Political Dynasties Also Swarm the Party-List Elections

By Aaron John Baluis, Leanne Louise Isip and Carmela Fonbuena

Philippine Center For Investigative Journalism

While Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and his wife Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado seek reelection next year, their son Bryan Revilla aims to keep his party-list seat in the House of Representatives. He is the No. 1 nominee of the multisectoral Agimat ng Masa party-list group.

After losing the presidential elections in 2022, world boxing icon Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao is seeking a Senate comeback next year. Meanwhile, his wife Jinkee and his brother Alberto or “Bobby” are also joining the party-list race.

Jinkee is the No. 2 nominee of a new party-list group, Maharlikang Pilipino sa Bagong Lipunan. Bobby is also No. 2 nominee of 1-PACMAN, which currently has one seat in the House.

As Sen. Grace Poe completes her second term next year, her son Brian Poe Llamanzares tries his hand at politics as the first nominee of FPJ Panday Bayanihan party-list group. FPJ are the initials of his grandfather, the late movie king Fernando Poe Jr., who lost the presidential vote in 2004 that was marred by allegations of electoral fraud.

FPJ’s other nominees include Mark Patron, who belongs to a political family in Batangas, and Hiyas Dolor, wife of Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito “Bonz” Dolor.

New and old political dynasties have swarmed again the party-list elections.

Research by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) shows that 36 of the 54 or 66% of party-list groups in the current 19th Congress have at least one nominee belonging to a political family.

All of these groups, except for two, are running again for party-list seats next year. AAMBIS-OWA Rep. Lex Anthony Collada is now a nominee of a new party-list group, Ang Kasanga. Ang Marino did not field nominees.

In the May 2025 elections, at least 78 out of the 156 party-list organizations certified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) also belong to political families.

Apart from Jinkee Pacquiao’s Maharlikang Pilipino sa Bagong Lipunan and Llamanzares’s FPJ Panday Bayanihan, new groups linked with senators include the Balikatan of Filipino Families or BFF. Its top nominee is Ma. Presentacion “Precy” Vitug-Ejercito, wife of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

From Makabayan to Tulfos

The party-list elections promote proportional representation of national, regional, and sectoral parties in the House.

Under Republic Act No. 7941 or the Party List System Act, party-list representatives are to constitute 20% of the total House members. Groups usually need more or less 300,000 votes nationwide to safely secure at least one seat.

In the beginning, progressive party-list groups dominated party-list seats in the House, based on an initial Supreme Court interpretation that party-list groups need to represent marginalized groups.

“It began with the traditional groups, marginalized or underrepresented but what we’ve seen through the years [is that] it has been dominated by political families,” said Rona Ann Caritos, executive director of Legal Networks for Truthful Elections (LENTE).

At the height of its electoral success, the Makabayan progressive bloc had up to eight seats in the House. Bayan Muna topped the 2001 and 2004 party-list elections, getting the maximum of three seats. Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan, and ACT Teachers had one or two seats each.

In 2013, the high tribunal reversed itself and ruled that party-list groups “do not need to organize along sectoral lines and do not need to represent any marginalized and underrepresented sector.” The ruling cited the intent of RA No. 7941 to make the party-list race a system of proportional representation open to various groups and parties.

Political families gradually packed the party-list elections.

In recent years, the former Duterte government’s campaign to disqualify progressive groups from participating in elections also hurt Makabayan’s electoral chances. The bloc was reduced to three seats after the 2022 elections. Gabriela, Act Teachers, and Kabataan have one seat each. Bayan Muna failed to get one seat.

The Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support or ACT-CIS of the Tulfo political clan dominated the 2022 party-list elections with over 2 million votes. It was the only group to secure the maximum three seats.

ACT-CIS is represented by popular broadcaster and former Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo; Jocelyn Tulfo, wife of Sen. Raffy Tulfo; and Edvic Yap, brother of Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and Quezon City 4th District Councilor Egay Yap.

In next year’s elections, representatives Yap, Jocelyn Tulfo, and Jeffrey Soriano are the top nominees of ACT-CIS.

Two other Tulfos are also running next year under a new party-list group. Former Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo and her son Robert Wren Tulfo-Teo are nominees of Turismo Isulong Mo.

Meanwhile, Quezon City Rep. Ralph Tulfo Jr., son of Senator Tulfo and Representative Jocelyn, will seek reelection. Erwin and another brother, Ben, are running for senator.

If they all win, there will be three Tulfos in the Senate and four Tulfos in the House.

Regional groups

Political analysts note the proliferation of regional party-list groups that are led by politicians or members of political dynasties.

