All The Presidents' Sons, Daughters, and Relatives

The results of the may 2022 elections still baffle many political observers. While some say that the recent elections did not make any difference as far as dynastic politics is concerned, with many people from the same family running and winning, not all of these related families were successful. In fact, among the descendants and relatives of Presidential families, not all were lucky enough. Here is a run-down of the sons, daughters, and relatives of Philippine presidents who ran and won (or lost) in the recent elections:

Aguinaldo

For generations, the Aguinaldo clan has continued to dominate the politics of Kawit, Cavite. The fight for Mayor of Cavite was between two great-grandsons of President Emilio Aguinaldo: incumbent Mayor Angelo Aguinaldo (the son of Mayor Reynaldo Aguinaldo, who was the son of Emilio Aguinaldo, Jr.) versus Cavite 1st District Representative Francis Gerald “Boy Blue” Aguinaldo Abaya (son of Consuelo Aguinaldo Abaya, the daughter of Emilio Aguinaldo, Jr.). Angelo Aguinaldo defeated his cousin Boy Blue Abaya by just 3,028 votes. A brother of Boy Blue Abaya, former Kawit Vice-Mayor Dr. Paul Plaridel Abaya, failed to secure his bid as representative of the 1st district of Cavite against Ramon "Jolo" Revilla, son of Senator Bong Revilla. Jolo Revilla defeated Dr. Abaya 9,048 votes.

Former Kawit Mayor Federico “Hit” Aguinaldo Poblete, the son of Maria Aguinaldo Poblete and grandson of President Emilio Aguinaldo, lost his bid for Kawit Councilor and placed only in the 10th spot.

Final Tally: 1 win, 3 loses

Laurel

Luis Carlos Mariano Laurel II, a grandson of President Jose P. Laurel, lost as councilor in Tanauan, Batangas, placing only 11th among the candidates.

Final Tally: 1 loss

Osmeña

What once was a family with many members holding various national and local positions, only 3 members ran and only 1 won. 

Margot Vargas Osmeña, former Cebu City Councilor and wife of former Mayor Tommy Osmeña, son of Senator Sergio Osmeña, Jr. and grandson of President Sergio Osmeña, and their daughter-in-law Bea Villegas Osmeña, both lost in their Mayoral and Council bids. Margot placed second to Mike Rama while Bea placed 12th in the race for Councilor in the South district of Cebu City.

Renato Osmeña, Jr., son of former Cebu City Vice-Mayor Renato Osmeña, who was the son of Edilberto Osmeña, in turn a son of President Sergio Osmeña, won and clinched the 5th place in the South district council.

Final Tally: 1 win, 2 losses

Magsaysay

No direct descendants of President Ramon Magsaysay ran for office, but Angel Magsaysay - Cheng, daughter of his nephew former Governor Vicente Magsaysay (son of his brother Jesus del Fierro Magsaysay), ran for Mayor of Castillejos, Zambales but lost to Jeff Khonghun. A sister-in-law of Angel Magsaysay-Cheng, former Congresswoman Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay, wife of Jesus "JV" Vicente, lost to Jay Khonghun.

Final Tally: 2 losses

Macapagal/Arroyo

Only former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, daughter of President Diosdado Macapagal, ran for Pampanga’s second district and won unopposed. Her sister-in-law, Maria Lourdes T. Arroyo, lost to Dino Yulo for 5th district Congressman of Negros Occidental by more than 42 thousand votes.

Final Tally: 1 win, 1 loss

Cojuangco-Aquino

No direct descendants of President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino ran in the 2022 elections, but several of her relatives did. Her former son-in-law, James Yap, won as councilor in the 1st district of San Juan, Manila. Lorenzo “Enzo” Oreta, the son of her sister-in-law, Senator Tessie Aquino-Oreta, ran for Mayor of Malabon City to replace his brother, incumbent Mayor Antolin Aquino Oreta III, but lost to Jeannie Sandoval by just 1,279 votes.

Among her Cojuangco relatives, Jaime Diaz Cojuangco, the son of Tarlac Rep. Charlie Cojuangco and grandson of the late Danding Cojuangco, first cousin of President Cory Aquino, won as Tarlac 1st district representative. Jaime’s uncle, Mark Cojuangco, won as 2nd district representative of Pangasinan. Another Cojuangco nephew, Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro, ran for Senator but lost.

