ELEKSYON 2010: Illusions of Philippine Democracy, Part 2

Party System in the Philippines

Every election season, we get the chance to reflect on the many flaws in our democratic system. In a previous article, I discussed the need to look closely at the shameless monopoly of power of certain families in the Philippines. In this article, let us see where we are in terms of our country’s maturity in political parties.

The Philippines currently has a multiparty system. This means that the system is open to more than two political parties that compete among each other in putting candidates into office. Theoretically, a multiparty system is believed to achieve proportional representation. Since each party is thought to possess certain ideologies and interests that are not given attention by other parties, we are almost assured that each sector of the society is represented in the legislative and/or in the executive branches thereby creating a government that addresses to the particular needs of every represented individual.

The advantage of a multi-party system is that it allows everyone with the proper organizational set-up and resources and proper intentions to form a party that will carry its members beliefs and aspirations as well as draft programs of action that will be beneficial to all concerned. A look at the party system of other countries would reveal a high number of nations also having the same feature as ours. Even America and England, which many people mistake as countries with a two-party system, are actually practicing a unique feature of a multi-party system. Both countries stated above have what we call a multi-party, two-party dominant system. (But for simplicity’s sake we shall continue referring to this as a two-party system) This means, that while these countries laws allow its citizens to form as many sound political parties as possible, there are only two dominant parties for both, the Democratic and the Republican parties for the United States, and the Labour and Conservative parties for the England. Although lesser known parties, like the Reform Party for the US and the Liberal Democratic Party for England, also field in candidates for president or prime minister during national elections, only the two dominant parties can actually win. Not once in the history of both countries have smaller parties won elections.

The 1987 freedom constitution was drafted to ensure that no repeat of Ferdinand Marcos one-party system (i.e. the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan), and thus one-man show, would occur. Thus, at the moment, our constitution allows as many political parties and party-lists to exist and most of all field candidates for elective posts. Since the 1992 national elections, we have seen many political parties coming out and fielding candidates for different positions, all created for the purpose of representation and ideological reasons. After almost 2 decades of practicing a multi-party system, can we truly say that our political system has indeed improved? Or is a return to a two-party system better and more sensible?

Our political parties, however, are far from reaching this theoretical purpose. Many political analysts criticize our political parties as being homogenous, ephemeral, and lacking in political discipline. Our parties are observed to be extensions of political leaders and loyalties are attributed to these politicians rather than to the institutions. These explain why many of our politicians get out of their party cocoons and start to flutter with butterfly wings from one party to another during election seasons.

It has been said time and again that Philippine political parties are essentially non-ideological vehicles for personal and factional political ambition. Many of our current political parties lack coherent political programs, and they generally champion conservative social positions and avoided taking stands that might divide the electorate. Each party attempts to appeal to all regions, ethnic groups, and social classes, and foster national unity by never championing one sector or group. Most of all, politicians switch capriciously back and forth from one party to another, usually switching when their party is losing power. These parties exist only to satisfy particular demands, not to promote general programs.

Two party systems, like that of UK, CANADA, and US, tend to eliminate such problems. In such a system, there exist two major parties that share the votes of the electorate. The party that possesses most seats in the legislative could easily produce a majority vote to create its policies. Although a two-party system is not bereft of any other parties, minor parties rarely prevent the two major parties from gaining most seats in the congress. Thus, a vote for a third party is usually a lost vote. The Philippines, which adopts a single ballot system, is more conducive for a two-party system because balloting only happens once and the party who receives the greatest number of votes win. Hence, it is logical that each party tries to acquire the greatest number of supporters it could have and the best way to do that is to form a coalition with other parties.

Let us take for an example a district that has 100,000 conservative voters and 60,000 radical voters. If these conservative voters are divided into 4 conservative parties, each party would only get approximately 25,000 votes thereby enabling the candidate of the radical party, with his 60,000 votes, of winning. A two-party system is also beneficial in creating stability in the government. It prevents the occurrence of deadlocks and ensures the passing of urgent bills because it is easy for the majority party to get a majority vote in Congress. Deadlocks often occur when politicians from different parties prevent the advancement of a bill sponsored by an opponent party.

A two party system is also a better way of increasing the funds of each party. Contributions made by organizations and businessmen are concentrated on two major parties only. Candidates, in turn, would utilize party funds and spend less of their personal wealth for campaigns. This would tend to diminish corruption in the government because the amount of money which a candidate has to get from the government in replacement of the money he spent for campaigning would be lessened as well.

Public focus is narrowed when there are only two major contending parties. This means each party would then become conscious of its reputation, in fear that a misconduct made by one candidate would create a big impact on the perception of the voters and affect the party image as a whole. This would result to a decrease in political turn-coatism and increase in party discipline. Lastly, a two-party system provides effective integration of the different interests of the different sectors. Because the two parties would be subject to tough competition, it would articulate the sheets of interests among sectors into one umbrella, ensuring that the interests of these sectors are represented. Uncommon ideas are integrated thereby making it more common and in line with the thrust of each party. Proportional representation is an illusion in the multiparty system because losing parties with unique interests are not really represented in the government.

While other nations make real issues the main point of contention in the electoral fight, our candidates are still in the process of mudslinging and bragging who is more sincere and apt for the job of running the country. Almost two decades ago, the framers of our constitution decided to allow as many political parties to participate in the political exercise to ensure that every citizen’s interests are well represented. But, far from achieving the good of a multi-party system, our country’s political system has been plunged into a circus every electoral season, making politics even more incoherent to the average voters.

ADDENDUM. Below are the histories of the party affiliations of the major Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates for the 2010 elections. Notice that among the candidates, only Noynoy and MAR have remained consistent in their party affiliations.

