In Search of Credible Elections and Parties: The Philippine Paradox 63 districts have been more conducive to the emergence and consolidation of dominant political families. (see Table 5) In contrast, the Cordillera provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mt. Province have the smallest number of political families with a regional average of 0.83. Abra has two dominant political families but Apayao, Benguet and Mt. Province have only one each while Ifugao and Kalinga have no dominant political players. With the exception of Benguet which had the highest HDI rank in 2006 and Abra ranked at 24, the other provinces had low HDI outcomes with Apayao and Kalinga ranked at 64 and 65 respectively out of 77 provinces. Moreover, except Benguet, the other five provinces are also among the least densely populated in the country with an average population density of 54 persons per square kilometer (NSCB 2010). Finally, all the provinces except Benguet have only single congressional districts which means that there is less leeway for competing political families to establish and consolidate their own electoral turfs. These data suggest that poorer and less populated provinces in single congressional districts have more difficulty generating and sustaining bigger numbers of political families. (see Table 6) Table 5: Regions with the Biggest Number of Political Families. Region Region III Number of Political Families 24 Mean per Region Human Development Index Rank (2006) Major Political Families 3.43 Aurora Bataan Bulacan 2 2 3 37 4 11 Nueva Ecija Pampanga 4 6 44 6 Tarlac 5 16 Zambales Region IV-A Batangas Cavite Laguna Quezon 2 18 4 3 3 5 Region XI Davao del Norte 11 3 Davao del Sur Davao Oriental 4 4 22 Angara, Ong Roman, Garcia Silverio, Sy-Alvarado, dela Cruz/Mendoza Joson, Lorenzo-Villareal, Violago, Umali Bondoc, Lapid, Arroyo, Nepomuceno, Lingad, Lazatin Aquino, Cojuangco, Yap, Teodoro, Lapus Gordon, Magsaysay 3.6 15 3 5 58 Laurel, Recto, Perez, Ermita Remulla, Revilla, Abaya Chipeco, San Luis, Joaquin Alcala, Enverga, Tañada, Punzalan, Suarez, 33 Sarmiento, del Rosario, Floirendo/Lagdameo Almendras, Bautista, Llanos, Cagas Almario, Dayanghirang, Palma-Gil, Lopez 3.67 14 66