351 347 1 PB PDF
351 347 1 PB PDF
351 347 1 PB PDF
Introduction
Local politics has been considered as one of the main areas of
concern in Philippine politics. Several frameworks have been proposed,
based on empirical researches since the 1960s. Each framework is
attractive and persuasive because of the abundant field data. However,
studies on local politics have their own limitations because of their very
empirical nature. The peculiarity of an area which a researcher chooses
is always involved, though he/she tries to construct a sort of general
framework which could explain the patterns of local politics in the
Philippines. Time factor should also be given attention. Changes in the
socio-economic situation create a climate for changes of political
leadership.
This paper intends neither to refute the previous frameworks nor
construct an alternative general framework, but tries to explore some
points which may have been missed out in their discussions. In order to
do so, Naga City focusing on Mayor Jesse Robredos administration is
chosen as the case. There are several reasons for choosing Naga City,
the main one being its urban setting. One important point which has been
left out in the previous discussions is the impact of urbanization on local
5
politics. Although Naga City is still a small city, its urbanized situation is
apparent. It is not so difficult to assume that urbanization transforms the
political pattern as it does the socio-economic situation of both constituency
and the political elite. Another reason for choosing Naga City is its socalled innovative political leader. The city has been continuously earning
awards under the administration of Mayor Jesse Robredo. The previous
frameworks did not consider the political leaders capability for governance
as an important factor.1 This aspect should be scrutinized as well.
Patron/Client Relationships
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
Political Machine
Patrimonialism/Bossism
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
10
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
11
of religion and education in the Bicol region. Naga City was the capital
of Camarines Sur until it acquired its charter (R.A. 305) and became an
independent city in 1948.
Today, Naga City is composed of 27 barangays and has 126,972
residents.10 Among the 27 barangays, only five are called upland
barangays, or rural areas. The others, whose population comprises 88%
of the total population of Naga City, are considered as urban areas. The
main industry in Naga is commerce.
1978
L. Villafuerte (KBL)
1980
(UNIDO)
1986
1987
Roco (LDP)
1988
(LDP)
Robredo (LDP)
conflict
1992
coalition
1998
(Lakas)
(LAMMP)
coalition
(AD)
Legend:
in power
retaining some power
powerless
(AD)
12
Naga City had appointed mayors from the enactment of its charter
in 1948 up to 1959. The first elected mayor in 1959 is Nacionalista
member Victorino Ojeda, a lawyer from a landed wealthy family. 11 (See
Table 1 for the influential political groups in Naga.) His opponent was
Ramon Felipe, Jr., who is also from one of the wealthiest landed families
in Naga since Spanish time. Father Ramon Felipe, Sr. was a congressman
for two terms (1922-28) and a governor for two terms (1928-34). Felipe
Jr.s wife is from the Abella family, considered the wealthiest of the
wealthy in Naga.12
A topnotcher in the 1944 bar exams, Felipe, Jr. was able to win the
next elections held in 1963 as the Liberal candidate, defeating incumbent
Vice-mayor Mariano Villafuerte, Jr. (Nacionalista), who is also a son of a
former congressman (1928-34) and governor (1942), Mariano Villafuerte,
Sr.
When Felipe, Jr. ran for the congressional elections in 1965 and won,
then Vice-Mayor Vicente Sibulo became mayor. Although Sibulo was also
born in Naga, he is a bit different from his predecessors. His father, Pablo
Sibulo, migrated from Muntinlupa and gained a high status in Naga not
with inherited wealth, but through the legal profession. Vicente Sibulos
mother is from the prominent Prado family in the neighboring municipality,
Camaligan. Like his father, Vicente Sibulo is a lawyer. He was city fiscal
before becoming the vice-mayor.13
Sibulo was the mayor for 14 years until he was removed by former
President Ferdinand Marcos in December 1979. He was elected as
mayor in 1967 and 1971. His vice-mayor was Felipe, Jr.s sister, Virginia
Felipe-Perez, a pharmacist. Sibulo is remembered as a developmentoriented administrator. He employed his cousin, Pit Prado, a technocrat,
as his consultant. The public market in Naga was built during Sibulos
term.