Party Affiliation of Presidential Candidates:

Party Affiliation of Vice-Presidential Candidates:

ELEKSYON 2010: For Richer or for Poorer

One thing I have learned in my political science subjects in college was that politics is never about black and white. It is never true that just because a leader is vilified by the west does not mean that his or her own people also hate him or her. Take for instance the many monarchies in the world. Outsiders and leftists criticize monarchies as obsolete and a useless expense on the people, but surveys done among the subjects of monarchs have shown year after year that their people do want them as their head of state.

It is more or less the same in the Philippines. The upcoming election in the Philippines is becoming more and more confusing, with real issues being shoved aside (as usual) and nonsense things like who has actually spent his Christmas on the road (literally) or who is not a magnanakaw (thief). In the first place, wealth or experience of poverty is not an assurance of a good leader. Neither is work experience. We’ve had people in the past claiming to be poor or pro-poor (ERAP para sa mahirap, which is ironic as he came from a wealthy family and his pro-poor image came from, surprise, surprise, his acting roles), or people who’ve had tons of experience (GMA, Marcos, etc.). We’ve even had a former leader who claimed to be a plain housewife (Cory. But, take note; she was no plain, simple housewife. She was a multimillion heiress who could speak French fluently). All our former leaders promised to be a breath of fresh air from their predecessors, and all they did was get impeached (ERAP, again), or forcibly removed from office (Marcos). In other words, rich, poor, smart or not, none of these traits actually made our presidents (whether current or previous) what they did while in office.

In terms of wealth, true, Manny Villar is the richest with billions of pesos in assets, but Noynoy Aquino, Erap Estrada, Jamby Madrigal, Gibo Teodoro, and Dick Gordon are no paupers either. Even evangelist Eddie Villanueva is no beggar. It takes millions to actually run a national, presidential campaign and thus it should not be taken against Villar if he is richer than all his other opponents. As to source of his wealth, we can only surmise for the moment. Did he steal money? Did he use his powers to divert roads to increase his landholdings’ selling price? We truly do not know. It is too presumptuous of us to accuse him of these things while he is still, legally, innocent. I hate to wait for our delayed and oftentimes ineffective justice system to take its course, but there we have it. We cannot hang a man for being rich if we still have not proven in a court of law that his wealth is ill-gotten. I’d still choose being a Filipino any day and wait for a long overdue sentence than be one of those blood thirsty nations that hang or execute their leaders even before a verdict has been passed. While we are on the subject of wealth, why have we not raised the issue on the haciendas of the Cojuangcos? Surely, the issues regarding these vast landholdings vis-à-vis the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program have not been settled, coupled with the issues surrounding hacienda Luicita from two years ago, I think. Why have we not vilified the Conjuangcos (yes, Noynoy AND Gibo) for their wealth, and simply stuck to Villar regarding this issue?

Experience wise I’d say Dick Gordon has the best resume. Noynoy’s stints in the House and later in the Senate have been dismal, unfortunately. Gibo’s only a little better, but not stellar. Villar’s political career has always seemed muddy to me, and experience teaches me that he is nothing but a balimbing and an opportunist.

In the end, I’d still go for breeding. Not the breeding of wealth, but breeding of good values and genes. For instance, we all croon about what saints President Cory Aquino and Senator Ninoy Aquino were, but they are hardly the only people who have helped shape Ninoy’s political heritage. Ninoy’s political lineage, in his father’s side, can be traced as far back to the late 1700s, when pioneering couples Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda and Doña Rosalia de Jesus and Don Severino Henson and Doña Placida Paras first cleared and settled what was then the barrio of Culiat, the northernmost outpost of San Fernando. Later they created new towns from this and held political positions. A direct descendant of these people, Servillano, fought against the Spaniards during the revolution. A little known story about the Aquinos is this: in 1898, the Guardias (a radical peasant movement) killed his father-in-law, who was the town president of Murcia, as well as his wife, who was staying with her father. She was pregnant at the time, but she fought and killed seven of the Guardias before she was overwhelmed. And of course, Ninoy’s Cojuangco side is also riddled with many public servants (see my former discussions on the Conjuangcos in Noynoy & Gibo: Presidential Aspirants, Second Cousins).

In doing this article, I also dug deep into whatever resources I could search online and in some of the available books on Filipino politics. I discovered that, in terms of pedigree, Noynoy does not have a monopoly on good genes. For instance, Jamby Madrigal is not only a member of the rich and powerful Madrigal family, but she is also the granddaughter of the former Supreme Court Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos. Pre-Commonwealth period Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos, her grand-uncle, founded the Socialist Party of the Philippines. Her paternal grandfather was Senator Vicente Madrigal while her aunt, Senator Pacita Madrigal-Gonzalez was a senator during the Quezon and Magsaysay administrations and was the first administrator of the Social Welfare Administration, what is now the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Senator Richard Gordon, who was able to transform Olongapo from what was considered a “sin city” to “model city” with innovations in local governance, namely: color coding of the transport system, expansion of its public markets, integrated solid waste management program, vendors’ cooperatives, community organizations and many other public and community development programs, was the son of James Leonard Tagle Gordon and Amelia Juico Gordon, who both served as mayors of Olongapo. Like Noynoy Aquino, Gordon’s father was also assassinated. James Leonard Gordon, the son of an American father and a Filipino mother, decided to remain in the Philippines unlike his four brothers who chose to elect American citizenship to enjoy the comforts of a well developed country. James Leonard's maternal grandfather, Jose Tagle, is best remembered for his exploits in leading a raiding team against friars and Civil Guards in the Battle of Imus and then against a strong Spanish force in Bacoor, Cavite. He was victorious in both instances and was praised by Aguilnaldo. In recognition of his leadership he was appointed as Municipal Mayor of Imus. Because of James Leonard Gordon’s political independence and strength, three assassination attempts were made on his life until finally, in 1967, he was gunned down. Senator Jose W. Diokno succinctly but aptly summarized the greatness that was James Leonard Gordon: “He was born to an American father, chose to be a Filipino, raised his children as Filipinos, served his country as a Filipino and died a Filipino hero.”

