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Political Clans Make A Comeback by VINIA M. DATINGUINOO and AVIGAIL OLARTE AT 71, Carlos R. Imperial (2nd district, Albay) is among the veteran lawmakers in the 12th House. He is also among the many current congressmen who belong to a long line of legislators in their families. Imperial, in fact, is the namesake—and nephew—of Albay's representative in the First Philippine Assembly in 1907; his own father, Domingo, was elected senator in 1934. The way things are these days, chances are there will still be a member of the Imperial clan in Congress a century from now. Only three years ago, electoral politics in the Philippines seemed to have taken a step forward. A generation of younger, better-educated lawmakers was elected to the House of Representatives, loosening the grip of political families that had dominated the legislature for generations. Such was a marked difference from the 9th House, which was in office from 1992 to 1995. In that period, two in every three legislators belonged to well-entrenched political families. In the 11th Congress, elected in 1998, only a third were members of political clans, prompting some observers to think progressive provisions in the 1987 constitution were having some effect, and the electoral playing field was being democratized and letting new blood trickle in at last. Today, that hope is fading fast, with the Lower House's roster resounding with names that, as they say in street corners, "sound family"—and in more ways than one. Old Politics has made a comeback, and having traditional politico Jose de Venecia Jr. (4th district, Pangasinan), 64, as the House Speaker yet again has made that fact all the more painfully obvious. Of the 214 members of the 12th House, half belong to established political clans. Many of the other representatives are starting power networks of their own and have close relatives in elective posts.
About 106 of the current representatives are also holdovers from the last one, while the rest who could be said to be "newly elected" last May are really hardly new. Almost nine out of 10 of them, including the youngest ones, have either previously held elective positions or have been readied for the task by forebears from whom they have inherited the heirloom that is a seat in Congress. Indeed, only 11 congressmen, or a measly five percent of the House, do not belong to political families and are neophytes in public office. Three of these 11 newcomers are party-list representatives, who would otherwise have had very slim chances of becoming lawmakers had it not been for the party-list system, which is aimed precisely at opening up Congress to the voiceless and marginalized. Part of the electoral reforms, the system was first implemented in the 1998 elections and yielded 14 party-list representatives for the last House. Of those, 12 had no previous political experience before 1998 and were drawn from nongovernmental organizations and not political parties or families. In comparison, the current House has a grand total of five party-list representatives. These include two-termers Benjamin Cruz of Butil and Loretta Ann Rosales of Akbayan, as well as the three newcomers, all of whom come from the group Bayan Muna: Crispin Beltran, Liza Maza and Satur Ocampo. Bayan Muna has the maximum three seats allowed for a single party-list organization since it got more than 11 percent of the party-list votes. There were actually ten organizations that obtained the required two percent party-list votes in the May elections. A month earlier, however, two separate but similar petitions were filed in the Supreme Court asking for the disqualification of certain groups that did not meet the criterion of being representatives of marginalized sectors. Seven of those that eventually clinched the needed number of votes were among those that ended up disqualified and were therefore not proclaimed.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had accredited 161 parties for the last party-list polls. Among these were satellite groups of established political parties, as well as organizations that had been hastily put up by powerful families determined to have as many seats as possible. Yet while the clans were thwarted in totally subverting the party-list system, they seem to have succeeded in going around the three consecutive term limit for lawmakers. Thus, there are legislators who have staged a comeback after taking a break from the 11th Congress—not by choice, but because they had completed their third term in a row in the 10th House and could not run again in 1998. To ensure their seats would be waiting for them once they were again qualified to run for Congress, many of those lawmakers had fielded either kin or close political allies in that year's elections. And so Antonio Cuenco (2nd district, Cebu City), who was replaced by wife Nancy in the last Congress, is now back to his old House seat. The seat currently held by Rep. Rodolfo Albano Jr. (1st district, Isabela) was occupied for one term by son Rodolfo III; that of Junie Cua (Quirino), by wife Ma. Angela; Raul del Mar's (1st district, Cebu City), by son Raoul; Oscar Garin Sr.'s (1st district, Iloilo), by wife Ninfa; Carlos Imperial's (2nd district, Albay), by wife Norma; and Eric Singson's (2nd district, Ilocos Sur), by wife Grace. Before running in the 1998 polls, Ma. Angela Cua, an accountant, had been a member of her husband's congressional staff for two terms. She does not list any other work in her biodata. Nancy Cuenco is a zoologist but had not practiced her profession. Raoul del Mar, a physician, had briefly worked as research assistant at the University of California Los Angeles before 1998. Norma Imperial, meanwhile, was into business, and Grace Singson was a teacher. Only