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
13
14
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
15
16
Political Leaders
Who are the political leaders in Naga City? The profiles of political
leaders give a clue to analysis of local politics.
Mayors
While their family backgrounds differ, all of the mayors were born in
Naga City. Victorino Ojeda (1959-1963) and Ramon Felipe (19631965) are from old landed wealthy families. Sibulo (1965-1979) is from
a professional family which was not originally from the region. Carlos Del
Castillo (1979-1988), is also from a middle class family. Robredos
parents were not landowners. Hence, after Sibulo, it seems landed elite
found the door closed to politics. This tendency is more obvious among
city councilors. Regarding their occupations, there is a shift from lawyers
(Ojeda, Felipe, Sibulo, Del Castillo) to management experts (Robredo,
Roco) (Table 2).
Term
Family
Birthplace
Education
Occupation
Victorino Ojeda
1959-63
Landed
Naga
LlB
Ramon Felipe
1963-65
Landed
Naga
LlB
Lawyer
Lawyer
Vicente Sibulo
1965-79
Professional
Naga
LlB
Lawyer
1979-88
n.a.
Naga
LlB
Police/Lawyer
Jesse Robredo
1988-98
Business
Naga
MBA
Business Exec.
Sulpicio Roco
1998-
Agriculture
Naga
MA
Consultant
Anthropology
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
17
Although it is not stated in the table, all Naga City mayors have a
politician kin. Ojeda, Felipe, del Castillo have fathers who were political
leaders (although del Castillos father was only municipal board member).
Sibulos father was also active in politics and his elder brother, Ramon,
was once appointed mayor of Naga City. And then, of course, Villafuerte
is Robredos distant uncle. Also, except for del Castillo, most of the
mayors did not previously occupy the position of city councilor. Mobility
between mayor and city councilor is low.
City Councilors
Barangay Captains
18
Age
No.
Socio-economic No.
status*
Birthplace
No.
20-30
30-40
40-50
50-60
60-70
1
4
11
9
2
A&B
C
D
E
Naga
Outside Naga
17
10
3
7
7
10
Education
No.
Occupation
No.**
Elementary
High School
Undergraduate
College graduate
Units in Masters
5
2
8
11
1
Engineer
Gov't. employee
Teacher
Nurse
Business (own)
Company employee
Agriculture
Barangay official only
Driver
Housewife
Barangay tanod
Barangay health worker
3
2
2
1
11
4
4
1
1
1
1
1
Yes, in Naga
Yes, outside
None
*
**
3
0
24
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
19
Among the barangay captains few are professionals and many are
involved in small business. In addition to this, 13 out of 27 Naga City
barangay captains have no occupations other than their elective posts.
They either resigned or retired from jobs they previously held. This shows
that the benefits derived from the post can sustain their households. It
is facilitated by the increase of local autonomy under the 1991 Local
Government Code.
Regarding birth places, not a few barangay captains are from outside
Naga. This indicates that barangay captains are elected based on their
personal capacity (like city councilors) and not by kinship. This argument
is also augmented by the data that show only a few barangay captains
having politicians as their kin.
Meanwhile, 15 out of the 27 barangay captains experienced the
position of barangay kagawad before being elected as captain. The
mobility among barangay officials is high.
20
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
21
Membership
15,000
5,000
Founded
1989
n.a.
10,000
1990
3,000
1993
n.a.
1994
6,000
1995
2,000
1993
4,500
1994
150
1993
6,000
1960
Karatela Association
Market Stallholders Federation
Metro Naga Vendors Federation
1,000
1995
4,000
1993
and (2) accepts and provides members request for assistance to them.
If the Lingkod Barangay Office itself cannot do this, it refers the requests
to the concerned department of the city government. Most of these
requests are so-called indigent services like medicine, medical checkup, and funeral support. During election time it mobilizes organizations
for the support of administration, detects and solves the problems of
leaders in the organizations, sets the administration candidates schedule
of campaigning; gets feedback from members regarding the response of
residents towards city government and broadens the mass base by
recruiting new active ward leaders who transferred from other places or
reached legal age.
