Members of the First Philippine Assembly of 1907 In this issue Still a family affair And the clans play on The seven Ms of dynasty building Bukidnon’s ‘nontraditional’ dynasty Podcast: Longing for the old Bukidnon Podcast: Garci for Congress? Power shift looms in Cebu politics Podcast: Cebu politics then and now That other Garcia Makati’s mayor fortifies his fort Podcast: Life in modern Makati And the clans play on | Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism And the clans play on by Julio C. Teehankee WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7TH, 2007 FOR SOME 160 families, the two Houses of the Philippine Congress have practically been home for the last century. These families have had two or more members who have served in Congress, and they account for nearly 424 of the 2,407 men and women who have been elected to the national legislature from 1907 to 2004. Political clans have been an enduring feature of Philippine politics. In the upcoming local and congressional contests, that will remain to be so. Majority of these families or clans, in fact, take their roots from local politics. Generally considered as a grouping within the elites of society, the political clan is basically composed of a family and its network of relations that actively pursues elective or appointive political office at the local and/or national level. In many cases, the clan has also managed to maintain power through generations. Continuing clan dominance is a product of the seemingly immutable and unequal socio-economic structure, as well as the failure to develop a truly democratic electoral and party system. The institutional, legal, electoral, and party systems have prevented the expansion of the base of aspirants and candidates for representation. The social and class