ON July 28, 2025, the 20th Congress — the Senate and House of Representatives — convenes. This will be timed with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) which is to be delivered in a joint session of Congress at the Batasang Pambansa. This is a traditional festive event where the honorable senators and congressmen/women with their spouses — legitimate or otherwise — preen for the TV cameras attired in their finest Filipiniana costumes. The men in Barong Tagalog and the women in their baro’t saya, kimona or terno, with their distinctive butterfly sleeves designed by their incongruously expensive couturiers. The nouveau riche — or the soon-to-be — will come in droves, some displaying their branded accessories, Rolex, Cartier and Patek Philippe, and Louis Vuitton, YSL, Hermes Birkin, etc. Some scattered progressives, leftist and genuine representatives of indigenous communities will strike a contrast by wearing real native tribal bahag (loincloth), but being in the minority they will not merit TV time.

Senate

This week’s column exposes to the public a different angle on some of these senators and their ilk we voted to power, now decoupled from the leverage we ordinary voters once possessed before elections.

The Philippine Senate, a venerable institution designed as a deliberative body epitomizing the national interest, is one of the three independent branches of government patterned after the American federal system representing its 50 states (two senators per state, six-year term and no term limits). Our model, imposed by Westerners, ignorant of the nuances of our ethos, was meant to be a microcosm of the nation’s political milieu and cultural diversity.

Divorced from the American practice, our senators are elected to serve six years, limited to two terms. Senators often come from established political families that morphed into political dynasties (polidyn). The first siblings to have sat together in Congress were Jose Laurel Jr. and Salvador “Doy” Laurel. The former, a speaker of the House and Doy as senator and later President Cory’s unlamented vice president.

A family heirloom

Today, the 20th Congress is a perversion containing four sets of siblings from polidyns. Philippine studies show (Ronal Mendoza, ASOG, 2019) that these narratives of kinship reveal a persistent shadow of corruption exacerbated by ever-shifting sands of political party affiliations. More dubious are the bloodlines intertwining the Senate and the bureaucracy of regimes in power. Cynthia Villar of the real-estate billionaire family was for a time sitting as a powerful senator while her son, Mark Villar, was the equally powerful secretary of public works in the Duterte regime, then later elected senator. Upon the retirement of mother Cynthia, senator Mark’s sister, Camille, has been elected senator and assumes her mother’s former post. Their patriarch, Manny Villar, Cynthia’s husband, was once the Senate president and before that was speaker of the House of Representatives that initiated President Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s impeachment.

The current configuration highlights a sustained family presence. The Tulfo brothers, Erwin and Raffy, could have assumed a bizarre familial connection had Ben, the third brother, won in the last senatorial election. While senator Erwin was a party-list representative before his Senate bid, Raffy, a media personality, won his Senate seat in 2022. So too are the Cayetano siblings — Pia and Alan Peter — both children of the late senator Rene Cayetano, the dynasty founder. Alan Peter once ran for vice president as Rodrigo Duterte’s running mate. Pia is on her second set of a 12-year stint, solidifying the family’s legislative footprint.

Beyond full relatives, the dynamic extends to half-siblings, exemplified by Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito, the children of former president Erap. Jinggoy, is the son of legal wife former senator Loi and JV, son of common-law wife, former San Juan mayor Guia Gomez. This lineage underscores how political arcana can be passed down and branched out within complex family structures, perpetuating a political legacy across generations.

Criminal syndicates

The discourse surrounding Philippine senators is not solely about familial ties. A significant and often contentious aspect involves allegations of corruption and criminality, which have cast a long shadow over the institution. A case in point is Jinggoy Estrada who faced charges of plunder and bribery stemming from the infamous Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), commonly known as the “pork barrel,” scam. This scandal involved the alleged misuse of discretionary funds allocated to lawmakers, that were allegedly funneled to bogus nongovernment organizations masterminded by Janet Lim-Napoles in exchange for kickbacks.

Jinggoy’s legal rollercoaster ride is reflective of a weak and corrupt justice system. First acquitted of plunder by the Sandiganbayan, he was convicted of one count of direct bribery and two counts of indirect bribery in January 2024, a verdict that included a prison sentence, a fine and disqualification from public office. This conviction however was not final and executory at that time, thus allowing him to again run for senator.

Subsequently in a highly questionable move in August 2024, the Sandiganbayan reversed its decision, effectively clearing Jinggoy of the direct and indirect bribery charges. This acquittal was upheld in December 2024, solidifying his clearance from these specific corruption charges. As of July 5, 2025, Jinggoy Estrada has been acquitted of both plunder and bribery charges related to the PDAF scam. He goes scot-free.

Teflon senators

A slight digression for historical context is the case of former senator Juan Ponce Enrile — a “Makoy” henchman — who was likewise a key figure in the PDAF scam. Enrile was arrested and detained but eventually acquitted of plunder. It was his chief of staff, Gigi Reyes, who was convicted of the crime and did jail time for more than six years.

Jinggoy’s kabarkada and co-accused — former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. (coming 13th place in the recent election) also faced charges of plunder and graft. He was acquitted of plunder and his graft cases were dismissed by the Sandiganbayan — but he was ordered to return P124.5 million in civil liability. But his former chief of staff Richard Cambe was convicted and tragically died in prison. These high-profile acquittals in major corruption cases have often sparked public debate and scrutiny, raising questions about accountability and justice within the Philippine legal system. The big fishes get away — the small fry are eaten.

The cabal of senators provides a fascinating lens through which to view the intricacies of the nation’s dysfunctional political and justice system. It underscores the persistent challenge of corruption, with high-profile cases like the PDAF scam — and the latest anomalous 2025 budget manipulation — shaping public perception and continually testing the pathetic justice system. The fluctuating status of these cases, particularly the acquittal of powerful figures, continue to fuel national conversations about accountability.

It highlights the pervasive nature of polidyns, where relatives and siblings often follow in each other’s footsteps, extending family influence across legislative branches and governance. The Philippine constitution is unequivocally on the prohibition of polidyns yet allows their survival and proliferation shielded by that critical escape proviso, “as may be defined by law.” Who makes the law but the dynasts!

These intertwined relationships, a defining characteristic of political reality in the higher echelon of leadership, leads to an entrenched power base from whence regulatory capture, rent-seeking engagements through its influence-peddling tentacles reach out to the nooks and crannies of governance.

These are the honorable senators we voted for!