Most of the members of the organizations are from the lower income
groups. They are the ones who need the city government's public service
the most. Women are more committed to the activities of organizations
than men and play a more crucial role in mobilization at the ward level.26
22
Like in other urban centers, Naga has a huge urban poor population.
According to the city government, as of 1989, there are 5,500 families
regarded as squatters and slum dwellers in Naga City. They comprise
about 25 percent of the city population.27 As early as 1986, a nongovernment organization known as the COPE Foundation arrived in Naga
City and started organizing the urban poor. Although it was able to
achieve some success in organizing some residents, it had to face
uncooperative, or sometimes antagonistic reaction from the del Castillo
administration. It was only when Robredo assumed the mayorship that
the city government became more supportive. Working together with
Robredo, urban poor organizations were established and provided
assistance to the residents, especially regarding land acquisition. In
1989, the city government set up the Urban Poor Affairs Office (UPAO)
to respond to the needs of urban poor residents. The membership of
Naga City Urban Poor Federation, which was founded in 1986, grew from
nine urban poor communities to more than 70 member organizations
during the Robredo administration.28
UPAO is different from Lingkod Barangay Office because it does not
initiate organizing. There is a so-called tripartite approach based on the
cooperation of the city government, NGOs and Peoples Organizations.
Hence, the office has less political color. But UPAOs projects have
tremendous impact on the perspective of the urban poor towards the city
government. By cooperating in organizing urban poor residents, their
demands became clear and it became easier for the city government to
respond as shown by the visible benefits it has provided to urban poor
residents. During the period from 1989 to 1997, the city government
disposed a total of 49.6 hectares of private- and government-owned
lands to a total of 4,668 urban poor families.29 Robredos policy towards
urban poor was well appreciated.30 This situation prepares the foundation
for mobilization by organizations handled by Lingkod Barangay Office.
DOLECOM
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
23
Year
Amount Released
1990
P 108,000
1991
638,000
Collection
n.a.
P44,253
Efficiency(%)
n.a.
6
Beneficieries
127
1,009
1992
531,900
79,725
14
1,063
1993
2,036,625
676,522
33
1,063
1994
3,753,202
1,394,613
37
2,261
1995
4,376,500
2,257,465
51
2,824
1996
3,526,125
2,499,660
70
2,843
24
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
25
26
Year
Cash Inflow
Increase
1977
P 6,844,720.72
P 6,084,364.94
Sibulo
1980
16,194,605.58
11,631,643.97
1987
19,254,111.62
20,203,764.49
1988
25,213,484.46
23,203,746.49
1991
60,964,191.89
141.8%
59,897,837.52
1993
126,344,646.26
107.2%
107,982,744.62
1996
188,845,116.48
18.9%
Cash Outflow
Administration
177,950,634.17
Source: City Planning and Development Office, Naga City Statistical Profile, n.d.
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
27
Type
1977
1987
1996
Concrete
20.121
14
36.174
23
114.850
71
Asphalt
42.968
31
61.935
40
20.225
12
Gravel
49.482
36
53.882
35
20.442
12
Unsurfaced
25.766
19
3.348
8.553
138.337
100
155.879
100
164.070
100
Total
Source: Naga City Government, Restoring Pride in the Nagueo, The State of the
City Report, n.d.
28
Approachability
Robredo is often seen in a T-shirt and shorts at the city hall. One does
not need to make an appointment to see him. The process of meeting
the mayor involves entering his room and waiting for ones turn. Robredo
walks the street like a normal resident and plays basketball with the
children. These help make people see Robredo as a very approachable
mayor. Past mayors were not as open to contact. One ward leader recalls
the time when she wanted to talk to Mayor Sibulo, she was only allowed
to talk to his driver. Another ward leader said Mayor del Castillo always
wore barong tagalog and never met with people who did not have an
appointment. There is a talk going around that Ms. Magtuto during her
failed bid in the 1992 elections washed her hands with alcohol after
shaking hands with residents.
Approachability is closely related with organizing people, especially
people from the lower income class. On this Robredo said:
We are one of the best organized. I guess, our secret really is not just
our performance, I think it's the organization. Although we do perform
well, without a good organization I can not win a straight ticket.47
Adding:
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
29
Conclusion
The study of local politics in Naga indicates the following points.