Gibo Teodoro, like Noynoy, derives his political pedigree from both sides of his family. Aside from his illustrious Cojuangco line, his father, the senior Gilberto, was a longtime and effective administrator of the Social Security Services (SSS) who implemented many improvements in this agency, such as the Educational Loan, Calamity Loan, Investment Incentive Loan Program, Small-and Medium Scale Industries Loan Program, Study-Now-Pay-Later Plan and the three-month salary loan program. Gibo’s paternal grandfather, meanwhile, was a judge.

Finally, Manny Villar, though from a poor family, himself married a woman who came from a rags-to-riches family. Villar’s wife, Cynthia Aguilar, is the daughter of former Rep. Filemon Aguilar, who was first a doctor, then a businessman, then finally a congressional representative. In is interesting to note that Cynthia’s grandmother, Manuela Aguilar Riguera, sold beetle nuts in the public market of Las Pinas. Interesting that both the Aguilar and Villar families, while coming from poor families, rose to become multimillionaires in just a span of two generations (for the Aguilar’s case) or one generation (for Villar’s case). Truly, a lot of creativity and gumption went into work for these two families to become what they are now.

Wealth and experiences all these candidates have. If I were to choose the candidate with the least assets I’d say that would be Perlas (if we count him, delos Reyes, and Villanueva). Among the strong five contenders, I’d say it’s Gordon. Experience wise, I would like to think Gordon made the most out of his career in public service. Ultimately, based on their pedigrees, I’d say Gordon’s and Noynoy’s families have made the most impact in Philippine history. If only Noynoy had Gordon’s strength and experience, he would definitely be the best candidate.

ELEKSYON 2010: The Presidential Name Game

Every election season, especially a presidential one, I always try to find another way to look at the candidates’ chances of winning the race. While the Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia try their best to scientifically measure the chances of winning of presidential aspirants, here, in this first installment of the Genealogy of the 2010 Presidential Candidates series, I would try to expound on the various meanings and symbolisms of the family names of the presidential (and vice-presidential) candidates.

NOTE: Family names in the past were given to people as a form of description of one thing or another; patronymics were names that tell who the bearer’s father was, toponyms indicated the place of origin of a person, and descriptive surnames describe a striking feature or characteristic of a person. While many of the surnames borne by Filipinos are not really original (as majority of Filipino last names were adopted due to the 1849 Claveria decree) family names, I have found over the years that despite this many people’s names have been influential in shaping events and circumstances in various points of their lives. Below are the etymologies and other possible connotations of the names of the top 4 for both the 2010 Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections based on the BusinessWorld-SWS December 5-10, 2009 Pre-Election Survey:

AQUINO

The Aquino surname is an Italian/Spanish geographical surname and designates the bearer as “one coming from Aquino”, a locality in the province of Frosinone, region of Lazio, Italy. It is derived from the Latin name Aquinum, a place-name derived possibly from the personal names Acuvius and Akviiai. Aquinum is reconstructed from the Greek word achuros, meaning 'chaff', the Latin acus, meaning 'needle', and the Low High German achel, which means 'spike'.

VILLAR

Villar is a Spanish geographical name that is derived from any of the places called Villar in the Spanish peninsula. It is a Castilianized spelling of the Catalan and Galician cognates Vilar, which means ‘village’ or ‘(outlying) farmstead’. It is a derivative of vila, meaning ‘(outlying) farmstead’ or ‘(dependent) settlement’.

EJERCITO / ESTRADA

The real surname of ERAP, Ejercito, is a Spanish word for ‘’army”. Estrada, on the other hand, may refer to a military term for a pathway or covered walk.

TEODORO

The only patronymic among the presidential candidates’ surnames, Teodoro is a Spanish form of the Greek name Theodoros, which means “gift of God”.

ROXAS

Ordinarily, Spaniards use the version ROJAS as a family name and the one with an “x”is a Filipino version of the surname. It is derived from the Spanish word rojo, which means red.

LEGARDA

Loren’s last name is a possible Hispanization of the French Le Garde, which literally means “warden or guard”.

BINAY

No known definition.

MANZANO

The surname Manzano is another name with a geographical root. It is a topographic name for someone who lived by an apple tree or orchard, derived from the Spanish manzano, which means ‘apple tree’, in turn derived from the Old Spanish maçano, from maçana, meaning ‘apple’. Maçana is further derived from the Late Latin (mala) Mattiana, an apple named in honor of the horticultural writer Gaius Matius.

It is interesting already to discuss the many personalities and possibilities of these candidates’ chances of winning based on what their names suggest. For instance, Noynoy Aquino certainly has a lot to live up, not just because of the famous parents he has, but because his name is associated with the most important church doctor known in the Catholic world, Saint Thomas de Aquino (or Aquinas). Villar, on the other hand, has a last name that is apt for his business, considering he has a multi-million real estate company. Erap’s names, either his real or screen name, both have connections to the military, and it is ironic that he was removed due to a coup. Gibo, though certainly far from being a “gift of God”, has a surname that has religious connotations, thus putting him side-by-side with his cousin Noynoy.

