EU mission warns political dynasties tightening grip on Philippine democracy

The European Union's election observation mission has delivered a stark assessment of the Philippines' midterm elections, warning that political dynasties have tightened their hold on the country's democratic institutions to a degree that risks deepening public disillusionment and narrowing political pluralism. In its final report released on Thursday, the delegation headed by Marta Temido, a Member of the European Parliament, said power remains concentrated within a small circle of elite families even in bodies designed to broaden representation.

Dynastic dominance in congress and the party list

The numbers cited by the mission are arresting. Civil society organisations tracking the outgoing legislature found that dynastic families held four out of every five congressional seats. More striking still, two-thirds of the party-list seats, a mechanism created by the 1987 constitution to give voice to marginalised and under-represented sectors, were occupied by the same dynastic networks. The party-list system was intended to open the House of Representatives to labour, peasant, urban poor, indigenous, women, youth and other sectoral groups. Instead, it has become another vehicle for established clans to extend their reach.

Temido told reporters in Manila that the concentration of power in dynastic hands was not merely a statistical anomaly but a structural feature of Philippine politics. "Political power is concentrated in dynastic families which, according to civil society organisations, have held four out of every five congressional seats in the outgoing convocation, including two-thirds of party-list seats reserved for under-represented sectors," she said. The mission's final report argues that this dominance distorts policy-making, limits accountability and fuels the perception that elections are contests between rival elites rather than genuine choices for voters.

Record turnout amid persistent irregularities

Filipino voters turned out in unprecedented numbers for a midterm election. The Commission on Elections recorded a turnout of 81.65 per cent, the highest ever for a midterm poll. The EU mission praised this as evidence of a deep popular commitment to democracy. Yet the observers also documented the familiar litany of problems that have plagued Philippine elections for decades: widespread vote-buying, election-related violence and a legal framework that has not kept pace with constitutional change.

Vote-buying remains systemic. The mission received consistent reports of cash, goods and patronage distributed to voters in the days before polling. In some areas, local officials and barangay captains were alleged to have coordinated the distribution. Election-related violence, while lower than in some previous cycles, still claimed lives. The Philippine National Police recorded dozens of incidents classified as election-related between the start of the campaign period and polling day, including killings of candidates and campaign workers.

An electoral code frozen in 1985

The legal underpinning of Philippine elections is the 1985 omnibus election code, enacted under the Marcos dictatorship two years before the current constitution. Nearly half its provisions are now obsolete, the mission found, having been overtaken by the 1987 constitution, subsequent legislation and Supreme Court rulings. The result is a fragmented and contradictory body of law that creates confusion for candidates, election administrators and voters alike.

Temido described the code as "scattered and not harmonised", raising barriers to accountability and reform. Key areas such as campaign finance regulation, the definition of election offences and the powers of the Commission on Elections are governed by a patchwork of statutes, resolutions and jurisprudence. The mission recommends a comprehensive recodification to align the legal framework with the constitution and with international standards to which the Philippines is a party.

Party-list system captured by the establishment

The party-list system illustrates how legislative intent can be subverted. The 1987 constitution reserved up to 20 per cent of House seats for sectoral representatives. A 2013 Supreme Court decision allowed national and regional parties to participate, not only sectoral ones, provided they represent marginalised groups. In practice, the threshold has been exploited. Major political parties have created or co-opted party-list groups, fielding nominees drawn from dynastic families, celebrities and incumbent politicians' relatives.

The EU mission found that the two-thirds dynastic share of party-list seats in the outgoing congress was not an accident but the result of deliberate strategy. Parties backed by congressional dynasties registered party-list arms, used their local machinery to deliver votes, and placed family members or loyalists on the nominee lists. The mission argues that the system now functions as a bonus allocation for dominant clans rather than a channel for the marginalised.

Campaign finance opacity and the role of local machines

Campaign finance transparency remains weak. The law requires candidates to file statements of contributions and expenditures, but compliance is uneven and enforcement rare. The mission noted that many candidates declared spending far below credible estimates for a national campaign. The gap is widely understood to be filled by unreported funds from business interests, local power brokers and the candidates' own resources. Without a credible audit mechanism, the link between money and political outcomes remains opaque.

Local political machines, built on control of barangay councils, patronage networks and access to state resources, remain the decisive factor in most contests. The mission observed that candidates with machine backing enjoyed advantages in voter mobilisation, poll watching and vote protection that independents and opposition figures could not match. This reinforces dynastic continuity: machines are inherited, cultivated and deployed across generations.

Violence and intimidation in the provinces

While Metro Manila and other urban centres saw relatively peaceful campaigning, several provinces experienced sustained intimidation. The mission documented cases of candidates being threatened, supporters harassed and local officials pressured to switch allegiance. In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the transition to a new electoral framework under the Bangsamoro Organic Law added complexity, with reports of clan rivalries intersecting with political competition. The mission welcomed the generally peaceful conduct of polling day itself but warned that the pre-campaign and campaign periods set the terms of competition long before ballots are cast.

Reform agenda: what the mission recommends

The EU mission's final report sets out a detailed reform agenda. Priority measures include a comprehensive recodification of election law to eliminate obsolete provisions and harmonise the framework with the 1987 constitution; stricter regulation of the party-list system to restore its sectoral character, including a review of the 2013 Supreme Court ruling; stronger campaign finance rules with independent audit capacity; and the professionalisation of the Commission on Elections through security of tenure for commissioners and a merit-based bureaucracy.

The mission also urges Congress to pass an anti-dynasty law, as mandated by the constitution but unimplemented for nearly four decades. Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 constitution states: "The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law." No defining law has ever been enacted. Successive congresses, dominated by dynastic families, have declined to pass one. The mission notes that without such a law, the constitutional guarantee remains aspirational.