Firstly, there has been a change in the citys leaders, particularly
their background. From the 1960s to the 1970s, leaders came from the
old landed wealthy families (Ojeda, Felipe). In the 1980s, there emerged
a leader (Villafuerte) backed by state power and utilized the relations with
Malacaang to achieve political success and employed fraudulent
means to stay in power. This same leader hung on to power despite the
fall of his original benefactor by allying himself with the new regime. But
with Robredo, came the dawn of a new leadership. Not dependent on
wealth or state influence, Robredo introduced a new political framework.
The administrations of Ojeda, Felipe and Sibulo may be explained by the
patron-client framework. On the other hand, Villafuerte may fit the
framework of patrimonialism/bossism. Robredo came in with a political
machine factor, but has several attributes which have been missed by
previous frameworks like good performance and aproachability. At any
rate, what should be emphasized here is that there is no framework
covering all the past leaders in Naga. The political styles shifted as leaders
changed. However, there are some similarities among them. One, most
of the leaders have influential politicians in their kin. Two, some of them
have development-oriented tendencies regardless of their socio-economic
origin. Felipe was a lawyer who later became Minority Floor Leader of the
House of Representatives and Comelec Chairman. Sibulo devised a
development scheme and built the public market. Villafuerte was a
30
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
31
32
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
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Endnotes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
But some have already pointed out the significance of moral appeals. See Mark M.
Turner, Politics During the Transition in Zamboanga City, 1984-1988, in Benedict J.
Kerkvliet and Resil B. Mojares eds., From Marcos to Aquino: Local Perspectives on
Political Transition in the Philippines (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press,
1991), pp. 13-35; Mark R. Thompson, The Anti-Marcos Struggle: Personalistic Rule
and Democratic Transition in the Philippines (New Haven and London: Yale University
Press, 1995), pp.29-32.
James Scott, Patron-Client Politics and Political Change in Southeast Asia, American
Political Science Review, Vol. 66, No.1, March 1972, p.32.
Carl Lande, Leaders, Factions, and Parties: The Structure of Philippine Politics (New
Haven: Yale University Southeast Asia Studies, 1965), p. 2.
Ibid., p. 17.
Thomas C. Norwak and Kay A. Snyder, Clientist Politics in the Philippines: Integration
or Stability? American Political Science Review, Vol. 68, No. 3, September 1974; and
Thomas C. Norwak and Kay Snyder, Economic Concentration and Political Change in
the Philippines, in Benedict J. Kerkvliet ed., Political Change in the Philippines:
Studies of Local Politics Preceeding Martial Law (Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii,
1974).
K. G. Machado, Changing Aspects of Factionalism in Philippine Local Politics, Asian
Survey, No. 11, December 1971, p.1183.
Willem Wolters, Politics, Patronage and Class Conflict in Central Luzon (Quezon City:
New Day Publishers, 1984), pp. 198-199.
John Thayer Sidel, Coercion, Capital, and The Post-Colonial State: Bossism in The
Postwar Philippines, Ph. D. dissertation, Cornell University, 1995, pp.42-43.
Though Sidel deals with Cebu City as one of the cases in his dissertation (Sidel,
Coercion, Capital and the Post- Colonial State, pp. 137-221). On the other hand, the
political machine framework recognizes the importance of commercialization, but it still
discusses this phenomena in rural setting.
Data of 1995, Naga City Planning and Development Office, Naga City Statistical
Profile, n. d.
Interview with Mayor Ojedas youngest son, Paco, Naga City, March 17, 1998.
Republic of the Philippines, Sixth Congress Official Directory of the House of Representatives, 1965-1969, Editorial and Publication Service, House of Representatives,
1997, pp.79-80.
Interview with former Naga City mayor and incumbent Human Rights Commissioner
Vicente Sibulo, Pasig City, October 28, 1997.
Interview with Atty. Alfredo Tria, Camarines Sur Provincial Administrator, Naga City,
August 3, 1997.
Robredos grandfather (father side) and Villafuertes mother have a common father, but
different mothers. When Robredo was studying at De La Salle University, he stayed at
Villafuertes residence in Makati. Interview with Mayor Jesse Robredo, Naga City,
August 19, 1997.