On the Vice-Presidential front, MAR’s name is somewhat particularly interesting. In human color psychology, and even to the ancient Greeks and Hebrews, red is associated with many emotions that "stir the blood", including anger, passion, love, pain, and sacrifice. His stepping down from the presidential race in order to make way for Noynoy was certainly a very big sacrifice on his part. Loren’s name has a double meaning: perhaps it is telling the voters to be on guard so that she won’t be cheated on again, or perhaps it is warning the voters to be on guard from her possible victory. Oh well, who knows? This article is simply a starting point for my blog’s Eleksyon 2010 Series.

Next article: Family Politics, Then and Now.

NOYNOY & GIBO: PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRANTS, SECOND COUSINS

In a dramatic press conference last September 2009 Senator Manuel Araneta “MAR” Roxas II, grandson of President Manuel A. Roxas, declared that he was letting go of his political aspirations to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and endorsed Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Cojuangco Aquino III as his party’s presidential candidate. Weeks later, Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Cojuangco Teodoro, Jr., together with several lawmakers and governors from all over the Philippines, was endorsed as the standard bearer of the ruling LAKAS-Kampi party. Ironically, both Senator Noynoy Aquino and Secretary Gibo Teodoro are second cousins. Senator MAR Roxas, too, is a distant relative of both aspirants (click here to see connections among the three aspirants).

In fact, in a complicated and Byzantine manner, almost all of our former leaders, and many of our current, were and are related to one another, in one way or the other, other many times over. Most of all, these political leaders have paved the way for the perpetuation of kinship-based politics. Politics in the Philippines was, is, and has always been, like the interrelated Rajahs and Datus and Sultans of pre-Hispanic Philippines, a birthright.

To start off, one of President Emilio Famy Aguinaldo’s granddaughters, Ameurfina Melencio Herrera, served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court and was the second Filipina elevated to the high court. Two grandsons, Reynaldo Aguinaldo and Federico Aguinaldo Poblete, served as Mayors of Kawit, Cavite while two great-grandsons, Joseph Emilio Abaya and Emilio Aguinaldo IV served, respectively, as Cavite first district congressional representative and Kawit, Cavite councilor. President Aguinaldo's first cousin’s, General Baldomero Aguinaldo, great-grandson was Cesar E.A. Virata, a Prime Minster of the Philippines under President Marcos (click here to see Aguinaldo Family Tree).

The Virata family, through marriage, is connected with the Acuña family. One Acuña member married into the prominent and rich Roxas family of Capiz, which is a branch of the Roxas famly of Manila. The product of this marriage was former President Manuel A. Roxas, whose son Gerardo “Gerry” Roxas was a former Senator and whose grandson, MAR Roxas II is a Senator of the Republic. Also, due to his dalliance with Juanita McIlvain, former Miss Universe Margarita "Margie" Moran Floirendo just happens to be President Roxas' granddaughter. Margie Moran is also married to Representative Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo. President Manuel Roxas' wife, Trinidad de Leon, was the daughter of former Senator Ceferino de Leon. Senator de Leon's brother, Jose, married Doña Narcisa "Sisang" Buencamino, who became one of the most successful movie magnates of her time when she chartered her family-owned LVN Pictures into a dominant position in post-World War II Philippine cinema.. Narcisa's first cousin’s son was Philip Buencamino, who married Nene Quezon, daughter of President Manuel Luis Quezon.

Further, another scion of the Roxas family was Margarita Roxas, who was the first cousin of President Roxas’s great-great-grandfather and whose marriage to Antonio de Ayala produced Trinidad de Ayala. Trinidad later married Jacobo Zobel and started the legendary Zobel De Ayala family.

Some of the minor branches of the ROXAS family married into the other aristocratic families of Manila: the Aranetas (Senator Gerry Roxas married Judy Araneta y Araneta), Ayalas, Elizaldes, Prietos, and more. One Roxas descendant is Enrique Zobel, head of the Ayala Group of companies; two others are the brothers Jose and Andres Soriano, current heads of San Miguel Corporation which their father started. Through the Roxas family's connection with the Aranetas, former Tourism Secretary and first Filipina Miss International titleholder Gemma Teressa Cruz-Araneta is also related by marriage to Pres. Roxas (click here to see the Roxas-Zobel-Soriano Family Tree) Gemma Cruz-Araneta’s husband’s cousin, Jorge Araneta, married the first Miss International, Maria Stella Marquez, who now runs the Binibining Pilipinas Pageant. It must also be remembered that Gemma Cruz's paternal great-grandmother was Doña Maria Rizal, the sister of Philippine national hero, Jose P. Rizal. Furthermore, Gemma Cruz's mother, Carmen, married twice. Her second husband was Angel Nakpil, the nephew of Julio Nakpil, composer of a second version of the Philippine National Anthem, who in turn was the second husband of Gregoria De Jesus, the “Muse of the Katipunan”. Gregoria de Jesus was also the widow of Katipunan founder Andres Bonifacio, who, some historians claim, was murdered upon the orders of Emilio Aguinaldo. Similarly, two of Gemma's first cousins, Paz and Maria Cruz Banaad, married Bienvenido and Roberto Laurel, respectively, relatives of President Jose P. Laurel. President Laurel’s own father, Sotero Laurel, was a member of the Malolos Congress of 1898 and his pedigree claims descent from Gat Masungit, allegedly a son of a Sultan of Brunei in the 1500s. Several of President Laurel's children became famous politicians in their own right. His eldest son, Jose Bayani, Jr., became Speaker of the House of Representatives and a candidate for vice-president in 1957 (Jose Macario Laurel, the eldest son of Jose B. Laurel, was a former Batangas Representative). His younger son, Salvador Roman "Doy" Laurel, was Vice-President from 1986 to 1992. Three other of Laurel's children also became prominent in politics and business. Sotero Cosme was elected to the Senate from 1987 to 1992; Jose Sotero Laurel III became Ambassador to Japan; and Mariano H. Laurel became president of the Philippine Banking Corporation (click here to see the Laurel-Rizal-Bonifacio connection).

