Beyond Personalistic Politics: A Progressive Congresswoman’s Challenge to a Political Dynasty in Dinagat Islands, Philippines

Abstract

Political dynasties remain powerful in Philippine politics to this day. However, in recent years, the Philippines has experienced some significant transformations in the realm of traditional politics. Some politicians have emerged at the local level willing to confront those supported by dynastic politics. Since most literature on Philippine politics have emphasized the durability of elite domination, such changes have not yet been fully studied. This article addresses how progressive politics evolves in contention with a political dynasty based on a qualitative, exploratory case study approach by highlighting the case of Dinagat Islands where a progressive congresswoman who ran for Congress defeated a candidate from an entrenched political dynasty by practicing programmatic governance. It explores how government capacity to respond to demands of the people can be improved. As a result of this, the article clarifies a new, though not common, dynamic of Philippine politics in the 2010s and provides important implications for the possibility of future political development and theorizing in the country.