Celestil, 24, lives in Davao City, located on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, the stronghold of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Since she was born, a member of the Duterte family has always been the city’s mayor.First, it was the former president who was mayor for over 20 years, followed by his daughter, Sara, who is now the country’s vice president, and then one of his sons.Celestil, who requested only her first name be used, told DW about her first encounter with the former president Duterte as a 5-year-old. “He helped one of our neighbors who was deaf and had multiple children. I saw how he spoke to the family and helped improve their living conditions,” she said. Every Sunday, Celestil watched his TV program and felt like she “was listening to a trustworthy leader.”
High stakes for Duterte family
If all the Dutertes win in the upcoming election there will be seven members of the family holding public office, said Celestil, referring to midterm election in the Philippines on Monday where voters will cast their ballots to decide half the Senate’s seats and thousands of local posts.The vote will also likely determine the political future of Duterte’s daughter and incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte, who was impeached in February.The 12 senators elected Monday, and 12 others already in office, will serve as jurors in an impeachment trial — tentatively set for July — that could see her permanently barred from public office.Her father, meanwhile, has been arrested and transferred to the International Criminal Court to face charges over his deadly drug war while he was president from 2016 to 2022.Despite being in detention in The Hague, his name is on the ballot for mayor of Davao City.Celestil said she will not vote for any of the Dutertes running for office. She is frustrated that the pattern in Davao is one she has seen at the national level, making political office seem like a family reunion. “I will not vote for anyone from a political dynasty. They do not demonstrate leadership that represents the specific needs of every Filipino, in areas like education, the health care system. To me, it is merely an expansion of their own wealth,” she said.
‘Obese’ political dynasties not healthy for a democracy
A recent series of reports by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) revealed that at least 71 of the country’s 82 provincial governments are led by members of political dynasties. Eighteen of these political dynasties are considered “obese,” with at least five family members in each dynasty seeking different elected positions in the next year.PCIJ noted that the filing of candidacies last year looked like a parade of political dynasties, but more alarming was the candidates’ attitude toward it. “Families used to be defensive about being a political dynasty. Now, they are flaunting it, calling themselves legacy brands like Colgate,” Carmela Fonbuena, PCIJ’s executive director, told DW.
Dynasties linked to poverty, underdevelopment
Political dynasties are prohibited under the 1987 constitution, but the rule has never been enforced.While there are term limits for elected offices, politicians have evaded them by helping family members get elected to those positions.According to the Ateneo School of Government in Quezon City, political dynasties in the Philippines are exceptional in their persistence and scope. Almost 80% of Congress and well over 50% of all elected local government officials are from political families. These dynasties have had massive implications on implementing necessary checks and balances, and also when it comes to economic development.“Areas with deep-rooted political dynasties often struggle with persistent poverty. When political leadership is passed down within families, governance risks become more about preserving influence than delivering meaningful reforms,” Brizza Rosales, executive director of the Asian Network for Free Elections, an NGO working for democratic elections in the region, told DW. Power concentrated and handed down from one family member to another across different government functions also erodes built in checks and balances, discouraging independent oversight and citizen participation, she said. “The Philippines, with its vibrant civil society and active electorate, has all the ingredients for democratic resilience, but addressing the influence of political dynasties remains an essential part of strengthening that foundation.”
A game of chance?
The Student Council Alliance of the Philippines, the country’s largest student formation, has called for enforcing the constitutional ban on political dynasties. “Public office should not be inherited like private property,” national secretary-general Matthew Silverio told DW. For Anna Cubacub, 24, political dynasties are a game of chance. Constituents must consider themselves lucky if their elected officials pursue welfare and public interest, instead of using their dynastic position for their own gain. Cubacub lives in Quezon City, the country’s second-largest city, where Joy Belmonte — also a member of a political dynasty — is seeking reelection as mayor for her third and final term. Come the polls on Monday, Cubacub will give her vote to the candidates whose platform supports issues that are important to her.“I would vote for Joy Belmonte. She’s also been able to leverage her family’s political legacy to ensure continuity in programs and policies that benefit marginalized communities,” she said.