Final Tally: 3 wins, 2 losses

Ejercito Estrada

The family of President Joseph Ejercito Estrada fared very well in the recent elections. Two of his sons, Jose "Jinggoy" Ejercito Estrada, Jr. and Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito won as Senators. 

His nephew, Emilio Ramon “ER” Pelayo Ejercito III ran but lost to Rosseller “Ross” Rizal for Mayor of Calamba, Laguna. Interestingly, Mayor Ross Rizal is the great-great-grandson of Gabriel Rizal Mercado, brother of Francisco Rizal Mercado, father of Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal.

ER Ejercito’s son, Jorge Jerico Ejercito lost to Karen Agape for Vice-Governor of Laguna Province. ER’s wife and Jerico’s mother, incumbent Pagsanjan Vice-Mayor Maita “Girlie” Ejercito, ran but lost the Pagsanjan mayoral race to Kuya Cesar Areza. A niece of President Estrada, Councilor Jannah "Jana" Ejercito lost to Atty. Bel Zamora for the Congressional seat of San Juan.

Final Tally: 2 wins, 4 losses

Duterte

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s three adult children won in their respective posts: daughter Sara is the incoming 15th Vice-President of the Philippines, while sons Paolo and Sebastian were elected as the first district representative and Mayor of Davao City, respectively.

Red Duterte, a great-grandson of Severo Duterte whose brother Facundo was the grandfather of President Rodrigo Duterte, won a seat in the 5th district provincial board.

Final Tally: 4 wins

Marcos

Of course, the Presidential family who did the best in the recent polls is the Marcos family. Former President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos’s own son, Ferdinand “Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos, Jr. clinched the top elective post and is the incoming 17th President of the Philippines. His daughter, Imee Marcos, is an incumbent Senator.

Two grandsons of President Marcos won: Senator Imee’s son, Matthew Marcos Manotoc, won as Governor of Ilocos Nortes while President-elect Marcos’s eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, was elected 1st district representative of Ilocos Norte.

Michael Marcos Keon, a first cousin of both President BBM and Senator Imee, won as mayor of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. Another first cousin, Eugenio Angelo Marcos Barba, won as congressman by a landslide with 127,867 votes in the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte.

Cecilia Araneta Marcos, President Marcos Jr.’s cousin-in-law on both the Marcos and his wife’s Araneta side, secured another term as vice governor of Ilocos Norte.

P.S. The relatives of President-elect Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on his maternal side also did well but are not included here.

Final Tally: 5 wins

While political analysts are correct in saying that dynastic politics in the Philippines is stronger than ever after the May 2022 polls, it is also true that bearing the surname of a President is not always a sure win. As seen in the tallies above, among the various relatives of Philippine Presidents who ran in the recent elections, of the 33 candidates, only 20 won while the remaining 13 lost, some by a very large margin

Lakan Genealogy: Brunei to Batangas?

Kissing Cousins? The Laurel family's claim to be descended from the
Brunei royal family cannot be substantiated.

When the late Salvador "Doy" Laurel ran for president in the 1992 election I was fascinated to read in a Newsweek article that the Laurels of Batangas claim descent from a certain prince who was supposedly the eldest son of the Sultan of Brunei. I was unable to get a personal copy of that article and for many years since I started doing other people's genealogies in 2000 I have been trying to get my hand on that article, if only to refresh my memory about the Laurel family tree.

I was finally able to reread that article online some years ago and this is the gist of the Laurel genealogy:

The first "Laurel" in the Philippines was said to have come from Brunei in the 15th century. This man was named Gat Masungit and he was the eldest son of the Sultan of Brunei who refused the crown as he felt that court life was not to his taste. Due to his love of adventure and travel he escaped his father's plans for his future and sailed to the unknown seas, eventually ending up in Panay. Later, he and his followers went to Luzon where they eventually ended up founding the settlement that now encompasses the province of Batangas. Later it is said that he had a son named Gat Leynes. It was Gat Leynes's eldest son who first became a Christian, and was later baptized as Miguel de la Cruz. He led his own people against the Spaniards and championed their cause. In his old age he wished for a peaceful life and was advised by a friar to change his name, perhaps a gesture of sorts that he wanted to change. He finally agreed to take on the last name Laurel, which the friar said was to make him live his remaining years in peace and honor.

