First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and the House of Araneta

A recent article online which was obviously released to malign incoming First Lady Louise "Liza" Cacho Araneta Marcos, and in effect also take a cheap shot at presumptive President Ferdinand Romuladez Marcos, Jr., was brought to me attention since there was a brief genealogical revisionism found in the article. It read:

Liza's father, Filipino basketball Olympian Manuel Araneta Jr., is a distant cousin of Judy Araneta-Roxas, the mother of former Senator Mar Roxas. Liza's family residence was in Cubao where Mar's family mansion is also located which explains why the two are reportedly close to each other.

This short but very blatant genealogical error clearly shows either the writer being lazy with his research or trying to wrongly illustrate Atty. Liza Araneta-Marcos as a "poor" relation of the Aranetas.

Lineage of Atty. Liza A. Marcos

Whatever people say, records and genealogies available prove that the pedigree of our incoming First Lady is extensive and established. On her Araneta side, she can trace up to eight generations, while on her maternal line, she can climb 13 generations up the family tree. Aside from the Cachos and Aranetas, she can count as her relatives, whether near or far, the Cojuangcos, the Aquinos, the Pardo de Taveras, the Marcoses, the Macapagal-Arroyos, the Roxases, and many more.

                     

Her maternal side, the Cachos, are one of the most connected families in the Philippines. They all descend from Luisa Azaola, the widow of Davao City’s founder, Don Jose Oyangoren (interesting connection since BBM’s VP is Davao Mayor Sara Duterte). After the death of Don Jose, Luisa remarried to José María González y Brenes. Descendants of Luisa Azaola include:

• Paz Gonzalez de Azaola, the granddaughter of Luisa, married Joaquin Gorricho Pardo de Tavera, the uncle of Paz Pardo de Tavera who was married to Juan Luna (brother of General Antonio Luna);
• Rosario Cacho González de Azaola, a great-granddaughter of Luisa, married Pedro Jose Cojuangco, an older brother of former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino and uncle of former President Benigno Aquino III;
• Javier Luis Castillejo, a great-great-grandson of Luisa, married Maria Beatriz Preysler Arrastia, sister of Maria Isabel Preysler Arrastia, the mother of singer Enrique Iglesias;
• Maria Angeles Cacho González de Azaola, a great-granddaughter, married Carlos Romulo, Jr., son of Filipino diplomat Carlos P. Romulo.
• Paul del Mar Soriano, a grandson of Marilu Cacho and a 3X-grandson of Luisa Azaola, is married to TV host and actress Toni Gonzaga.

And of course, Liza Araneta Marcos is another direct descendant of Luisa. Liza’s mother, Milagros, is a sister of Rosario Cacho de Cojuangco, Maria Angeles Cacho de Romulo, and Marilu Cacho de Soriano.

On the other hand, Liza is a member of the House of Araneta, one of the most powerful families in the Philippines where four members married into Presidential families:

• Judith Araneta, who married Senator Gerardo Roxas and thus became the daughter-in-law of President Manuel A. Roxas and mother to presidential aspirant Manuel “Mar” Roxas II;
• Jose Miguel T. Arroyo, who married presidential daughter (and later President) Gloria M. Macapagal, thereby becoming both a son-in-law to President Diosdado Macapagal and later First Gentleman;
• Gregorio Araneta, married to presidential daughter Irene Marcos; and,
• Marie Louise Araneta, married to presidential son and presumptive President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

The Araneta Connections

The family tree above (click to enlarge) clearly illustrates that the above mentioned article was wrong to say that Liza Araneta Marcos is a distant relative to the Araneta-Roxas family. She is, in fact, a second cousin of Mar Roxas, her father Manuel Araneta, Jr. being the first cousin of Mar’s mother, Judith “Judy” Araneta. 

