Part 2: List of Children of Politicians Running For Seats in the PH 2022 Election

Much of the world is looking at how governance is run in the Philippines, with concerns looming as political families govern cities and towns for decades, this upcoming elections prove no different as several clans battle it out for seats in the government.

Philippine politics expert Richard Heydarian said in an NPR article that political families are such a dominant feature in the Philippines, that between 70% and 90% of elected offices have been governed by political clans.

Moreover, children of prominent political figures are also looking to be re-elected or seek a higher post. Here are some.

Joy Belmonte

Joy Belmonte is the current mayor of Quezon City and is the daughter of former mayor and House Speaker Sonny Belmonte.

Belmonte completed her high school at the Poveda Learning Centre, and got her Social Sciences degree from the Ateneo de Manila University. She then went to the UK to get a Master’s Degree in Philosophy from the Institute of Archaeology, University College in London, and another Master’s degree in Museum Studies from Leicester University in the United Kingdom.

Belmonte highlights a 14-point agenda for the development of Quezon City.

Among her achievements as Quezon City Mayor was the local tax collection of P22 billion in 2020, which was the highest in the country at that time and in the history of the city.

Abigail “Abby” Binay

The daughter of former vice president and senate re-electionist Jejomar Binay, Abby Binay is seeking re-election as the mayor of Makati City.

The Binay political clan has been controlling the mayoral post of Makati City for more than three decades, starting when Jejomar on February 27, 1986, was appointed by then-President Corazon C. Aquino to serve as the officer-in-charge of the then Municipality of Makati.

Abby Binay is running against her younger sister, Marita Angeline Binay.

Mark Villar

Mark Villar, the son of Filipino billionaire businessman and former politician Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr., and incumbent Senator Cynthia Villar is seeking a spot in the senate this coming 2022 elections.

Villar, before filing his candidacy for a senate spot, served as the Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from 2016 to 2021, the isolation czar for the COVID-19 pandemic, and the main facilitator of the Duterte administration’s flagship Build, Build, Build program.

Villar was elected representative of the lone district of Las Piñas for three consecutive terms, with his last term being cut short due to his appointment as DPWH Secretary. (GFB)