192 Chasing the Wind: Assessing Philippine Democracy, Second Edition districts and governorships from post-Marcos 1987 to 2010 give a snapshot of the continuing dominance and resilience of about 178 political families of which 100 (56%) are old elites or those existing before Marcos' martial rule (1972) while 78 or 44% are new ones. From among these families, the most dominant were declared winners in all elections for governor and House seats during the period, the study further reveals. Six high- or low-income provinces have been ruled by a single family. A typical example is the Ortega family of La Union in northern Luzon that has won all gubernatorial races since 1988 whilst dominating the province's rst congressional district from 1969-2016. By regional distribution, Regions III (Central Luzon) and IV-A (Calabarzon) in Luzon island, and XI (three Davao provinces) in Mindanao host the biggest number of political families averaging at least three in each province. Of the 77 provinces covered by the CenPEG study, 72 (94%) have political families with at least two members winning a congressional and/or gubernatorial seat. The average number of political families in each province is 2.31. Moreover, the regions cited have the oldest and most resilient political families, among them, the Josons (Nueva Ecija), Cojuangcos and Aquinos (Tarlac), Nepomucenos and Lazatins (Pampanga), San Luis and Chipecos (Laguna), Alcalas and Envergas (Quezon), and the Rodriguez family (Rizal). The election outcomes of 1987-2010 show many families winning elections for no less than eight consecutive terms – or 24 straight years. Many of these provinces controlled perpetually by political families show low or very low HDI, e.g., Sijuijor, Albay, Camiguin, Sorsogon, Negros Oriental, and Davao Oriental. Interestingly, the rise and consolidation of dominant political families is more apparent in provinces where there are bigger populations and are relatively “richer” with at least two House districts. Conversely, poorer and less-populated provinces with single congressional districts are less conducive to generating and sustaining bigger numbers of political families. Illustrative of the former provinces ranked according to human development index (HDI) based on income, health, and education indicators during the period are Cavite, with three political families; Pampanga, 6; and Laguna, 3. In the latter set of provinces are Apayao, 2; Kalinga, 0; and Abra, 2, among others. Furthermore, the oldest and most enduring political families – with many tracing their roots to the colonial era – are in provinces in Luzon and Visayas that incubate the traditional centers of landed and business power, the export crop economy, and greater access to national state resources. Their counterparts in the poorer provinces have less resources and machineries to expand their power bases that allow political families to capture and consolidate high elective positions. Despite their resilience, some traditional political families suffer electoral setbacks under the hands of new families that eventually consolidate to form new centers of political domain. But losing political families should not be

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