Liza is also closely related to Jose Y. Yulo, a former Speaker of the House, a Supreme Court Chief Justice, and a Cabinet Secretary, who was married to Liza’s grand-aunt Cecilia S. Araneta; as already mentioned, she and former Secretary Mar Roxas are second cousins; former Ms. International Stella Marquez is the wife of of her dad’s first cousin, Jorge Araneta; former first gentleman Mike Arroyo is her fifth cousin once removed; Gemma Guerrero Cruz, former Ms. International and Tourism Secretary and a descendant of Jose Rizal’s sister, is married to Antonio “Tonypet” Araneta, Liza’s fifth cousin twice removed; Irene’s husband, Greggy Araneta, is Liza’s 6th cousin once removed; while Jose Concepcion III, the president and CEO of RFM Corporation as well as a current presidential adviser for entrepreneurship of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

The most interesting connection of the incoming First Lady is this: even before her marriage to President-elect Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on April 17, 1993, her aunt, Maria Teresa Araneta, married Manuel Abad Lopa, Jr. in 1956, whose brother, Ricardo A. Lopa, would marry Teresa Cojuangco, sister of Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, who would later become President of the Philippines. Interestingly, during the Araneta-Lopa nuptials, one of their sponsors was Daniel Romualdez who in 2 years time would become Speaker of the House of Representatives. In another interesting genealogical twist, this same Daniel Romualdez married Paz "Pacita" Gueco, the first cousin of Ninoy's father, Benigno Aquino, Sr. Thus, incoming First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos is related to the Cojuangco-Aquino family on both her maternal and paternal sides, with the added twist that her husband's maternal family is also related to the Aquinos.

Clearly, Liza Araneta is not distantly related to the Araneta line of Mar Roxas, as the article stated, but is still closely related being the second cousin of Mar.

The House of Araneta, after all, knows and has accounted for all its members.

Thicker than Water: The Manglapus - Marcos Nuptials

Marcos-Manotoc and Manglapus wedding. (Photo from the Marcos Presidential Center)

Their marriage has been hailed as something out of a fairy tale. Or, more appropriately considering their families, out of a Shakespearean opus. They are, after all, the grandson and granddaughter of bitter political rivals who both died probably hating each other.

During the 1965 presidential elections, Senate President Ferdinand E. Marcos ran against incumbent President Diosdado P. Macapagal. Senator Marcos, who ran under the Nacionalista ticket, eventually emerged the winner in the elections, gaining 51.94% of the total votes against the standard bearer of the Liberal Party, President Macapagal. While the fight was focused on these two key players, there was another candidate in the race who placed third - this was Raul Manglapus who ran under the Party for Philippine Progress, a breakaway of the Nacionalista party. While Raul Manglapus was not a threat to either Marcos nor Macapagal in 1965, he later on became one of the most vocal and prominent critics of the Marcos regime. By the time Martial law was declared, Manglapus went into exile as there was an outstanding warrant against him if he ever returned to the Philippines. Manglapus only returned to the Philippines after Marcos was removed from office through EDSA 1. Bitter enemies until the end, Raul Manglapus was one of the petitioners in court trying to stop the return of Marcos's body, which was not successful as the body eventually returned to the Philippines in 1993.

The political history is really just a backgrounder. While reports say that Michael Ferdinand Marcos Manotoc, son of Governor Imee R. Marcos and Tommy Manotoc and grandson of President Marcos, and his wife Carina Amelia Manglapus, granddaughter of Raul Manglapus, only met in 2014 during the wedding of Luis Marcos Araneta, son of Marcos’ second daughter Irene, where Cara was a guest of Alexandra Rocha, Luis’ wife.

Thicker Than Water

What isn't being mentioned in the press about the marriage of Michael and Carina is the fact that they are second cousins. Michael's father, Tommy Manotoc, is the son of Ding Manotoc and Nena La'O. Meanwhile, Carina's father, Francis Xavier Manglapus, is the son of Raul Manglapus and Techie La'O. Both Nena and Techie La'O were the daughters of Gabrielle La'O and Pacita Arguelles. Which means that Tommy Manotoc and Francis Manglapus are first cousins, making their children second cousins.

As I have discussed in an earlier post about consanguineous marriages, the Philippines only prohibits marriages between first cousins. Second cousin marriages are allowable, but need dispensation from the Vatican when married in a Catholic ritual.

The marriage of Michael Manotoc and Carina Manglapus, then, not only brought an end to a decades long feud between their families; it has also strengthened the familial bonds of the Marcos, Manotoc, Manglapus, La'O, and Arguelles families.