Rodolfo Albano III and Ninfa Garin had political experience, both having been municipal mayors earlier. Seven other lawmakers who took a breather in the 11th Congress, their seats taken by allies or partymates for one term, are now back again. De Venecia's seat, for instance, was held for one term by partymate Benjamin Lim. Not surprisingly, some of the current representatives are also being regarded as mere "stand-ins" while their respective clans' more seasoned members cool their heels because of the three consecutive terms limit. These include Darlene Magnolia Antonino-Custodio (1st district, South Cotabato), who replaced her mother Luwalhati; Michael John Duavit (1st district, Rizal), who now has the seat of father Gilberto; Elenita Milagros Ermita-Buhain (1st district, Batangas), who took over the slot of father Eduardo; Felix William Fuentebella (3rd district, Camarines Sur), who replaced father Arnulfo; Vincent Garcia (2nd district, Davao City), who has taken over father Manuel; Soraya Jaafar (Tawi-Tawi), who replaced father Nur; and Aleta Suarez (3rd district, Quezon), sitting in place of husband Danilo. Not one of these new ones has had any political experience. Darlene Magnolia Custodio, Michael John Duavit, and Felix William Fuentebella are three of the youngest 10 neophytes in this House. Darlene and Felix had worked for their parents' congressional offices right up to the elections this year, as had Elenita Milagros Buhain, Vincent Garcia and Soraya Jaafar. Interestingly enough, Luwalhati Antonio, who had inherited her seat in 1992 from husband Adelbert, is now her daughter's chief of staff. Other observers say that those House first-timers might not be benchwarmers anymore because their seats have already been "passed on" to them. After all, Jose Miguel Zubiri (3rd district, Bukidnon), was thought to have only been guarding the seat vacated by his father Jose, disqualified in 1998 by the term limits. The same was said of Robert Ace Barbers (2nd district, Surigao del Norte), who had replaced father Robert. Both the younger Zubiri and Barbers are still in Congress. In the last House, they had also been regarded as among the more progressive minded members of the House. These days, however, political analysts warn that Zubiri, Barbers and the rest of their quasi grouping, the 'Spice Boys,' might already be showing signs of aging—not in years, but in becoming experts in the ways of the traditional politico. But a return to the old ways seems to be one of the hallmarks of this House. In truth, it follows another trend set in earlier legislatures—that of local elective posts as a preparation for Congress. Of the 108 lawmakers newly elected in May, 35 or about one-third were previously local government officials, with their posts ranging from barangay captain to city or town mayor to provincial governor. This group includes Quezon City's Nanette Daza, 41, who won against veteran legislator Edcel Lagman in the 4th district. Daza was barangay captain from 1989 to 1995, and then was city councilor up to her election to the House. Another example of a local official-turned-congressman is Manuel Zamora (1st district, Compostela Valley), who was a provincial board member from 1998-2001. Zamora, 51, was first elected to the council of Dauin, Negros Oriental in 1974, and then later in 1992 to the Davao del Norte provincial board. But more common in the group are those whose families had also been entrenched in local politics for decades. Faustino Dy III, for instance, was mayor for nine years of Cauayan, Isabela. He also belongs to the clan that has lorded over Isabela's politics for generations. Dy, now 40, began his political career at age 19 when he won a seat at the Kabataang Barangay in 1980. Some observers insist that to get rid of traditional politics, the political clans must be among the first to go. In fact, there are three bills pending with the committee on suffrage and electoral reforms that seek to define and ban political dynasties. Not one, though, has been scheduled for deliberation. But that may perhaps be expected. Since 1997, there have been several anti-dynasty bills filed, but none of them ever came close to being approved either. This despite the Constitution itself saying, "The State shall grant equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law." Political analyst Joel Rocamora of the think-tank Institute for Popular Democracy argues, however, that the urgent matter is not the passage of an anti-dynasty law—assuming advocates can succeed in getting one passed at all. According to Rocamora, passing such a law would "only address the symptom and not the problem." What really needs to be done, he says, is basically two-pronged: weaken the stranglehold of traditional political clans while strengthening the chances of the marginalized players. He points out that much of the electoral reforms that need to be done are in fact already legislated and only need to be implemented. The election modernization law passed in 1997, for example, will make a huge difference in making Philippine elections less chaotic. "We're not even talking of democratizing the electoral field," he says, "but of bringing Philippine elections infrastructure out of the 19th century where it is, and to the 21st where we are." Political families who will hold on to their seats at all costs, says Rocamora, thrive in all the confusion caused by obsolete elections systems. Fix the voters lists, have a semblance of permanence in the setting up of precincts, have quicker vote count—these would go a long way, he says. All these would mean a stronger, more decisive Comelec. But the body is now buried deep in squabbles, dimming the prospects for a changed electoral landscape in the years to come.
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