Further into the Araneta family, two more of its members married presidential daughters; the first one being Jose Miguel Arroyo (of Binalbagan, Negros Occidental and a great-grandson of Negros Island Revolutionary leader Gen. Aniceto Ledesma Lacson and Rosario Emilia Araneta). He married then Ms. Gloria M. Macapagal, daughter of President Diosdado Macapagal. Of course, GMA is now the country's Chief Executive. First Gentleman Mike Arroyo’s grandfather, Senator Jose Maria Pidal Arroyo, married a Lacson, thus lining him to Senator Panfilo Lacson. Also, because the Macapagals have always maintained that they are direct descendants of Lakandula, the last King of Tondo, they can also claim to be related, albeit very distantly, from the royal family of Brunei. Thus, not only are GMA and President Laurel related many times over by marriage, they are also blood relatives because of their claimed descent from the royal house of Brunei.

The second Araneta to marry a presidential daughter was Gregorio Maria "Greggy" Araneta, who married Irene Romualdez Marcos, the youngest child of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos and Imelda Romualdez. Another Araneta, Atty. Louise Cacho Araneta, a distant relative of Greggy Araneta, married Irene’s brother, Governor Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. (click here to see the Araneta connections). This Araneta-Marcos marriage further stretches these already complicated family connections.

Ferdinand Marcos' grandfather's sister, Crispina Marcos, married Hilario Valdez. Their daughter, Angela Marcos Valdez, married Ambassador Narciso Ramos, who was also a district representative of Pangasinan from 1934 to 1946 and was the father of Fidel V. Ramos, also a President of the Republic, and Leticia Ramos-Shahani, a former Senator. Two nephews of President Ramos, Ranjit R. Shahani and Hernani Braganza, served as Governor of Pangasinan and Mayor of Alaminos City, Pangasinan, respectively. Narciso Ramos, after becoming a widower, married Alfonsita Lucero, whose father's maternal family, the Birondos of Argao, Cebu, married into the Almendras family of Cebu and Davao.

One of Alfonsita's cousins, William Birondo, married Kukit Tecala, whose uncle, Pedro Tecala Sr., married Sofronia Almendras. Two of Sofronia's siblings married into political families. Her brother, Paulo Almendras, married Elisea Durano, the daughter of Demetrio Durano and progenitor of the Durano family that has ruled Danao and Sogod, Cebu for many years. Its most popular member is Ace Durano, the present Tourism Secretary.

A son of Paulo Almendras was Senator Alejandro Almendras, whose marriage to a Bendigo of Davao City connected them to the ruling families of Davao: the Banggoys, Palma Gils, Lizadas, Nograleses, and many others. The current Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives is Davao City congressman Prospero “Boy” Nograles. The current mayor of Davao, Rodrigo Duterte, is also of the Duterte family of Danao, a rival political clan of the Duranos but one allied to them maritally, many times over. Senator Almendras' brother, Josefino, married Rosita Dimataga, the sister of Leonila Dimataga, who in turn was the wife of President Carlos P. Garcia. President Garcia’s father, Policronio, served as a mayor of Talibon, Bohol (click here to see the Ramos-Garcia-Durano connections).

Several other cousins of Narciso Ramos’s second wife Alfonsita, married into other political families or were themselves personalities in the Philippines: one cousin is Hilario G. Davide, Jr., former Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court and now the country’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations; another, Simeon L. Kintanar, served as Cebu’s second district representative to Congress; still another, James Lucero, married Nazarena Soon, whose sister, Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, is currently a member of the House of Representatives; still another cousin, Procopio C. Lucero, Jr. married Gliseria Gullas, the daughter Paulino Gullas and sister of Eduardo and Jose Gullas, all of whom served as members of the House of Representatives; still another cousin was Januaria Taguenca Cabrera, who married Don Victoriano Osmeña, an uncle of President Sergio Osmeña. Among all the Philippine presidential families, the Osmeñas of Cebu have had the most number of members who served in the government to date. Excluding Sergio Sr., the family has had four senators and four members of the House of Representatives. The clan has also produced a governor, a vice governor, a provincial board member, mayors, vice mayor, and several councilors. The Osmeña family remains the premier political dynasty of Cebu, and one of the most enduring dynasties in the country (click here to see the Ramos-Osmena-Cebu Reps. connections).

President Osmeña's half-sister was Doña Modesto Singson-Gaisano, the matriarch of the affluent Gaisano family of Cebu City. Modesta was a progeny of Don Pedro Gotiaoco, whose other descendants include Atty. Agusto Go, President of the University of Cebu and Honorary South Korean Consul; John Gokongwei, Jr., a great-grandson of Don Pedro Gotiaoco and the owner of Cebu Pacific, Robinson’s Mall, JG Summit, and many more; and the Sy-Gaisano family, who operate chains of shopping malls all over Visayas and Mindanao. A grandson of the brother of Don Pedro is Andrew Gotianun, who owns the FILINVEST Group and the East West Bank (click here to see the tycoons of Cebu).

Imelda Romualdez's marriage to Marcos also brought in many famous personalities. Imelda’s son, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., has served as Governor of Batac, Ilocos Norte while a daughter, Imee, currently a member of the House of Representatives, married Tommy Manotoc, whose mother was related to the wife of Eugenio “Genny” Lopez, whose family owns ABS-CBN, MERALCO, Sky Cable, and other major corporations in the country. A son of Imee Marcos and Tommy Manotoc is Borgie Manotoc, a model.