Psychohistory: A Genealogical Perspective of EDSA

Today is the 27th anniversary of that peaceful gathering of civil society in a street called Epifanio delos Santos (EDSA) which ultimately led to the toppling of the Marcos dictatorship. I always wonder what each of us will answer if asked about what we remember of EDSA, and what it means for us. On my part, as always, I ended up with a genealogical angle. Why did EDSA happen? Well, because the Filipino people were still reeling from the death of their idol, Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., as well as from the excesses of the Marcos dictatorship. Then it got me thinking: why did Ferdinand E. Marcos declare Martial Law? Because they wanted to stay in power forever. 

That would have been enough for most people. Greed would have been a sufficient reason for holding on to power. But the sociologist in me wants to know more. Why was Marcos, and by extension Imelda, power-hungry? What made them do the things they did for over 2 decades? Why did Ferdinand E. Marcos, undoubtedly one of the most brilliant minds in Philippine history, turn out to be what he was?

My conclusion: it was all written in his psychological family tree.

History is a silent witness to human characters, whether these are our strengths or flaws. Most often than not, only the end-game and results are recorded in history books. The reasons behind, the contributing factor why such events happened, are mostly unknown or regarded as unimportant. This article is dedicated to unlocking the possible contributing reasons why Ferdinand Marcos turned out to be what he was using a not so well-known branch of study called psychohistory.

When it began, Psychohistory proved to be a revolutionary school of thought. Although it had its early roots in the 20s and 30s it was only in 1974 that Lloyd deMause developed and formalized the psychohistorical field of study. In its broadest sense, psychohistory aims to understand historical events by studying the backgrounds of people and nations. What were the common experiences of a people which led to a certain important event in their history?

In genealogy, psychohistory believes that the human family is an emotional system. It is believed that this system is a continuous flow, thus, emotions and psychological behaviors, not just physical traits, are passed down in the family tree. It is believed that if one traces his or her family tree back to even just three generations, one would discover why he or she is what he/she is today. It is with this theory that we work on the personality of Ferdinand Marcos.

According to official and unofficial biographers of Ferdinand E. Marcos, both his families - the Edralins and the Marcoses - were already prominent prior to the arrival of the Americans. His mother's side of the family can count on the famous Luna brothers as cousins, and, in fact, his grandfather, Don Fructuoso Edralin, saw his cousin Antonio Luna shot by his very own soldiers. They also claim to be descended from the infamous Chinese pirate Limahong, who was reputed to have ravaged the coast of Ilocos in the 15th century. The Marcos side claims descent from the local nobility, the principalia, which ruled Ilocos prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, and Marcos' grandfather, Don Fabian Marcos, was a Mayor of Batac, Ilocos Norte, while Fabian's father was an assistant to a Spanish provincial judge in Laoag. With these famous (and infamous) antecedents, it is no wonder that Marcos saw himself as greater than the rest - he simply had so much to live up to. 

When assigning particular psychohistorical parameters to the family tree of Ferdinand Marcos, one would discover that much of his behavior during his formative up to his last years in power were just reflective of his clan's identity. The Edralins' obsessive belief that they were descended from Limahong injected in Marcos' psyche that he was expected to be just as his famous Chinese forebear - brave, resourceful, and ruthless. 

He was also very much influenced by his family's ties with the Luna brothers. Later during his presidency, he would always count himself as a "descendant" of the Lunas. The fame of the Luna brothers also forced Marcos to be larger than life, and thus he always saw himself in heroic terms, befitting a relative of the Lunas. The controversy of Juan Luna's murder of Paz Pardo de Tavera and her mother, and Luna's later humiliation and ridicule because of the affair also contributed to Marcos' hatred towards the rich in Philippine society. 

The Pardo de Taveras belonged to a very noble and prominent Spanish family, and thus, when Juan Luna, who was a struggling artist, was subjected to humiliation and ridicule and later betrayal by the family, he snapped and killed his wife and mother-in-law. The attitude of the Pardo de Taveras and their relations towards Luna was a determining factor in Marcos' attitude also towards the Filipino elite during his regime, the "oligarchs" as he repeatedly and derisively called them. 

In both his unofficial and official biographies, Marcos was said to be also very superstitious and paranoid, a trait he took after his grandmother Emerenciana Q. Edralin, who later passed on this trait to her daughter Josefa, and who in turn nurtured this in Marcos' upbringing. Lola Edralin once got a "prediction" from a local soothsayer claiming that one of her grandsons would become Philippine President someday. 

