Political dynasties in the Philippines

Political Dynasties have long been a feature of the Philippine political landscape. They are typically characterized as families that have established their political or economic dominance in a province and have coordinated efforts to move on to involvement in national government or other positions of national political prominence. Political dynasties usually have a strong, consolidated support base concentrated around the province in which they are dominant. Members of such dynasties usually do not limit their involvement to strictly political activities, and have been found participating in business or culture-related activities.

Political dynasties started emerging after the Philippine Revolution when the First Republic of the Philippines was established. With the decline of Spain's economic power and international prestige in the 19th century, the expansion of British and American influence around the world, and the political current of emergent nationalism among the children of the economically enfranchised bourgeois, the power of the peninsulares', or Spanish-born aristocracy declined propitiously. Following the defeat of the Spanish in the Spanish–American War, the surviving members of the Spanish or Spanish-sanctioned landholding elite and the newly ascendant merchant elite, who were mostly foreign expatriates or of Chinese origin, formed a de facto aristocracy to replace the power vacuum the Spanish had left.

Aristocracy survived and prospered under the American colonial regime, and remained a permanent fixture in Philippine society even following the independence of the Philippines was finally confirmed following the devastation of the Philippines under the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II. Over the years, political dynasties continued to adapt, as newer dynasties emerged to fill power vacuums left behind by the extinction of older dynasties. The majority of the available positions in Philippine government are currently held by members of these political dynasties. Notable Philippine political dynasties include the Aquino, Marcos, Arroyo, Binay, Duterte, and Roxas families.

There has been a lot of debate regarding the effects political dynasties have on the political and economic status of Philippine society. Despite the negative reaction of the populace towards political dynasties and the association between dynastic activities and corruption, there are no laws that restrict the presence of political dynasties in the Philippines.

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