Aside from being a capitalist clan, the Lopezes are also into politics: one member, Fernando Lopez, was a former senator and served as Vice-President under President Elpidio Quirino and Ferdinand Marcos; all in all, six members of the Lopez clan have served as Vice-President, Senator, and House Representatives. A great-nephew, Manuel “Beaver” Lopez, Jr., married Jacqueline “Jackie” Estrada, daughter of President Joseph Ejercito “Erap” Estrada, whose own wife, Dr. Loi P. Estrada, and son, Jinggoy, have served as Senators of the Philippines.

Imelda’s own niece, Marean Romualdez, daughter of her brother Leyte Governor Alfredo Romualdez, married Thomas Pompidou, the grandson of former French President Georges Pompidou (click here to see the Ramos-Marcos-Estrada connections).

Imelda's first cousin, Senator Danieling Romualdez, married Pacita Gueco of Tarlac. In an ironic twist of fate, Pacita Gueco happened to be the first cousin of Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. Of course, the Aquinos themselves are one of the premier political clans of the country and a scion of the Aquino clan was Senator Eva Estrada Kalaw, one of the Philippines' very first female senators. Ninoy Aquino’s own grandfather, Don Servillano Aquino, was a member of the Malolos Congress while his father, Benigno Aquino, Sr., also served as Philippine Senator. A sister of Ninoy, Tessie A. Oreta, also became senator of the Philippines while uncles Agapito and Herminio and nephew Jesli A. Lapus, served as members of the House of Representatives. Ninoy’s own son, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, currently sits as a Philippine Senator and, as already mentioned, is a presidential hopeful for the 2010 elections.

Ninoy's marriage to the heiress Corazon Cojuanco also allied his family to another political dynasty. Corazon Aquino, after her husband's heroic death in 1983, later became the country's first female Chief Executive. Her maternal family, the Sumulongs, have also produced several lawmakers: her grandfather, Juan Marquez Sumulong, was a three-term senator while an unlce, Lorenzo Sumulong, and cousins, Victor Sumulong and Emigdio S. Tanjuanco, Jr., served as members of the House of Representatives. The Cojuangco family, on the other hand, owns one of the oldest-existing haciendas in the country today, and the Cojuangcos control many of the country's business enterprises. They have also done very well in politics: Cory’s own grandfather, Melecio, was a member of the HOR. Her brother Jose “Peping” Jr., cousins Eduardo “Danding” Jr., Mercedes, Carlos, and Marcos, and nephew Gilbert C. Teodoro, have all served as representatives to congress. Gilbert C. Teodoro, as mentioned above, is another 2010 elections presidential hopeful.

Further, two Cojuangcos, sons of Cory's cousins Ramon and Eduardo, respectively, married Rio Diaz (Charlie Cojuangco), sister of former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz and Gretchen Baretto (Tony Boy Cojuangco). Gretchen's sisters are Claudine and Marjorie, themselves married to actors. Cory's niece, equestrienne Mikee Cojuangco, married Dodot Jaworski, son of basketball legend and Sen. Robert Jaworski. Senator Jaworski, on the other hand, married Susan Bautista Revilla, daughter of Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr., whose son Bong Revilla was a former governor and Senator. This connection, no doubt, extends this family tree to most of the country's movie personalities (click here to see the Aquino-Cojuangco connections).

Clearly, this Byzantine illustration of family connections is proof of the intricacies of Philippine politics. In this short presentation, we have already linked no less than 12 of our 14 Presidents (click here to view diagram), one Prime Minister, two former Ms. Universe and two Ms. International titleholders (click here to view diagram), several senators, and many other personalities, political or otherwise. We have even connected our "Philippine Family Tree" to a former French President and the Royal family of Brunei! Imagine what further research into the other family trees could reveal?

Philippine politics, undoubtedly, is still a family affair.
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Author’s note: (1) The original title of this article was RP Politics: Family Affair. I have, since then, made a lot of improvements to the original article and now have actual charts to show how these people are related. (2) All the abovementioned facts can be checked. To give the readers an idea of where these information came from, I have collated genealogical data from several internet sites (GMA7’s research during the SONA2007 really helped a lot), from books such as the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s “The Rulemakers”, and Alfred C. McCoy’s “An Anarchy of Families”. Many of the information here were collected over many years of research, and, just like an actual tree, this article will continue to expand as more genealogical data will come to light. Of course, corrections or additions to this article will be appreciated! Thanks also to ROLAND OSCAR ARANETA for sharing the Araneta Family website and for the many information I got that helped connect many personalities here. (Todd Lucero Sales).

Author’s request: The writing of this article was a laborious process. While I am not asking for any payment for every reposting of this article, I would like to request all those who wish to cite or repost this article to please, please cite my name as a source. Thanks!

OF HYPOCRICY AND REPRESSION: MANILA'S FURTHER IMPERIALISM

It continues to amaze me how we as a nation could boast that we love democracy and liberty and all those abstract nouns without looking long and hard at ourselves in the mirror every time we utter our adherence to democracy and its principles.

It continues to make me shake my head whenever I see the concept of democracy used by politicians who are, in reality, not after the truth, much less democracy. People who are only after their personal interests.

Why would the Black and White Movement condemn Cardinal Vidal? Why should they make such statements without any proof? When pressed for their evidence that the Cardinal instructed ALL 300 priests of Cebu not to officiate for feeble-minded-looking Jun Lozada, they would switch to moral authority and all that b*lls*it. Talk about hypocritical.

