented on the island nation since at least the Spanish colonial period, when the elites fought over who to control the economic and political way of life. With such a legacy in mind, the Philippines is just doing what it knows best and what has been the way of life for well over centuries.
This system of clientelism has been coined by experts as “patronage democracy.” In the country with over 114.9 million people, many registered voters opted for politicians with a “proven track record.” Even if the electoral competition is limited, the public will still grow skeptical of the new politicians or the opposition.
Proposal to Ban the Dynasties
As the political dynasties are playing out in real-world situations, one resolution is underway. The country’s Supreme Court has uploaded a copy of the petition seeking to compel Congress to pass a law that bans all political dynasties.
This traced back to the 1987 Constitution, where political dynasties were explicitly specified as prohibited, but there was no enforcement, and the wording of the law is vague. In the Constitution, it was stated that “the State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.”
The Supreme Court is stepping in now in a time where even the country’s President is a member of the long-time political dynasty, the Marcoses. To illustrate the scale of his family’s political positions, his sister is a senator, his son is a congressman, his cousin is the Speaker of the House, and his relatives are holding local offices nationwide. Meanwhile, the vice president is also the daughter of the previous President, Rodrigo Duterte, with her brothers as mayors and congressmen.
The extensive state of political dynasties in the Philippines has been cited by many academics over the years as the top cause for the country’s underdevelopment, both socially and economically.
According to the Supreme Court’s copy, the bill that it seeks for Congress to pass consists of clauses that extensively mentioned that “no spouse or person related within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity, whether legitimate or illegitimate, full or half blood, to an incumbent elective official seeking re-election, shall be allowed to hold or run for any elective office in the same city and/or province, or any party list in the same election.”
If this bill passes, a massive reform could play out on a scale that the Philippines has not seen before. However, it is difficult to say where the country stands now or how the law will take shape, as most of the sections of the government are still held in the strong grip of the political dynasties themselves, and the public seems to show great trust in them.
Ultimately, the Philippines' democratic future hinges on whether its institutions can overcome the very dynasties that control them, and whether Filipino voters will embrace the uncertainty of new leadership over the familiar comfort of established political families. The outcome of this struggle will determine not just the country's political landscape but its prospects for genuine economic development and social progress in the decades to come.