Sunday, May 12, 2013

The Filipino Family Mafias

Family dynasties rule 73 out of 80 provinces in the Philippines. Half come from the old landed elites, while the rest turned up after the 1986 popular revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos.


“These are the same elites who control the economic resources of the country,” Bobby Tuazon, director for policy studies at the Centre for People Empowerment in Governance, told Al Jazeera.

In the up-coming elections Tuazon projected that when all votes are counted, 21 of the 24 Senate seats will fall under the control of political families. In the House of Representatives, about 80 percent of the 229 seats will also be dominated by dynasties.

"A dynasty, is a dynasty, is a dynasty," Raymond Palatino, a youth sector representative in Congress, explained "I refuse to believe that out of a population of 92 million, only a few families have this monopoly of intellect, passion and intention to serve our people."

Miriam Santiago, a senator, summed it all up when she said the Philippines is "the world capital of political dynasties", equating political families with "Mafia crime" syndicates.

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