This anti-Villafuerte coalition was formed by gubernatorial candidate Felix "Nancing"
Alfelor, Jr. and was composed of some members of the UNIDO, Liberal Party, PDPLaban in Camarines Sur and Naga City.
Interview with Commissioner Vicente Sibulo, Pasig City, October 28, 1997.
A barangay reported that Villafuerte on several occassion was seen scolding Robredo
at the Naga City Hall and Provincial Capital regarding city administration.
34
19 Michael Dueidas, "Maceda exposes unholy alliance' in Bicol: PC Top Brass Coddling
Gambling Lords? Philippine Free Press, September 19, 1989, pp.6-7.
20 Robredo pointed out that this issue is one that he cannot tolerate. Interview with Mayor
Jesse Robredo, Naga City, August 19, 1997.
21 Interview with Mayor Jesse Robredo, Naga City, August 19, 1997.
22 This was confirmed by several interviewees, though their names cannot be disclosed.
Allegedly, P500 (maximum amount) was distributed to each family at the last phase of
elections. According to a reliable source, the Villafuerte camp spent a total of P10-12
million for city elections. On the other hand, it is not clear how much the Robredo camp
spent for elections because resources of the city government cannot be counted as his
own expenditures. According to a source person in Robredos group, approximately P1
million was spent. But another source mentioned P5 million as a realistic estimate of
Robredos campaign expenses. It is assumed that the real amount may be between the
two figures.
23 However, this time, more sophisticated tactics were used in addition to the conventional method of distributing money and grocery items (rice, coffee, milk, noodles etc.) by
visiting each house. The Villafuerte camp reportedly distributed a paper marked
"Application for Precinct Aide during the election campaign period. When a resident
signs the paper, he receives P100. And on the eve of voting, Villafuerte set up a
distributing center inside the campus of University of Nueva Caceres. If a resident brings
this application, another P100 or a bag of groceries is given.
24 In Naga, a ward leader is merely called "leader." The word "lider" is not commonly used
at least in the city. See, Mary Hollsteiner, The Dynamics of Power in a Philippine
Municipality, Community Development Research Council, University of the Philippines,
1963, p.41.
25 Before this system was set up, many people go directly to the mayor to get assistance.
When the office's capacity failed to keep up with the requests, this system was put in
place. Interview with Mr. Vic Cabrera, Chief of Lingkod Barangay Office, Naga City,
August 11, 1997.
26 Interview with Mr. Aton Nabua, Officer, Lingkod Barangay Office, Naga City, August 18,
1997.
27 Naga City Government, Restoring Pride in the Nagueo: The State of the City Report,
n. d.
28 Interviews with Mr. Nathan Sergio, Chief of Urban Poor Affairs Office, Naga City, April
8, 1997, August 19, 1997; Mr. Honesto Perez, Sr., President of Naga City Urban Poor
Federation, Naga City, August 24, 1997; Mrs. Salve Almania-Cadag, Community
Organizer, COPE Foundation, Naga City, September 1, 1997. Jocelyn Vicente Angeles,
The Role of the Naga City Urban Poor Federation in the Passage of Pro-Poor
Ordinances and Polices," in Marlon A. Wui, Ma.Glenda S. Lopez, eds., State, Civil
Society Relations in Policy-Making (Quezon City, Third World Studies Center, 1997).
29 Naga City Government, Restoring Pride in the Nagueo, The State of the City Report.
City Government provides assistance under the scheme of either (1) direct purchase,
(2) land swapping, (3) land sharing, (4) land sharing, or (5) community mortgage.
30 However, there was a disputed case in 1997. The area called Marasigan in Barangay
Sabang was once declared a blighted area, which means people in the place cannot be
relocated. But the city government allowed the dwellers relocation to a nearby location.
As a consequence, Robredos annointed mayoral candidate, Roco, lost in Bgy. Sabang
in the 1998 elections.
31 Interviews with Mr. Florencio Tan Mongoso, Jr., Chief, DOLECOM, Naga City, August
14, 1997; Mr. Wilfredo C. Morao III, Livelihood Program Officer, DOLECOM, Naga City,
August 25, 1997.
