RUNS IN THE BLOOD
The Political Dynasties that Ransacked the Philippines
Features Section
Philippines politics is one big family business, and government positions are mere family affairs.
For decades, political dynasties have traded public seats like inheriting family heirlooms. Time and again, the same surnames dominate local and national elections in different positions simultaneously, if not sequentially. In worst cases, their names become synonymous with their regions of power — the Dutertes’ Davao, Marcoses of Ilocos, and Villars in Las Piñas, among others.
The sake of their citizens is only secondary for political dynasties — to siphon power and wealth is their priority.
On the suffering of the common Filipino families, ruling families have built their empires. They would stop at nothing to keep their bloodlines in power — even if it meant spilling blood beneath their thrones.
The Marcos Dynasty: The Imeldific Parasites of the Nation
By Princess Murielle Catacutan
As the known forerunner of an infamous political dynasty that thrives like a relentless parasite, late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. spawned successors who continue to feed on the nation — leaving the Philippines as nothing more than their family’s poor, defenseless prey. Today, his namesake and only son sit in the position he was ousted from in 1986 — as the President of the Republic and the dynasty’s leader that knows no better than to cripple the country further.
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Blood, Bread, and Butter: The Dutertes’ Trail of Power
By Marlo J. Gordoncillo, Jr.
Way before Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s rise to the presidency in 2016, the Duterte family had already begun making a killing in their posts, often to the detriment of families smaller than theirs. Boasting terms marked with human rights violations, the Duterte family business is literally marred by blood.
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The Romualdez Clan: Harbinger of Bad News, Bad Luck, Bad Governance
By Alex Buenaventura
Two things that spread faster than wildfire in the Philippines: news and political power. What kind of monstrosity is a dynasty trying to outrun for monopolizing the two?
For decades, the Romualdez clan under the leadership of ex-governor Benjamin Romualdez have been seizing positions to represent the greater Eastern Visayas but even greater evil is the concurrent mass media empire they are swiftly and silently building.
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House Villar: Philippines’ Modern Landlords
By Ron Michael Trinidad
In the Philippines, where politics and business are interwoven, few families have mastered this as effectively as the Villars. They have not only built an empire of subdivisions, condominiums, and malls, but a political dynasty that can last for generations.
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The Silence and Scandals of the Cayetano Clan
By Frances Cruz
Long before the controversies surrounding the Cayetanos’ handling of the 2019 SEA Games, the Cayetano family had already left a legacy of alleged overreach, overspending, and political dominance. Their influence crosses through decades, beginning with the patriarch, Rene Cayetano, and branching out into a network of power that has gripped tightly on Taguig City and the national political stage.
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The Exposition and Expulsion of Ejercito-Estrada in the Industry of Politics
By Contessa Marie Ko
From the limelight to the spotlight of power, Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada seized the nation’s gaze. Recently seen as a common trend among Philippine celebrities and actors, Erap was one of the pioneers in parlaying popularity to gain a seat at the political table. Rising through the ranks — being a mayor, a senator, and a vice president — Erap climbed his way to the presidency and lifted his whole family with him.
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Kith, Kin, and Kleptocracy
By Benedict Ballaran
Alliances and enemies have waned and waxed in the long lineage of the country’s political dynasties.
The once formidable UniTeam alliance between the Marcoses and Dutertes is now long gone after Vice President Duterte threatened to kill Marcos Jr. and now is facing a possible impeachment. 2016’s Duterte-Cayetano alliance will soon be tested with Sara Duterte’s impeachment raps to be tried by the Senate in June, where incumbent Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and possibly re-electionist Pia Cayetano will be sitting to vote. The Marcos-Ejecito-Estrada affinity will be shaken up too as Senators Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito prove the support their father signed in 2022 when they backed Bongbong’s presidency. The Villars remain loyal to their business and serve whoever is in power while the Romualdez maintain close ties with the Marcoses. At the end of the day, what they really are after is self-preservation and self-interest.
As the midterm election creeps in, the insatiable greed of these families grows. Hoping to extend the grasp of their power, kiths and kins of these clans are seeking re-election or a new position in lieu of their relative or ally: Pia Cayetano & Camille Villar vying for a seat in the Senate, Cynthia Villar to take her daughter’s place in the lower house, Martin Romualdez eying a sixth term in Congress, Alfred Romualdez returning in Tacloban City, Sandro Marcos seeking reelection as district representative, and Rodrigo Duterte and Baste Duterte wanting to tighten their grasp in Davao as running mates.
The tightly-knit family culture in the Philippines, unfortunately, interweaves into the folds of the political landscape at the expense of those at the seam.
Disguised as democracy, political dynasties persist despite the unconstitutionality of their existence. So long as these dynasties are at the helm, measures against them, such as the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill, will never see the light of day. Until then, the indelible ink-laced fingertips of the people is the measure Filipinos have to take down a dynasty.
But as these dynasties continue to plunder the country, no empire is too grand to topple against the revolutionary will of the people.
