The ‘obese’ dynasties of the Philippines are crowned again, but reform hopes rise for 2028

By Carmela Fonbuena

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

Seventeen relatives of Luis “Chavit” Singson’s political clan ran’s political clan in local races in Ilocos Sur, a province in northern Luzon with a little more than 700,000 people.

One lost her electoral bid. Singsons occupy the seats of governor, vice governor, provincial board members, district representatives, city and municipal officials.

Six others were nominees in the party-list race. One secured a seat.

One other clan member ran in Sta. Ignacia town in Tarlac — a province of central Luzon — making her the 24th politician in the clan, although she lost her bid for mayor.

In a country where dynasties are fixtures of government, “obese” dynasties, or those with at least five clan members who are active in politics, are a dime a dozen.

The extended Singson political clan of Ilocos Sur is, in the words of political dynasty watcher Danilo Arao, the “super obese” dynasty of the Philippines.

It is a clan that has thrived in the land of “mega” dynasties – Ilocos Region, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s family has practical control of Ilocos Norte politics, and the Ortega clan, the country’s oldest dynasty, has grown so large that its members now compete against each other for power in La Union.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s (PCIJ) own count shows that voters crowned at least 18 obese dynasties in this year’s elections.

In Luzon, apart from the clans of Marcos, Singson, and Ortega, are the clans of Aguilar-Villar in Las Piñas City in Metro Manila, Dy of Isabela, Khonghun of Zambales, Garcia of Bataan, Ynares of Rizal, and Kho of Masbate.

In the Visayas and Mindanao, apart from the Dutertes in Davao City, they include the clans of Romualdez in Leyte, Hataman-Salliman in Basilan, Plaza of CARAGA region, Pacquiao of Sarangani and General Santos City, Uy of Zamboanga del Norte, Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte, Alonto-Adiong of Lanao del Sur, and Tan of Sulu.

Political dynasties are prohibited under the 1987 Philippine Constitution but the dynasty-controlled Congress has yet to enact a law to implement the ban.

Over four decades of neglect, political dynasties turned from largely “thin” to “fat” and “obese.”

They perpetuated themselves in power and expanded their influence by employing different tactics that are repeated in varying degrees in provinces, districts, cities, and municipalities.

They sought higher positions and swapped roles with family members and allies. They established residency in new jurisdictions and got elected there. They joined the party list race.

Despite the dominance of political dynasties, reform advocates saw encouraging signs.

A few challengers secured victories against dynasties, while others came close. Some dynasties suffered a downfall while others shrank in number.

Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) executive director Rona Ann Caritos said the dominance of the Marcos-Duterte feud in the election discourse in this year’s elections makes it hard to determine the factors behind the electoral losses of the Velascos in Marinduque and Garcias in Cebu, even of Sen. Cynthia Villar in Las Piñas City.

But there is cautious optimism that the advocacy will gain ground towards the 2028 elections.

Marcos-Duterte dynastic feud

The obese Marcos political dynasty has six elected members. It has two national positions, President Marcos and Senator Imee, and four local positions.

The Marcoses won the seats of governor, vice governor, and the two district seats.

Voters have abandoned the “balance of power” that was previously maintained in the province – where the Marcos clan dominated the Capitol but the Fariñas family controlled the City Hall.

The Marcoses are even intolerant of family members who do not toe the line. They fielded a candidate to defeat presidential cousin Michael Keon Marcos, a more independent relative, who lost to Bryan Alcid in the capital Laoag City mayoral race.

Imee Marcos is a different story. She won the last spot in the Senate race because of and despite her feud with her brother.

Marcos gained apparent support from both aisles of the feuding Marcos and Duterte political clans in an election that highlighted personality politics in Philippine elections.

The future of the Duterte political clan came into sharp focus in election discourse during the campaign. While former President Rodrigo Duterte is detained by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte faces an impeachment trial in the Senate.

The Duterte patriarch faces the charge of crimes against humanity for murder during his administration’s drug war. The daughter faces a myriad of corruption allegations.

Yet the Dutertes demolished their rivals in Davao City, in a spectacular display of influence despite allegations of corruption. The Duterte dynasty also has six elected family members, winning the seats of mayor, vice mayor, two of three congressional districts, provincial board member, and Sara Duterte herself.

There also used to be a “balance of power” in Davao City. The Dutertes dominated the city positions, but the rival Nograles clan controlled the House seat. The late Prospero Nograles Jr., father of defeated mayoral candidate Karlos Nograles, served several terms as majority leader in the House of Representatives, the powerful whip that could get anything done in the legislative chamber, before becoming House Speaker.