TAKESHI KAWANAKA
35
32 The available loan is between P1,000 to P3,000, upon application, and between
P3,000 to P5,000 upon renewal. Fifteen thousand is the maximum limit for individual
clients.
33 Regardless of the non-political intentions of DOLECOM, it can be utilized for political
purposes. For example, loans (under City Planning and Development Office at that
time) were provided to some crucial ward leaders in order to counter the virtual vote
buying of Magtutos Bunyog Banuaan in 1992 elections, according to reliable sources.
34 Interview with Ms. Minnie Palacio, Chief, City Social Welfare Office, Naga City, August
20 and 29, 1997.
35 Naga City, Annual Budget CY 1997, p.34.
36 Interviews with Barangay Captains and ward leaders were conducted in Tagalog.
37 These two factors were also pointed out by the City Information Officer. He used the
words performance" and human relations." Interview with Mr. Joselito del Rosario,
City Information Officer, Naga City, November 27, 1997.
38 Some critics of Robredo claim that Naga could have developed even without Robredo
because of the potential of the city, the devolution and development plans formulated
by previous administrations. It is hard to verify this statement since it is a historical if.
But by saying this, the critics also admit that there has been development under
Robredos administration. Interview with Blandino Maceda, Provincial Local Government Operations Officer of Camarines Sur, Naga City, November 22, 1996. Interview
with Gil Basmayor, DZGE Radio broadcaster, Canaman, Camarines Sur, November 23,
1996.
39 Interview with Councilor Gabriel Bordado, Jr., Naga City, September 4, 1997. Councilor
Bordado transferred from BRBDP to the City Government with Robredo and played a
crucial role as City Administrator.
40 Discussion with Mr. Frank Mendoza, Program Coordinator, Metro Naga Development
Council, was very insightful regarding this point. Naga City, May 11, 1998.
41 Interview with Mr. Antonio Concepcion, Chairman of Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Naga City, November 28, 1997. But on the other hand, one of the
officials of the chamber said, You will not find a businessman that will say their taxes
are low. All businessmen will say they are overtaxed. But, if you compare with other
cities, we might be lower or competitive. Interview with Mr. Fidel Yu, Board Secretary,
Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Naga City, August 21, 1997.
42 Interview with Mayor Jesse Robredo, Naga City, August 19, 1997.
43 Naga City Government, Restoring Pride in the Nagueo: The State of the City Report.
44 As of 1997, Naga City has won one international award, 25 national awards, 12
regional awards for its programs and projects. Robredo himself has earned seven
awards as of December 1996. A City of Innovations and Excellence, Philippine Daily
Inquirer, December 18, 1996.
45 Interview with Councilor Gabriel Bordado, Jr., Naga City, September 4, 1997; and Mr.
Frank Mendoza, Naga City, November 27, 1997. Bordado and Mendoza have been key
persons in the propaganda group.
46 Interview with Mayor Jesse Robredo, Naga City, August 19, 1997.
47 Interview with Mayor Jesse Robredo, Naga City, August 19, 1997.
48 Interview with Mayor Jesse Robredo, Naga City, August 19, 1997.
49 Robredo said that the deciding factor in his victory against Ramon Roco in 1988 was
his well-prepared development scheme which he earlier presented during the Public
Forum for mayoral candidates before the elections. Interview with Robredo, August 19,
1997. This was also mentioned by Councilor Bordado. Interview with Councilor Gabriel
Bordado, Jr., Naga City, September 4, 1997.
36
50 It is very difficult to determine who are the rich in the city based on figures. The author
tried to find them out at the City Assessors Office and Treasurer's Office. However,
since most of them set up companies to operate businesses like trading and retail, and
even the title of the lands are placed under different names, it was impossible. It is also
surprising that some of the land titles are registered under the names of dead persons.
The names of the rich families are indicated by a high ranking official of the city
government.
51 A member of De Guzman family was city councilor with Robredo group. But he bolted
the group and ran for vice-mayor in 1998 elections and lost. Likewise, members of the
Sison and Bichara families ran in the same elections and also lost.
52 The qualifications depend on what service is sought. For instance, to get indigent
services, income level has to be below a certain level.