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P
olitical dynasties continue to hold a tight grip on provinces in the Philippines.
By the count of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), at least 71 of the country’s 82 provincial governments or 87% are led by members of political dynasties. This dominance underscores a system where power is frequently passed down within families, raising concerns about its impact on democratic representation and political diversity.
Eighteen of these political dynasties are considered “obese” with at least five family members seeking different electoral positions next year (2025).
The Marcoses of Ilocos Norte and several well-entrenched political clans across the country over the Philippines’ provinces for decades. In Mindanao region, in southern Philippines, many political dynasties control the provinces. Among them are the Pacquiaos of Sarangani and the Mangudadatus of Maguindanao, who have dominated local politics.
The May 2025 elections are unlikely to bring significant change. Forty-seven of the 71 incumbent governors belonging to political dynasties are seeking reelection. Meanwhile, 19 sitting governors who are not reelectionists have family members seeking to replace them.
Incumbency advantage
In many cases among the country’s biggest political dynasties, the leaders of the clans occupy the provincial capitol. The office of the highest local executive official can also serve as the seat of power for local political kingpins.
The Marcos family has dominated the province of Ilocos Norte, the northwestern region in Luzon island, since the 1970s. The clan has exercised an unbroken control of the capitol for the last 26 years or since 1998. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. served three terms as governor, from 1998 to 2007, before he was elected as district representative in 2007 and senator in 2010. His cousin, Michael Marcos Keon, served one term in the capitol, from 2007 to 2010, before his sister, incumbent Sen. Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios “Imee” Marcos, took over in 2010. She also served three terms until 2019. Her son and presidential nephew Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc, is expected to swap seats with aunt Vice Gov. Cecilia Araneta-Marcos in next year’s elections.
In Cebu, the second most populous province in the Philippines and located in the Visayas region in central Philippines, two political clans have controlled the capitol for the last three decades. Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is serving her second term in the capitol and will seek to win a third term next year. She served two terms as representative of Cebu’s 3rd District, from 2013 to 2019, before she returned to the capitol.
Political science professor Julio Teehankee, who has studied political dynasties in the Philippines for over two decades, said clans have clearly benefited from incumbency advantage. “If you are elected, you have all the resources of the state. You control the budget and you have built-in support because the city hall or capitol staff is under you,” Teehankee told PCIJ. Power begets power in a patron-client political system, he added. The longer the families hold it, the bigger the power they are able to accumulate.
National politics
Political dynasties grow influence when they aspire for and win national seats. But it is not always guaranteed. The Escudero clan ruled Sorsogon, the southernmost province in Luzon island, as early as the 1940s when Salvador Escudero, grandfather of Senate President Francis Escudero, served as governor. Francis succeeded where his father, the late former Rep. Salvador Escudero III, failed. He won a Senate seat in 2007 when he was 37.
Francis became so popular that he almost ran for president in 2010, but he gave way to President Benigno Aquino III. Escudero ran for vice president in 2016, but he lost to human rights lawyer Leni Robredo. After these political setbacks, he took a break from national politics and served as governor of Sorsogon from 2019 to 2022. He returned to the Senate in 2022 and is now the leader of the legislative chamber.
Some clans continue to try but are only able to capture as high as the provincial capitol so far. For instance, Luis “Chavit” Singson has been in and out as governor of Ilocos Sur province in northern Philippines: 1972-1986, 1992-2001, 2004-2007, and 2010-2013. He is considered the political kingmaker in his province, but a national position has eluded him. He tried but failed to win a Senate seat in 2007.
Despite Singson’s defeat in national elections, his family continued to grow political influence in Ilocos Sur and in the House of Representatives. In 2016, he ran and won as mayor of Narvacan town in his province. He will try his luck again to win a Senate seat in next year’s elections.
Family rigodon
Spouses, father and child, mother and child, siblings, and cousins regularly swap posts. Former Elections Commissioner Luie Guia explained: politicians understand that it can be difficult to return to power once they lose it to other politicians or political clans. Clans will hold on to these positions for as long as they can, he said.
“The next in line is the child or the spouse, even if they’re just placeholders. Because you don’t want to lose that kind of power, you pass it on to your family. And if the brother, sister, or nephew enjoys the position, you’ll find them another post as well,” he said.
In Pampanga province in Central Luzon region, Vice Gov. Lilia Pineda seeks to reclaim the post of governor while her son Gov. Dennis G. Pineda runs for vice governor.
The PCIJ list also includes what Teehankee described as “dormant” dynasties.
In Zamboanga Sibugay in Mindanao region, Gov. Dulce Ann Hofer is the only one running for elected office next year. But Hofer is a big political name in the province. The governor’s father, George Hofer, is dubbed the province’s founding father. Her brother George II ran for election twice in the past but lost. “I refer to such cases as dormant dynasties in which one or none is left in active politics, but they can grow fat again in the future,” Teehankee said.
Whether expanding, consolidating, or lying in wait, political dynasties show no signs of relinquishing their hold on power in the Philippines.
Who can dislodge political dynasties?
The 1987 Constitution prohibits political dynasties, but Congress has not passed an implementing law. Without the prohibition, introducing term limits has facilitated the expansion of political dynasties in the country.
“You introduce term limits without anti-political dynasty legislation… the unintended consequence is (their numbers grew). Since papa, mama, lolo (grandfather), lola (grandmother), tito (uncle), tita (aunt) have nothing to do, they run for local positions,” political science professor Julio Teehankee said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Before the term limits, he said dynasties were “thin” because political positions were inherited successively. Politicians hold the same position and pass it on only when they retire from public service. The term limits accelerated the generational shift because politicians are forced to move positions after three maximum terms.
When the dynasties grow too big, they start fighting each other for political positions.
In La Union, a coastal province in Ilocos region in Luzon island, where the Ortegas have ruled for over a century, reelectionist governor Raphaelle Veronica Ortega-David will be challenged by her own grandfather, vice governor Mario Ortega.
Infighting among dynasty members is not new, Teehankee said. When the clan has no opponent, members turn against each other, he said.
Some political clans rule longer than others. Often, it is a political dynasty that dislodges another political dynasty. In Bukidnon in northern Mindanao region, the political clan of former Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri lost the capitol in 2022 after a decade of rule in the province.
The son and namesake of the family matriarch, former Rep. Manuel Zubiri, lost to Gov. Oneil Roque by a margin of less than 5,000 votes. Roque’s wife Laarni also won the House seat vacated by Zubiri. Meanwhile, Senator Zubiri is completing his second term next year. He is not seeking another position.
Sometimes, political events and shifts in voter preferences can elevate leaders outside of political families to highly competitive positions. In Maguindanao del Norte, Gov. Abdulraof Macacua was appointed in 2023 to lead the newly created province. He is the chief of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the armed unit of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which now governs the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Macacua will not run for governor next year, however. He is aiming for a district seat in the BARMM parliament, although there are ongoing efforts to postpone the parliamentary elections next year. ◉
This story was produced and originally published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