Duterte’s arrest also appeared to have boosted the chances of his candidates in the Senate, where Mindanao as well as vote-rich Cebu delivered overwhelming numbers to upset the advantage of the administration bets in Luzon.

Reelectionist senators Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, and newbie Senator Rodante Marcoleta ranked 1st, 4th, and 6th in the final tally.

The Marcos-Duterte dynastic feud is expected to continue as the 2028 presidential elections roll out.

Senate: Dynasties win vs media celebrities

The Senate will remain dominated by dynasties, following the defeat of media celebrities who initially figured in the surveys: broadcaster Ben Tulfo, action movie star Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., boxing champion Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, and TV host Willie Revillame.

There will still be two Tulfo senators in the next 20th Congress. Erwin Tulfo is moving from the House to the Senate, joining his brother Sen. Raffy Tulfo. They are one of four sibling pairs, showing that the legislative chamber has been monopolized by few families.

The Tulfos will have the same number of elected positions the clan has in the current Congress. It is one member short of joining the list of “obese” political dynasties.

Incumbent Sen. Raffy Tulfo’s son Quezon City Rep. Ralph Jr. is returning to the House of Representatives, and so is his wife Jocelyn, the second nominee of ACT-CIS party list group.

A sister, Wanda Teo, and her son Robert were unable to muster enough votes for the Ang Turismo party list.

Camille Villar, daughter of the country’s richest man, became the fourth in her family to be elected to the Senate since 2001. She is the campaign’s top spender, recording P3.5 billion “worth” of ads before discounts from October 2024 to March 2025.

Her mother, outgoing Sen. Cynthia Villar, lost in her bid to replace Camille in the city’s lone congressional seat. But their relatives in Las Piñas, the Aguilar family, continue to rule the city.

Pia Cayetano was also reelected to keep her family’s two seats, along with brother Alan, in the Senate. Alan’s wife, Lani, won the mayoral race in Taguig City. They did not support the congressional bid of Alan’s brother, Lino Cayetano, who lost to Lani’s candidate, Ading Cruz.

Brothers Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito have three years more in their terms. But Jinggoy’s wife Percy Ejercito lost her bid in the party list race. The Ejercitos won at least two local seats in Laguna province.

Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Francis Tolentino lost their reelection bids but their families won at least four seats each in Cavite province.

Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay and former Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos lost their senatorial bids, but their families also continue to rule their bailiwicks.

Hopes for 2028

In this year’s elections, reform advocates intensified the discourse on the links between political dynasties and poverty, underdevelopment, weak checks and balances, and corruption.

Despite the continued dominance of political dynasties in the results, reform advocates see the needle moving in this year’s elections.

Luie Guia of the Democratic Insights Group, former commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), said he was encouraged. “I think it did (have an impact) to a certain extent,” he said.

“The blatant display of dynastic politics may have generated some adverse reactions from the people, prompting them to consider the alternatives,” he said.

Guia said political dynasties were put back on the defensive after years of trying to convince voters that they could be allies in good governance.

“It looks like it (did have an impact),” said political analyst Julio Teehankee, although more studies will be needed. He said the campaign against celebrity politics also made an impact.

The midterm elections are over, but the work is not done, they said.

Guia said it is important to “take advantage of the gains” in the 2025 campaign. He said there’s a need to continue organizing and engaging in conversations about political dynasties and money in politics in between campaigns.

There’s also a need to expand the constituency of reform before or simultaneously with lobbying for legislative reform, he said.

At least two petitions were filed in the Supreme Court to compel Congress to enact the political dynasty ban. Some of the elected lawmakers have already promised to support it.

Reform groups are optimistic, but Lente’s Ona is also cautious against expecting too much.

“I am an optimistic person, but when it comes to the country’s political dynasties, I’m a realist,” she told PCIJ.

The country’s political dynasties have fought to stay in power for decades. They cannot be expected to give it up easily, groups said. – PCIJ.org

PCIJ’s series on political dynasties is led by PCIJ Executive Director Carmela Fonbuena. Resident Editor TJ Burgonio is co-editor.

The 2025 reportorial and research team includes Guinevere Latoza, Rizza Camingawan, Rosmae Ysabel Armeña, Erica Nicole Española, Hazelyn Silverio, Sean Angelo Guevarra, Liam Reece Basigsig and Michael John Lester Ruiz.

PCIJ Resident artist Joseph Luigi Almuena produced the illustrations.