What does this imply of us Cebuanos? That not one Cebuano priest is strong enough to counter the Cardinal's command, if indeed he did stop these priests from saying mass? Is the B&W Movement suggesting that Cebuano priests, and Cebuanos by extension, are cowardly and could not think for themselves?

Who died and made Leah Navarro an expert on the workings of Church and State dynamics?

Who gave the B&W M the right to malign our Cardinal, our priests, and the Cebuano country?

Is this because the tone in Cebu is different? Is it because Cebuanos are more logical, and can think better, that now we are being accused of whatever pathetic accusation? Why should Cebu care for Jun Lozada? They want to make him a hero? Fine! Cebuanos do not consider thieves, even thieves who air out other thieves' dirty laundry, as heroes. Why should we? Jun Lozada admitted he committed graft and corruption, among other crimes. So now we are supposed to just welcome him to Cebu like a statesman? Not!!!

I am outraged at the insinuations that the Black and White Movement have made. I am ashamed to think that the people accusing Cardinal Vidal as a government puppet and alluding to the stupidity of Cebuanos are also Filipinos.

Whatever is the reality behind this controversy, I am proud to say that I am Cebuano. I am proud to say that my Governor, Gwen Garcia, and my Mayor, Tomas Osmena, and Cebu's most senior prelate, Cardinal Vidal, are willing to listen to all sides before making any stand that might ultimately be more harm than cure.

Cebu has always been a bastion of opposition. Above all, Cebu has always been a bastion of independent-thinking. Shame on Leah Navarro and her Black and White Movement for slandering the Cebuano people!

STAY AWAY FROM CEBU JUN LOZADA!

I have always wondered what was wrong with the picture of Lozada's touring campuses and other institutions, helping destabilize the government in the guise of "searching for the truth". He also has a propensity to release the "truth" in installments, which is in itself suspect. Why am I the only one to see this? If he is hell bent in revealing the f***ing truth, then he should have done it in one sitting. Not this bits and pieces of half-baked truths and downright conjectures.

Another thing that bothers me: he revels in his role as a "hero" of the "Filipino people". I am posting a video clip from GMA below so you can see how ecstatic (and stupid-looking, I might add) he looks when he tours campuses. If you are a witness bent on revealing only the truth and whose life is in major peril, shouldn't you be humble and low-key? Lozada is either mentally retarded or is starting to get the star-complex, which does not win him any points in Cebu.

To echo Cardinal Vidal in the above interview, WE DON'T WANT JUN LOZADA in Cebu! He should go back to those insipid nuns who swallow his lies hook, line, and sinker!

HYPOCRITES, ALL

It continues to amaze me how distorted our political values and beliefs have become as a nation. I have listened to all political sound bites and homilies of priests regarding the current ZTE issue, and all continuously repeat the words truth, democracy, and justice. It amazes me further that people who are now calling for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's ouster are not squeaky clean, themselves.

I remember one of my beloved political science professors' lecture on democracy. She told our class that the problem with democracy is that it allows for people of questionable credentials or morals to be elected into public office. But, she adds, the beauty also of democracy is its ability to allow people to remove these elected officials through the same process that got them into power to begin with. That is the function of elections.

I was too young to have been involved in the first People Power in 1986. I was part of the second People Power, however. I joined the gargantuan rallies in Fuente Osmeňa in Cebu City for three days and called for the ouster of President Joseph Estrada. That was then.

I know that President Arroyo is not perfect. However, she has been extremely lucky or careful in all her actions since her assumption of power in 2001. In fact, for someone whose administration has had so many controversies thrown her way, she has had an amazing staying power. Maybe the people in Visayas and Mindanao have finally realized that, for the first time in Philippine history, they are finally being represented. Although I am not pro-Gloria all the way, and have disagreed with many of her policies, I still admire and thank her for her constant ability to include officials from the Visayas and Mindanao to be part of her administration. She won my admiration further when she even took her oath of office in Cebu. I admire her for her ability to speak Cebuano. How many other former presidents could do this? Aside from Sergio Osmeňa and Carlos P. Garcia, who were Bisaya, the rest are from imperial Luzon. The fact that we finally have a champion for Visayas and Mindanao is an obvious reason why the call for Gloria's ouster is only strongly felt in Manila.

Given that GMA is no saint, we ask the question: who is? Rodolfo Lozada may have been the whistle blower that the opposition has been waiting for, but he himself freely admitted that he was not exactly virginal in all his dealings as a government official. Former President Cory Aquino may now be once more going around sponsoring masses in support of Jun Lozada, but have we forgotten that she and her family are still one of the biggest landlords in the country, and her Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program has, in fact, been extremely detrimental to the peasants and has only guaranteed the perpetuation of the Cojuangco family's control of Hacienda Luisita?

The De Venecia family has now portrayed themselves as complete patriots in making all these little revelations about anomalies in the Arroyo administration. But what does this say of them? They were right in GMA's inner circle, and thus were part of whatever anomalies PGMA was into. Doesn't this mean that they too, are guilty of all these and they are now simply trying to bring down Arroyo because of a friendship or a partnership gone sour?

What about all these Bishops and priests and nuns who have so valiantly shielded Jun Lozada from harm? Are they as clean as they present themselves to be? What about all those molestation charges hurled against priests not just in the Philippines but all over the world? Why have they not exposed these themselves? They continue to say they are praying for the eradication of corruption, but what about church corruption? There are hundreds of priests and bishops whose personal assets are in the millions, but are they being investigated? How many boys have been traumatized by the abuses of priests, only to be silenced by a generous payment by the diocese where these molesters are from?