Thus, when Ferdinand Marcos was born, Josefa named him after the famous architect of what is roughly now modern Spain, King Ferdinand, in order to prepare him for his destiny as Philippine President. He later cultivated this superstition by having with him an amulet, and sending several promising psychics to USSR to be schooled in occult. No doubt, these psychics formed a part of Marcos' advisory council. 

Finally, a great factor in Marcos' formation was the Ilocano psyche itself. The Ilocanos have always been considered a breed apart from the rest of mainstream Luzon. They have always been considered more frugal, industrious, clannish, extremely loyal and brave, and capable of extreme endurance. For the Ilocanos, these characteristics are their strong points, and they nurtured and cultivated these traits among their descendants. This was, is, and will always be gospel truth for them. 

Ferdinand Marcos grew up with all these traits and beliefs injected into his very mind and heart. Looking at the family tree, one could see a very strong, positive relationship between the members of Marcos' family, thus ensuring the passing on of traits and beliefs. His mother's family contributed to his belief that he should be brave (and ruthless), to his superstition and paranoia, his "hero" complex through his relationship with the Luna brothers, his hatred towards the elite and well off, his loyalty to his generals and close supporters, his putting his relatives and friends to high positions were reflective of the Ilocanos' clannishness. And his later adamance that he was doing good for the country, despite the otherwise manifestations of his rule, was reflective of his family's constant belief that they were always right. 

Ferdinand Marcos may have given the Filipino people years of hardship and pain, but perhaps this was beyond his control. According to Marcos' psychohistory, his family and his antecedents were just as culpable as Marcos was. It may now be too late for what-ifs, but this presentation is nonetheless an interesting approach to understanding one of the most brilliantly complex minds in Philippine history. 

(Originally published in Cebu Daily News on September 11, 2003 as Ferdinand Marcos: A Psychohistory)

RP Politics: Still a Family Affair

In a complicated and Byzantine manner, almost all former Philippine leaders, and many of the current, were and are related to one another, in one way or the other, others many times over. Most of all, these political leaders have paved the way for the perpetuation of kinship-based politics. Politics in the Philippines was, is, and has always been, like the interrelated Rajahs and Datus and Sultans of pre-Hispanic Philippines, a birthright.

To start off, one of President Emilio Famy Aguinaldo’s granddaughters, Ameurfina Melencio Herrera, served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court and was the second Filipina elevated to the high court. Two grandsons, Reynaldo Aguinaldo and Federico Aguinaldo Poblete, served as Mayors of Kawit, Cavite while two great-grandsons, Joseph Emilio Abaya and Emilio Aguinaldo IV served, respectively, as Cavite first district congressional representative and Kawit, Cavite councilor. President Aguinaldo's first cousin’s, General Baldomero Aguinaldo, great-grandson was Cesar E.A. Virata, a Prime Minster of the Philippines under President Marcos.

The Virata family, through marriage, is connected with the Acuña family. One Acuña member married into the prominent and rich Roxas family of Capiz, which is a branch of the Roxas famly of Manila. The product of this marriage was former President Manuel A. Roxas, whose son Gerardo “Gerry” Roxas was a former Senator and whose grandson, MAR Roxas II is a Senator of the Republic. Also, due to his dalliance with Juanita McIlvain, former Miss Universe Margarita "Margie" Moran Floirendo just happens to be President Roxas' granddaughter. Margie Moran is also married to Representative Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo. President Manuel Roxas' wife, Trinidad de Leon, was the daughter of former Senator Ceferino de Leon. Senator de Leon's brother, Jose, married Doña Narcisa "Sisang" Buencamino, who became one of the most successful movie magnates of her time when she chartered her family-owned LVN Pictures into a dominant position in post-World War II Philippine cinema. Narcisa's first cousin’s son was Philip Buencamino, who married Zenaida "Nini" Quezon, daughter of President Manuel Luis Quezon.

Further, another scion of the Roxas family was Margarita Roxas, who was the first cousin of President Roxas’s great-great-grandfather and whose marriage to Antonio de Ayala produced Trinidad de Ayala. Trinidad later married Jacobo Zobel and started the legendary Zobel De Ayala family.

