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A Glance at Change:
th
The 17 Congress of the
Philippines
Dennis Coronacion Ph.D
Chair, UST Department of Political Science

Outline

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I. Analytical Assumptions

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II. Composition of the 17th Congress

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A. Newly-elected and re-electionists?

B. Political Dynasties?
C. Party affiliation?

II. The 17th Congress and the Duterte

Presidency: Cooperation or conflict?

I. Analytical Assumptions

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This presentation is guided by the major studies in the

literatures on Philippine political dynasties (Gutierrez & McCoy),
Philippine political parties (Lande & Scott), and state-society
relations (Migdal, Shue, Abinales).

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Some of their key findings include:

Party loyalty and party identity are weak due to the primacy
of patron-client relations.
The dominance of political dynasties in Congress has
hampered the passage of reformist legislative agenda of the
executive.

II. Composition of the 17th Congress

A. House of Representatives

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District Representatives: 238

Party-list Representatives: 55

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135: Re-elected
103: newly-elected

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District Representatives:

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Senate
12 Senators (2016 2022)
Re-elected: 3 (Drilon, Sotto, Recto)
Newly-elected: 5 (Villanueva, Pacquiao, Hontiveros,
Gatchalian, De Lima)
Returnees: 4 (Lacson, Gordon, Zubiri, Pangilinan)

II. Political Dynasties

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House of Representatives: No data yet

Senators:
Recto: Vilma Santos-Recto (wife), Governor of Batangas
Lacson: Dennis Lacson, councilor of Imus, Cavite
Zubiri: Jose Zubiri (father), representative, 3rd district of
Bukidnon
Escudero: Evelina Escudero (mother) Representative,
Sorsogon
Binay: Abby Binay (sister), City Mayor of Makati.

Political Dynasties

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Senators:
Ejercito: Guia Gomez (mother), Mayor, San Juan City
Pacquiao: Jinkee Pacquiao (wife), Vice Governor, Sarangani
province
Cayetano: Pia Cayetano (sister), Congresswoman, Taguig
Gatchalian: Sherwin Gatchalian (brother), Mayor, Valenzuela
City
Sotto III: Lala Sotto (daughter), Councilor, 6th district of
Quezon City
Angara: Karen Angara Ularan (cousin), Vice Mayor of Baler
Aurora

.
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Source: AIM Policy Center staff calculations. Figures show poverty incidence as percentage of families living
below the annual poverty threshold. Data obtained from Philippine Statistics Authority.

Retrieved at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/532105/opinion/and-why-congress-should-pass-ananti-dynasty-law#sthash.0bZ1MOos.dpuf

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Kabayan
Kalinga
Kusug Tausug
Manila Teachers
Mata
PBA
TUCP,
Yacap

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Aasenso
III. Parties with
Coalition Agreement Abang Lingkod
with PDP-LABAN
ABS
Nationalist Coalition
ACTS-OFW
Party (NPC)
Nacionalista Party (NP) AGAP
Agbiag
LAKAS-CMD
National Unity Party
Agri
(NUP)
Akbayan
Party List with
Coalition Agreement Amin
Ang Kabuhayan
with PDP-LABAN
Angkla
Ako Bicol
1-Ang Edukasyon A-Teacher
BH
AAMBIS-OWA
Buhay
1-Care
Butil
1-Pacman
Cibac
1-Sagip
Coop-NATCCO
Aangat Tayo

Source:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/1337
19-lp-congressmen-moving-pdplaban
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/787547/
from-3-to-300-pdp-laban-formssupermajority-in-house

The 17th Congress

The Senate: Party Affiliation

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LP: 7 members (Drillon, Villanueva, Pangilinan, De Lima,

Aquino, Recto)

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Independent: 5 (Lacson, Poe, Gordon, Zubiri, Escudero)

UNA: 4 (Binay, Pacquiao, Ejercito, Honasan)
Nacionalista Party: 3 (Cayetano, Villar, Trillanes)
NPC: 3 (Gatchalian, Legarda, Sotto)
LDP: 1 (Angara)
PDP-Laban: 1 (Pimentel)

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Hontiveros (LP, Akbayan)

Conflict or Cooperation?

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A. Newly-elected and re-elected

The relatively small margin between the
newly-elected (103) and re-elected (135)
district representatives may mean a
cooperative stance.
As for the Senate, the said distinction holds
little significance.

Conflict or Cooperation?

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B. Dynasties
Both houses are dominated by political
dynasties.
Family/elite interests have also determined
the failure or success of government programs
and policies.
Inter-elite dynamics may affect the programs
and policies of the government.

Conflict or Cooperation?

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C. Party affiliation
With the super majority, characterized by the
exodus of Congressmen to PDP-Laban and the
coalition agreements, the Duterte government
will experience insignificant opposition in the
House of Reps.
In the Senate, the Duterte government might
encounter opposition due to the independent
stance of the senators and the dominance of LP.