THE ELITES IN POLITICS

THE ELITES IN POLITICS

Meaning of the concept Elite

In political and sociological theory, an elite is a

small group of people who control
a disproportionate amount of wealth or
political power.
In general, elite means the more powerful
group of people. The selected part of a
group that is superior to the rest in terms of
ability or qualities or has more privilege than
the rest.
THE ELITES IN POLITICS
Charles Wright Mills an American sociologist,
wrote in his 1957 book The Power Elite of the
"elite" as "those political, economic, and military
circles, which as an intricate set of overlapping
small but dominant groups share decisions having
at least national consequences. Insofar as national
events are decided, the power elite are those
who decide them".Mills states that the power
elite members recognize other members' mutual
exalted position in society. As a rule, they accept
one another, understand one another, marry one
another, tend to work and to think, if not
together at least alike'.
THE ELITES IN POLITICS
The Elites in Politics
1. Political Dynasties
- Political elites come from or are members
of political dynasties.
- Article II, Section 26 of the 1987
Constitution prohibits political dynasties. It
states, “The state shall guarantee equal
access to opportunities for public service
and prohibit political dynasties as may be
defined by law.”
THE ELITES IN POLITICS
- No one Congress has been successful in
passing anti-dynasty law to put flesh to this
constitutional right to equal opportunity to
serve.
- Procedurally, an anti-dynasty bill is referred
to the Committee on Electoral Reform
which effectively kills such bill.
- Those pro-dynasty argue that an anti-
dynasty law is antithetical to democracy
which enshrines the right of everyone to
vote and be voted upon.
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THE TRANSFORMATION OF POLITICAL ELITES
1. Spanish Period
- Spaniards co-opted with local datus and
gave them hereditary posts as cabezas de
barangay. Many enriched themselves
through colonial patronage, and through
export agriculture.
- Forebears of political clans like the Duranos,
Aquinos, Cojuangcos, Romualdezes,
Fuentebellas and Laurels trace their roots to
Spanish-era principalia.
THE ELITES IN POLITICS
The Principalía or noble class was the
ruling and usually educated upper class in
the towns of Spanish Philippines,
comprising the gobernadorcillo (who had
functions similar to a town mayor), and
the cabezas de barangay (heads of the
barangays) who governed the districts.
THE ELITES IN POLITICS
2. American Period
- Political families emerged with the
introduction of electoral politics by
American colonizers in the early 20th
century.
- Because suffrage was limited initially to
propertied and educated Filipinos, political
office was monopolized by landowning
families in the provinces.
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3. Republican Philippines
- Two-thirds of the legislators in the post-
Marcos Congress are members of political
families. Of these, 70 percent are second and
third-generation politicians.
- Political families have the legacy of a family
name that voters remember and will vote
for again and again. Over time, families build
reputation – courage, heroism, generosity,
etc., - whether or not these attributes are
justified, voters remember the attributes
that make a family distinct from the others.
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- there were 169 “politically dominant”
families who monopolized elective and
appointive government posts from 1946 to
1963. These families produced 584 public
officials or an average of 3.5 officials per
family. Of these officials, 203 held top posts,
including 7 presidents, 2 vice presidents, 42
senators, and 147 representatives.
- some clans have produced a
disproportionate number of legislators from
the First Philippine Assembly to the 12th
Congress
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a. Aquinos/Cojuangcos of Tarlac – eight
(average of two legislators per generation)
b. Laurels of Batangas – seven
c. Osmeñas of Cebu/Antoninos of South
Cotabato/ Fuentebellas of Camarines
Sur/Espinosas of Masbate – five each
d. Marcoses of Ilocos Sur/ Romualdezes of
Leyte – six
e. Ortegas of Pangasinan/Cuencos of Cebu –
four each
THE 7 M’s of DYNAsTY
BUILDING
1. Money
- position in government used to expand
landholdings or business empire
- preferential access to privileges from the
state (loans, franchises, monopolies, tax
exemptions, cheap foreign exchange,
subsidies, etc)
- some families established and expanded
their firms after gaining access to
government credit and licenses and
government-administered foreign aid and
loans.
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2. Machine
- a political machine includes a network of
“liders” who in turn mobilize a network of
campaigners for the candidate. These “liders”
dispense money to voters, election watchers,
and often, also the schoolteachers who man
the polls.
- landowners mobilize the votes of their
workers or tenants and use the hacienda
organization of overseers for the campaign.
- family is a built-in political machine
- gambling network
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3. Media and/or Movies
- Since 1990 celebrity power eclipsed clan
power
- In the past entertainers were hired
to grace political campaigns
- Now entertainers themselves run for
elections
- although media is considered as an
important tool in campaigning its effect as
to influence voters’ behavior is in question
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Sociological (Columbia) Model of Voting Behavior
- Paul Felix Lasarsfeld founder, Bureau
of Applied Social Research of
Columbia University
- researched on the effects to
people their exposure to
media regarding their voting
behavior
- concluded that social factors (e.g. social
class to which a person belongs was
the most accurate indicator of likely
voting intention)
- media had no effect on voting behavior (research was
` done in Ohio state in 1944).
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4. Marriage
- political marriages consolidate political
networks
example of political marriages:
a. Ninoy and Cory
b. Ferdinand and Imelda
c. Manny and Cynthia
5. Murder and Mayhem
- to remain in power politicians sometime
resort to murder
Examples:
1. Murder of Ilocos Rep. Julio Nalundasan
(September 1935)
2. Murder of Floro Crisologo (1970)
3. Buenafrido Berris and Emmanuel Peña
a UPLB alumnus (March 29, 2016)
THE ELITES IN POLITICS
6. Myth
- Ferdinand Marcos used this to his
advantage (he projected himself as a
WWII hero by forming Maharlika a 9,200
strong band of anti-Japanese guerilla who
staged daring raids in northern Luzon)
He claimed he got 32 medals for this feat
- Diosdado Macapagal “poor boy” from Lubao
- Ramon Magsaysay “champion of the masses”
- Joseph Estrada “Erap para sa mahirap”
THE ELITES IN POLITICS
7. Merger/Alliances
- political families build alliances with other clans
and influential politicians
- if one is allied with the administration one can
get many concessions, if opposed
it means being starved of funds and favors
Example of alliance
Danding Cojuangco formed NPC as a vehicle in
his run for the presidency in 1992 and formed
alliances with different political parties in past
elections to advance his personal interst