The ugly face of Philippine politics

The main suspect in the November 23 gruesome murders belongs to one of more than 200 political clans that have dominated politics in the Philippines for decades.

Datu Andal Ampatuan Junior was supposed to succeed his father, who has been governor of Maguindanao province, 930 kilometers south of Manila, since 2001. He expected to run unopposed like his father had in previous elections.

But the rival Mangudadatu family, another prominent political clan in the southern Philippines, decided it was time to challenge the Ampatuans' reign in the impoverished province.

Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, incumbent vice mayor of Buluan town in Maguindanao, sent his wife, two sisters and other female relatives and supporters to file his certificate of candidacy after receiving a threat on his life.

He and his family thought the women, accompanied by dozens of journalists, would not be harmed.

Everyone in the convoy ended up dead, brutally shot to death, some beheaded and mutilated, while the women were mercilessly shot in the genitals and even raped. Some bodies were dumped in mass graves together with crushed vehicles.

While violence has traditionally marred Philippine politics, the unimaginable scale of the massacre in Ampatuan town has raised concerns about the reality that too much power now rests on some political families.

“The shock that we all feel ... is also, and traumatically, the shock of recognition. We realized: This is what happens when power becomes absolute,” an editorial of the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper said.

All over the Philippines, it is common to see husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and other relatives holding key elective and appointed positions in governments.

National officials and political parties often align themselves with prominent clans in the provinces to ensure local support, especially during elections when everyone turns to the big families to deliver votes.

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