What do Kalinga political candidates say about political dynasty?

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Political dynasty has been one of the controversial concerns that is yet to be addressed in the Philippines, and with the political season in the air, this issue has once again become one of the hot points of discussion in all platforms. 

During the Candidate Forum at the Tabuk City Hall on April 4, the congressional, gubernatorial, and Tabuk City mayoral aspirants for the May 2025 polls were subjected to a yes/no question wherein they were asked to show their yes or no answer without having to explain it.

GURU Press Cordillera, who attended the event as one of the panelists, asked the candidates: ‘Is political dynasty good?’

Kalinga lone representative aspirants Mayor Sacrament Gumilab and Ret. PBGen. Steve Ludan; governor candidate Vice Governor Jocel Baac, and unopposed City Mayor Darwin Estranero who attended the forum all raised the ‘no’ placards which implies most Kalinga politicians believe that political dynasty is not good.

What is political dynasty?

Political dynasty, as defined by Ronald Mendoza et al. in 2016, is a situation where members of the same family are occupying elected positions. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism revealed that 113 out of 149 city mayors in the Philippines belong to political dynasties and that 80 of them are vying for re-election in May 2025.

The late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who originally filed the anti-dynasty bill at the 13th Congress in 2005 and refiled it in the first regular session of the 15th Congress in 2011, had since pointed out that political dynasty is against the Philippine Constitution. 

“The Philippine Constitution prohibits political dynasties. The Constitution provides: "The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law," she said in her speech at the 5th Filipina Entrepreneurship Summit in 2013.

Santiago elaborated that the constitution regards political dynasties as ‘evil’, stressing, “because in effect they constitute a monopoly of political power inside a democracy, the Constitution of which explicitly provides that every qualified Filipino should have an equal opportunity for public service.”

Different Types of Dynasties: THIN, FAT, and OBESE

Political analyst, Professor Julio Teehankee, in his recent interview with ABS-CBN bared there are three types of political dynasty – the thin, fat, and obese.

Tehankee explained that the thing is when kins took turns holding a position. For example, the father is the mayor for 2013-2016, then the mother holds the same position for 2016-2019, then the son or daughter comes and occupies the same post for the next years.

As for the fat, this is when family members simultaneously hold different political positions in the locality, such as when the father is the governor, then the mother is the congresswoman, while the son is the mayor.

Lastly, the obese is when three or more relatives simultaneously occupy positions both at the local and national levels.