When I first read this family tree I was awestruck and could not find the words to describe how amazing the Laurel family tree seemed to me then. Later, by sheer coincidence, I got hold of the Brunei family tree and I found the first chink in the Laurel family history - there just isn't any factual reference to this so-called eldest son of the sultan.

Most write-ups available online on the Laurel genealogy claim that Gat Masungit, the alleged eldest son of the Sultan of Brunei, came to the Philippines in the 15th century, way before the arrival of the Spaniards. Which would only mean that Gat Masungit should be referenced in the Brunei Royal Genealogy in the years 1400 - 1500. The following are the Sultans of Brunei within the mentioned timeframe and the corresponding notation from the Brunei royal genealogy:

1. Paduka Sri Sultan Muhammad Shah, the first sultan. He had one son, Pangiran Muda Hassan, who died before him.

2. Paduka Sri Sultan 'Abdu'l Majid ibni Hassan ibni al-Marhum Sultan Muhammad Shah, grandson of #1 and son of Pangiram Muda Hassan. He died in 1406 and had one child, a daughter.

3. Paduka Sri Sultan Ahmad, brother of #1. He died in 1425 and had two daughters.

4. Paduka Sri Sultan Sharif 'Ali Berkat, married Putri Ratna Kusuma, the eldest daughter of #3. His eldest son succeeded him.

5. Paduka Sri Sultan Sulaiman ibni al-Marhum Sultan Sharif 'Ali Berkat, eldest son of #4. 

6. Paduka Sri Sultan Bolkiah Shah Alam ibni al-Marhum Sultan Sulaiman, eldest son of #5.

The genealogy of the rulers of Brunei, similar to those of other ruling families, is carefully kept and updated and as the list of rulers of Brunei above shows us there was an obvious direct succession from father to eldest son. Nowhere is there a mention of a son, eldest or otherwise, who fled from Brunei to seek his own fortune. The list does mention, several times, marriage between the ruling family of Brunei and Sulu's royal family. There were also mentions of the Lakans of Luzon. Both of these topics (Sulu Sultanate and Manila's Lakans) will be dealt with in future articles.

Clearly, the story of Gat Masungit does not fit in any of Brunei's carefully kept genealogies. For further research into the Brunei royal genealogies see Amin Sweeney's "Silsilah Raja-Raja Brunei" and Hugh Low's "Selesilah of the Rajahs of Brunei". A detailed genealogy can be found in the Royal Ark, maintained by Christopher Buyers.

The second problem in the Laurel genealogy is the mention of Mguel de la Cruz becoming Miguel Laurel. If he were the grandson of Gat Masungit as the legend claims then he could not have been able to switch names and then pass on this last name to his descendants. As the grandson of Gat Masungit he was probably born in the middle of the 16th century, centuries before the Claveria decree. Furthermore, the family tree of the Laurels in a website maintained by the Laurel Memorial Foundation shows that Miguel Laurel, who married Tomasa Pimentel, was the grandfather of Sotero "Teroy" Laurel, whose marriage to Jacoba Garcia produced Jose P. Laurel, the President of the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation. Clearly, this Miguel Laurel could not have been the grandson of Gat Masungit, the alleged eldest son of a Brunei sultan.

However, despite the chinks in their ancestry, what we do know of the Laurels that can be verified through records is still amazing. Before he became the President of the Philippines in 1943 Jose P. Laurel's father, Sotero Laurel, was one of the signatories of the Malolos Constitution. Among his children, Jose Laurel, Jr. became a member of the Philippine National Assembly and a Speaker of the House of Representatives; Jose Laurel III was an Ambassador to Japan; Sotero Laurel was a Senator; Salvador Laurel, before becoming Cory Aquino's vice-president, served as a senator from 1967 to 1972. Many of his grand and great-grandchildren are well known in the arts, theatre, fashion, and television.