Tingog party-list group of Western Visayas won two seats in the House in 2022. It is represented by Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, wife of Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Tingog is Waray word for voice. Jude Acidre is the group’s other representative.

Next year, Tingog’s top nominee is Andrew Julian Romualdez, son of the Speaker, while Yedda is the 6th nominee. The Speaker himself is a reelectionist.

Also from the Visayas, Abag-Promdi is represented by Mariano Mimo Osmeña, son of the late Cebu Gov. Lito Osmeña. The group advocates for the devolution of more authority and autonomy to local government.

Barkadahan Para Sa Bansa party-list group is fielding a member of the Durano political clan, also of Cebu province. Danao City Mayor Thomas Durano is the nephew of former Danao Mayor Ramon Durano Jr.

There are many regional groups from northern Luzon. Ako Ilocano Ako is represented by Rep. Richelle Singson, daughter of former Ilocos Sur governor and senatorial candidate Luis “Chavit” Singson, who leads one of the country’s biggest political dynasties.

The Abono party-list group is represented by Rep. Robert Estrella, brother of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III. He remains the group’s  first nominee in next year’s elections. He is the son of former Pangasinan 5th District Rep. Conrad Estrella Jr. and grandson of former Pangasinan Gov. Conrado Estrella Sr.

Next year, the Abante Pangasinan Ilokano (API) party-list group will field former Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and his brother former Bautista town Mayor Amadeo T. Espino as nominees.

From Mindanao, Kusug Tausug was represented for three terms or a total of nine years by Rep. Shernee Tan, youngest daughter of Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan.

Next year, Shernee will seek to swap positions with Maimbung town Vice Mayor Aiman Tan, who is now the top nominee of Kusug Tausug.

Crowded elections

Electoral reform advocates have pushed for an anti-dynasty prohibition in the party-list elections. Caritos said this will “temper the greed or the appetite of our political families, our traditional politicians to enter the party-list system.”

There’s also a need for institutional reforms and for political parties to mature, said former Comelec Commissioner Luie Guia.

“The role of political parties is to aggregate agendas for politics. However, there is no incentive mechanism in our political culture to establish that kind of institution to strengthen our political parties,” Guia said.

Outside of political dynasties, the party-list elections attract nominees from many spectrums.

1-Rider, which has no link to politicians, placed second in the 2022 party-list elections. It received over 1 million votes and gained two seats in the House. It is represented by Bonifacio Bosita, a retired policeman turned social media content creator, who advocates for road safety. He has over 1 million followers on social media.

After three years in the House, Bosita will seek a Senate seat next year. Rep. Ramon Gutierrez, the group’s other representative, is now the top nominee of 1-Rider.

The son of the late Sen. Juan Flavier, Jonathan Flavier, is the top nominee of Health Alliance PH. Former Health Undersecretary Enrique “Eric” Tayag is the second nominee.

The son of convicted pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles is also running for a party-list seat. James Christopher Napoles is the first nominee of the Kaunlad Pinoy Party-list in next year’s elections.

The group claims to represent small business owners and informal enterprises.

The critics of progressive groups in the House are joining the party-list race, too.

The Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Conference for Peace and Development party-list group has listed Marlon Bosantog, Lorraine Marie Badoy-Partosa and Jeffrey Celiz as its top three nominees.

Bosantog and Badoy-Partosa are former spokespersons of the government’s anti-insurgency body, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Council (NTF-ELCAC). Celiz is a self-confessed former communist rebel who had led attacks against the Makabayan bloc in the House.

Pushback

It’s a crowded election.

Next year, the Liberal Party, one of the country’s oldest political parties, is also fielding candidates for the first time.

Mamamayang Liberal is fielding former Sen. Leila De Lima, former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat and Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada as nominees.

What is the agenda of Mamayang Liberal? To amend RA No. 7941 to limit again the party-list elections to marginalized sectors.

It shows growing pragmatism among reformist politicians, according to political observers.

Human rights lawyer Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno also gave up plans for a senatorial bid. Instead, he is running as the top nominee of Akbayan party-list group, a progressive group that also suffered from government attacks in recent years.

“Even Aksyon Demokratiko [political party] has Aksyon Dapat [party-list group] with former Secretary and Representative Hernani Braganza as No. 1 candidate. You have Mamamayang Liberal and then you have other parties that are within the progressive reformist sphere,” said Julio Teehankee, a political analyst and political science and international studies professor of De La Salle University.

It’s a tactical move and a welcome pushback, he said. “In the same way that the celebrities [and] dynasties have appropriated the party list, the more reformist and progressive blocs are now reclaiming the party-list elections.” — with additional research from Guinevere Latoza/PCIJ.org. Top Illustration by Joseph Luigi Almuena