MANILA?Senator Benigno Aquino III edged closer to becoming the next president of the Philippines Tuesday as vote-counting continued from Monday’s national elections, bolstering financial markets but also drawing attention to the way the country continues to be dominated by a relatively small group of family dynasties.
Mr. Aquino, a 50-year-old bachelor best known by the nickname “Noynoy” and born into one of Asia’s most famous families, by Tuesday morning had secured 40% of Monday’s presidential vote with 78% of the ballots counted. His father was democracy hero and senator Benigno Aquino Jr., who was killed in 1983 when he returned to the Philippines to challenge the dictatorship of late President Ferdinand Marcos. His mother was President Corazon Aquino, who led the 1986 “People Power” revolt that unseated Mr. Marcos and who died in August.
Mr. Aquino built much of his campaign around restoring the promise of those drama-laden years. He has pledged to hold government officials accountable for their alleged graft in the first few weeks of his administration?a move Mr. Aquino thinks will help clean up the Philippines’ reputation and draw more investment to fuel its sluggish economy. Journal Community
The Philippines’ stock market appeared to like the prospect of an Aquino presidency. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index rallied on Mr. Aquino’s growing margin of victory Tuesday to close 3.8% higher at 3,262.93 points. It was also lifted by the fact the Philippines’ first-ever automated elections system performed with few serious setbacks, while news of a rescue package for Greece also helped.
Alberto Lim, executive director of Manila-based Makati Business Club lobby group, predicted investment might soon flow into the country now that the elections have passed peacefully and appear to have put a pro-business candidate into the presidency. “Everybody was just waiting until the election’s over,” he said.
But for Mr. Aquino to achieve his goals, he will need to pick his way through the dense networks of family alliances that dominate Congress and commercial life in the Philippines.
It could be a difficult task, even within his own clan. Mr. Aquino last year suggested his mother’s wealthy relatives, the Cojuangcos, could sell their holdings in the Hacienda Luisita sugar plantation north of Manila and thereby kick-start a slow-moving land-reform program. Mr. Aquino owns only 3% of the plantation, however. More influential family members will likely choose not to go along with his plan.
Then there are the Philippines’ other big political clans. Other winners in Monday’s elections included members of the Marcos family. The late dictator’s widow, the colorful, 80-year-old Imelda Marcos, Tuesday was leading the count for a congressional race in her husband’s home town. Her daughter Imee Marcos and son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. were also leading their respective gubernatorial and senatorial races.
Outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is stepping down because of term limits, is leading a vote count for a congressional seat in her home town. If she wins, she joins other members of her family already in Congress and is widely expected to emerge as a powerful speaker of the House of Representatives. That could complicate Mr. Aquino’s effort to work with Congress, especially if it comes under intense pressure to prosecute Mrs. Arroyo for allegedly rigging an election in 2004 as well as her alleged involvement in several corruption scandals. Mrs. Arroyo denies any wrongdoing.
This family-style politics is pervasive. Benito Lim, a political science professor at Ateneo de Manila University, calculates that three-quarters of the members of the Philippines’ congress have parents who were congressmen or some other elected official, or uncles or wives or cousins.
Relatively few candidates managed to break this dynastic stranglehold this year. In an interview last month, presidential candidate Manuel Villar complained of having to spend millions of dollars on television advertising “just to level the playing field” against an opponent with a recognizable family name. Mr. Villar conceded defeat on Tuesday, having secured about 14% of the vote after his support base dropped off amid a series of corruption allegations.
Another candidate, former President Joseph Estrada, came closer. A former movie icon who was elected in 1998 before being ousted in a corruption scandal three years later, he secured 25% of the vote by Tuesday morning. Mr. Estrada’s lawyers say they are discussing whether there are sufficient grounds to file a vote-buying complaint against other candidates.
Political analysts say that acquiring some level of fame in media or sports is often the only way to break local dynasties, and several actors have followed Mr. Estrada by parlaying their screen fame into successful political careers.
Perhaps the best-known Filipino ? world-famous boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao ? scored what’s looking like the biggest victory against an entrenched political clan this year. He is leading the congressional race against a member of the powerful Chiongbian family in his home district of Sarangani.
Mr. Pacquaio, 31, is leading in the count so far, and local election official Michael Abas says his fate will be announced later Tuesday.