Above all, the leftist groups and other anti-Arroyo groups are saying GMA should step down and a snap election takes place or that a “caretaker” government temporarily runs the country until an election is scheduled. Where do these ridiculous suggestions come from? Have they forgotten that we have a constitution that guarantees the smooth turn-over of power from President to Vice-President? Now, they are saying they don't want VP Noli de Castro because he, too, is part of GMA's “evil” cabal.

If these people want the truth to come out, let them wait for the proper evidences and forums to shed light to all these controversies. If they adhere to the principles of democracy, let them not continue with these stupid ideas of snap elections and caretaker governments. If they want justice, let them wait for the decisions of other impartial institutions in the government to render judgment to the ZTE controversy.

I resent how these hypocritical groups and individuals parade themselves on national television and declare that the Filipino people are tired of all these. Who are they referring to? People from Manila? The opposition? Luzon? I am from Cebu and Mindanao and I certainly have not clamored for GMA's stepping down. My governor and my mayor have certainly not demanded for the president's ouster. This is, again, a manifestation of Manila imperialism and I and many Bisayas and Mindanaonons are tired of and disgusted with this. I, too, want the truth revealed. I want democracy to be protected. I want justice served. But short-circuiting the democratic process will never solve the root of our problems. Besides, there is no real purpose to all these allegations other than to grab power from a sitting president. The senate obviously has been threatened ever since talks of an impending charter change plan to delete the senate from the proposed federal, parliamentary set-up. It's truly disgusting how political enemies before now are joining forces to topple down the Arroyo government.

I pray that these protests in Manila do not spillover to the countrysides and provinces. If they force my president out of Malacaňang, I will lose what little faith and hope I have left with the Filipino people.

MAKATI IS NOT THE PHILIPPINES

Once again, people are calling for Gloria Arroyo's resignation amidst allegations of corruption and other anomalies involving members of her family and close political allies. All due to the testimonies of one Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada in the Senate ZTE-NBN deal.

I am not saying that Lozada is a liar or is being manipulated by the opposition just so they can finally oust President Arroyo. I am not saying that there was no anomaly in the ZTE-NBN deal. I truly don't know. What I am sure of is that not even half of those people now clamoring for President Arroyo's resignation also know what is "truth". I believe that the opposition has simply grabbed on whatever issue they could find and immediately demand the president's stepping down from her office despite the obvious fact that no formal and lasting investigation has been conducted regarding the ZTE-NBN controversy. Absolutely everything has been talk and allegations and counter-allegations. And yet, now, the Makati Business Club, some sectors of the Catholic Church, some civil society groups, and as always the so-called United Opposition, have once more latched on to this issue to try for the nth time to wrestle power from GMA.

Makati is not the Philippines. The MBC and the Catholic Church and the United Opposition do not speak for the rest of the Filipino people. I detest the fact that everytime an issue erupts, these same people feel that they can simply call on the rest of the population to oust the sitting president. If they say "enough is enough", I also say, whatever you are doing now is enough.

Stop dictating the rest of the Filipinos what to do and what should be. I remember what the Visayan and Mindanao leaders promised when opposition leaders asked GMA to resign two years ago. They swore that if GMA is removed forcibly and unconstitutionally from office, a Visayan-Mindanawnon republic or republics shall arise and break away from the Philippines.

Perhaps this is what we should do. The Visayas and Mindanao seem more level headed and careful in their political actuations and decisions. Maybe we should just declare our independence from imperial Manila/Makati and leave them to destroy themselves.

I am not pro-GMA, but I respect her strength and her resolve. I salute her for standing tall and proud despite the myriad of problems and controversies surrounding her administration. I do not believe that someone else is capable of holding the Philippines together should she be ousted, thus I continuously refuse to listen to the opposition politicians.

Those who want GMA out do not even want to follow the constitutional succession of VP Noli de Castro. Can you imagine these people's audacity and utter hypocrisy? Wanting to oust a sitting president is unconstitutional enough, but not allowing the Vice-President to succeed and planning to install instead a caretaker government is the worst kind of plan I can think of.

I believe that should these stupid people succeed (God forbid!), GMA will still be welcome in Visayas and Mindanao.

GMA: HEED THE SIGNS

The signs of an impending political upheaval are here once again. As usual, the Philippine Senate has found something to keep the Filipino people occupied with and has once more brought President Arroyo's leadership under scrutiny. Rodolfo Lozada's testimony about the alleged anomalies in the ZTE-NBN deal is reminiscent of those in Estrada's impeachment trial. And the ouster of Jose de Venecia as House Speaker also strongly reminds me of the falling out between Estrada and Chavit Singson. Once more, warning bells are ringing, signaling an impending shakedown in Philippine politics.

Looking back now, parallelisms exist between the 1986 ouster of Ferdinand Marcos and the 2001 toppling of Erap Estrada. Two important components in both episodes in our history were needed before a full-scale people power was successful. For Marcos, the assassination of Senator Ninoy Aquino paved the way for the clamor of the Filipino people for change. It was the massive and obvious cheating committed by Marcos in the 1986 snap elections that eventually finished him.

With Estrada's case, the falling out between Erap and Chavit also paved the way to the impeachment trial of Estrada, eventually leading to his ouster in 2001 when the administration-controlled Senate refused to open the envelope during the trial. The refusal to open the envelope was synonymous to the cheating of Marcos in the snap elections.

Now, we have just witnessed two events that are obviously similar to the first steps that would eventually lead to an all out ouster of our president. The falling out between JDV and President Arroyo, and now the hurting testimony of Jun Lozada, are both paving the way to something...

It is interesting to note that the last name LOZADA is a derivative of a Spanish and Portuguese topographic name for someone who lived by an area paved with flagstones, derived from losar, which means "to pave".

Jun Lozada is paving the way to something...what that is, well, is up to Gloria.