Beneficial—for whom?

For the first time in Philippine political history, the Senate of the 20th Congress will have an unprecedented four pairs of siblings in it. Senators Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito, while not full siblings, share a common father, former president Erap Estrada. Both have been in the Senate for at least two terms.

The May 2025 senatorial elections saw the successful comeback of Pia Cayetano, who now joins her sibling, Alan Peter Cayetano. Mark Villar and the newly elected Camille Villar are the third set of siblings. The fourth set of siblings is Raffy Tulfo and newcomer Erwin Tulfo. Another sibling, Ben, also ran in the May 2025 elections for senator. A lot of people heaved a sigh of relief when Ben did not make it. It would have been another unprecedented stage in the history of the Philippine Senate to have three brothers in the country’s highest legislative body.

How this has happened is not an accident. Neither is it a coincidence, nor, more importantly, is it by fate, or dictated by the universe, or by powers higher than any human being could wield in this world.

Politicians always invoke the blessings of the “Almighty” for having allowed them to win any election. But invoking Divine Providence in this largely human-based enterprise, which is fraught with many irregularities and dubious processes, is quite blasphemous.

Current political dynamics in the country are driven more by the desire of political families to stay as long as they can in power, creating dynasties that have expanded upward and down their family trees, as well as horizontally by affinity or by marriage. These dynasties have gained control over local politics as well as in provinces and municipalities run by single political families—from their patriarchs to their grandchildren, and their relatives through marriage.

But going back to the current 20th Senate, its members include eight senators who are siblings. In a 24-member body, eight senators comprise one-third—making them a potent bloc for the passage of certain laws or for the conviction and impeachment of a government official being tried in the Senate as an impeachment court.

As was shown two weeks ago, senators from the same political family made a common decision to remand the articles of impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte to the lower house of Congress. Expectedly, these four pairs of siblings will be voting together—for good or for bad—for the country and for us, as the direct recipients of any government legislation or resolution filed and approved in the Senate.

At this point, I raise the sensibility or the lack of it—in electing four pairs of siblings to a crucial lawmaking body like the Senate.

As the highest lawmaking body of the land, the Senate does not only have a legislative mandate. More significantly, it is mandated by the Philippine Constitution to be convened as an impeachment court whenever the lower house of Congress forwards to it the articles of impeachment against a top government official. Do these four pairs of siblings understand this mandate?

See Also

Senators, do you know where you’re going to?

Perhaps siblings occupying the same place of power in any legislative or executive body in our government could be beneficial. They can show that they are the “best and the brightest” among those who wish to gain political power. Or they can show they are the most qualified for certain positions because of their expertise, sterling performance in their previous work, and unblemished records of integrity and transparency in public service. Or they could have been strong advocates for unpopular causes like human rights promotion, gender and development mainstreaming, or championing the causes of marginalized and impoverished communities. Then, by all means, they should be where they are now.

But do we have all these talents and the commitment for dedicated public service from among these four pairs of siblings in the Senate? Is becoming senators at the same time their only way of expressing their public service commitment?

The Villar family is a good case study. After former senator Cynthia Villar ended her term as senator, she made sure her daughter would replace her in the Senate, ensuring the Villars hold on to important legislations or measures that will protect their huge business interests. Cynthia did not stop being a “has-been” senator; she ran for a congressional post—the one vacated by her daughter Camille. Fortunately, for Las Piñas, the elder Villar lost to city councilor Mark Anthony Santos to represent its lone district.

There could be benefits in having one-third of the Senate composed of siblings. But it will not be for the greater number of Filipinos, but for the members of the same family enjoying the same high status, privileges and perks, financial sustainability, and furthering whatever political motives they want to pursue for their own ends.