Philippine Political Parties, Electoral System and Political Reform
Philippine Political Parties, Electoral System and Political Reform
The most important characteristic of Philippine political parties is that they are parties of the elite. In some senses, parties anywhere in the world are elite formations whether one defines elite in functional terms as those who lead or in sociological terms as those who hold economic and political power. But many parties at least attempt to organize regularized support from a broader segment of the population. These efforts result in a more or less stable membership, regularized patterns of interaction within and between parties, and characteristic forms of ideological or political self-definition.
In contrast, Philippine political parties are unabashed 'old boys clubs'. There are non-elite individuals, mostly men, who identify with one or another party, but all of them are followers ("retainers" might be a better word) of elite individuals. These individuals are linked together in shifting coalitions from barangays (the lowest government unit) all the way to the national government in Manila. At the core of this system are wealthy families in the town centers united downwards with dominant barangay families and upward with similar families in other towns. Some of these families are wealthy enough on their own to unite municipal political organizations and finance provincial electoral battles, or battles for congressional seats at the district level. These families constitute the provincial elite. The national elite differ from the provincial only in degree. Most importantly, the national elite are those families which "have attained a level of wealth and status practically immune from the vicissitudes of political fortune"
Other distinct characteristics of Philippine political parties, the shifting character of membership and leadership and the absence of ideological or programmatic differences between parties are linked to the nature of differentiation in the elite. Historically, class
The most important characteristic of Philippine political parties is that they are parties of the elite. In some senses, parties anywhere in the world are elite formations whether one defines elite in functional terms as those who lead or in sociological terms as those who hold economic and political power. But many parties at least attempt to organize regularized support from a broader segment of the population. These efforts result in a more or less stable membership, regularized patterns of interaction within and between parties, and characteristic forms of ideological or political self-definition.
In contrast, Philippine political parties are unabashed 'old boys clubs'. There are non-elite individuals, mostly men, who identify with one or another party, but all of them are followers ("retainers" might be a better word) of elite individuals. These individuals are linked together in shifting coalitions from barangays (the lowest government unit) all the way to the national government in Manila. At the core of this system are wealthy families in the town centers united downwards with dominant barangay families and upward with similar families in other towns. Some of these families are wealthy enough on their own to unite municipal political organizations and finance provincial electoral battles, or battles for congressional seats at the district level. These families constitute the provincial elite. The national elite differ from the provincial only in degree. Most importantly, the national elite are those families which "have attained a level of wealth and status practically immune from the vicissitudes of political fortune"
Other distinct characteristics of Philippine political parties, the shifting character of membership and leadership and the absence of ideological or programmatic differences between parties are linked to the nature of differentiation in the elite. Historically, class