The House and the Family Enterprise : QC IMC

To begin with, particular families, despite institutionalized term limits, have hogged some districts. The story lines are familiar. The cast is the same. Husband exhausted three terms. Wife steps in. Son stood in for one term. Father makes a comeback. Daughter stays for one term. Father takes the next. Brothers and sisters, mothers and sons, nephews and aunts- all make up an expansive web of kinship ties that carry on the family legacy in this legislative body. The projection of family dynamics in the House of Representatives is further manifested in the gender distribution in Congress. As it is, the House continues to be male dominated. The ratio between men and women in Congress is about 6 is to 1. In this regard, as women slowly carve their space in the political arena, their role in furthering the family’s political clout is easily dismissed—as simply being a replacement or stand in for their male counterparts.

The family phenomenon in the House of Representatives happens across parties and island groups. Consider for instance the second district of Negros Occidental. After having finished three terms, father Alfredo Maranon is replaced by his son Alfredo Maranon III. In the lone district of Batanes, wife Henedina Razon-Abad substitutes for husband Florencio Abad, who held the seat in the previous three congresses. Similarly, Juan Edgardo Angara, son of Senator Edgardo Angara, takes over the congressional seat of the lone district of Aurora from his aunt Bellaflor Angara-Castillo. Castillo is now the governor of Aurora.

Similarly, in Quezon City father Matias Defensor took over the 3rd district from his daughter Ma. Theresa Defensor. Prior to Maite, the post was held by brother Mike Defensor, who is now a member of the Arroyo Cabinet.

In Mindanao, former Maguindanao 1st district representative is replaced by his wife Biasendig Dilangalen. Also, in the 2nd district of Surigao del Sur, father Jesnar Falcon gave way to son Peter Paul Falcon.

A closer look at the replacement strategies show a more expansive hold of some political family over local politics. Facilitating the position transfer among family members is the wide array of government positions up for grabs. In the district of Biliran, Gerardo Espina, after nine years in congress, turns over the congressional seat to his son, Gerardo Espina, Jr. Gerardo Sr is now the city mayor of Biliran City. Gerardo Jr. was formerly the mayor of Naval, Biliran. Another son, Rogelio serves as the governor of Biliran Province.

On another level, one could also look at how the House drew more than one family member in the current Congress. Foremost in this line up are the Arroyos, who fielded in two representatives in two different provinces. Presidential son, Juan Miguel ‘Mikey’ Arroyo is now congressman of the second district of Pampanga. Mikey’s uncle, Ignacio ‘Jose Pidal’ Arroyo, is the new district representative of the Negros Occidental 5th District. The two are among the most prominent members of the emerging power bloc in the house, KAMPI.

In Cavite, brothers Gilbert and Jesus Crispin Remulla are serving as congressmen of the second and third districts respectively. Similarly, in Zamboanga del Norte, the brother and sister tandem of Cecilia Jalosjos Carreon and Cesar Jalosjos are coming in as representatives of the first and third district. The Jalosjos hold on to power is illustrated by the fact that another brother, Romeo, was able to secure a district representative seat despite being in jail.

Still, it is the Aquino-Cojuangco clan that ran away with the most seats in the 13th congress. Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III remains representative of Tarlac’s 2nd district. His uncle, Agapito ‘Butz’ Aquino, brother of Ninoy, is the 1st district representative of Makati. Butz’s cousin, Jesli Aquino Lapus, is the congressman of the third district of Tarlac. Lapus is one of the principal contenders for the chairmanship of the highly coveted House committee on ways and means.

The Cojuangco branch of the family also has its fair share. Eduardo ‘Danding’ Cojuangco, Noynoy’s uncle, has two sons in congress. Carlos Cojuangco is the congressman of the fourth district of Negros Occidental. Marcos Cojuangco, on the other hand, is representing the fourth district of Pangasinan.

The current lay out across family ties in the 13th congress is not new. This picture could well illustrate the composition of the lower house before and after martial law. According to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, four generations of the Aquinos have served in the Philippine legislative, a legacy that traces back to the Malolos Congress of 1898. The Cojuangco side could say as much. Noynoy’s great grandfather, Melecio Cojuangco, served as the first district representative of Tarlac in the 1907 assembly set up by the US.

The persistence of families in the lower house, across generations and territories, illustrates the minimal effect that term limits have on the power of clans. While many of these clans are no longer the stereotypical dynasty, that forces, cheats and/or buys its way to congress, this still paints a bleak picture of the way electoral posts seem to be a family possession that are handed down from one generation to the next. This casts doubts on how representative our institutions are. Given that congress is the national mill of legislation, it would be curious how the bill on political dynasties will fare this time around.

Democracy Watch Department
Institute for Popular Democracy

http://www.ipd.ph/