Some of the minor branches of the ROXAS family married into the other aristocratic families of Manila: the Aranetas (Senator Gerry Roxas married Judy Araneta y Araneta), Ayalas, Elizaldes, Prietos, and more. One Roxas descendant is Enrique Zobel, head of the Ayala Group of companies; two others are the brothers Jose and Andres Soriano, current heads of San Miguel Corporation which their father started. Through the Roxas family's connection with the Aranetas, former Tourism Secretary and first Filipina Miss International titleholder Gemma Teressa Cruz-Araneta is also related by marriage to Pres. Roxas. Gemma Cruz-Araneta’s husband’s cousin, Jorge Araneta, married the first Miss International, Maria Stella Marquez, who now runs the Binibining Pilipinas Pageant. It must also be remembered that Gemma Cruz's paternal great-grandmother was Doña Maria Rizal, the sister of Philippine national hero, Jose P. Rizal. Furthermore, Gemma Cruz's mother, Carmen, married twice. Her second husband was Angel Nakpil, the nephew of Julio Nakpil, composer of a second version of the Philippine National Anthem, who in turn was the second husband of Gregoria De Jesus, the “Muse of the Katipunan”. Gregoria de Jesus was also the widow of Katipunan founder Andres Bonifacio, who, some historians claim, was murdered upon the orders of Emilio Aguinaldo. Similarly, two of Gemma's first cousins, Paz and Maria Cruz Banaad, married Bienvenido and Roberto Laurel, respectively, relatives of President Jose P. Laurel. President Laurel’s own father, Sotero Laurel, was a member of the Malolos Congress of 1898 and his pedigree claims descent from Gat Masungit, allegedly a son of a Sultan of Brunei in the 1500s. Several of President Laurel's children became famous politicians in their own right. His eldest son, Jose Bayani, Jr., became Speaker of the House of Representatives and a candidate for vice-president in 1957 (Jose Macario Laurel, the eldest son of Jose B. Laurel, was a former Batangas Representative). His younger son, Salvador Roman "Doy" Laurel, was Vice-President from 1986 to 1992. Three other of Laurel's children also became prominent in politics and business. Sotero Cosme was elected to the Senate from 1987 to 1992; Jose Sotero Laurel III became Ambassador to Japan; and Mariano H. Laurel became president of the Philippine Banking Corporation.

Further into the Araneta family, two more of its members married presidential daughters; the first one being Juan Miguel Arroyo (of Binalbagan, Negros Occidental and a great-grandson of Negros Island Revolutionary leader Gen. Aniceto Ledesma Lacson and Rosario Emilia Araneta). He married then Ms. Gloria M. Macapagal, daughter of President Diosdado Macapagal. Of course, GMA was the country's 2nd female Chief Executive. First Gentleman Mike Arroyo’s grandfather, Senator Jose Maria Pidal Arroyo, married a Lacson, thus linking him to Senator Panfilo Lacson. Also, because the Macapagals have always maintained that they are direct descendants of Lakandula, the last King of Tondo, they can also claim to be related, albeit very distantly, from the royal family of Brunei. Thus, not only are GMA and President Laurel related many times over by marriage, they are also blood relatives because of their claimed descent from the royal house of Brunei.

The second Araneta to marry a presidential daughter was Gregorio Maria "Greggy" Araneta, who married Irene Romualdez Marcos, the youngest child of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos and Imelda Romualdez. Another Araneta, Atty. Louise Cacho Araneta, a distant relative of Greggy Araneta, married Irene’s brother, Governor Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. This Araneta-Marcos marriage further stretches these already complicated family connections.

Ferdinand Marcos' grandfather's sister, Crispina Marcos, married Hilario Valdez. Their daughter, Angela Marcos Valdez, married Ambassador Narciso Ramos, who was also a district representative of Pangasinan from 1934 to 1946 and was the father of Fidel V. Ramos, also a President of the Republic, and Leticia Ramos-Shahani, a former Senator. Two nephews of President Ramos, Ranjit R. Shahani and Hernani Braganza, served as Governor of Pangasinan and Mayor of Alaminos City, Pangasinan, respectively. Narciso Ramos, after becoming a widower, married Alfonsita Lucero, whose father's maternal family, the Birondos of Argao, Cebu, married into the Almendras family of Cebu and Davao.

One of Alfonsita's cousins, William Birondo, married Kukit Tecala, whose uncle, Pedro Tecala Sr., married Sofronia Almendras. Two of Sofronia's siblings married into political families. Her brother, Paulo Almendras, married Elisea Durano, the daughter of Demetrio Durano and progenitor of the Durano family that has ruled Danao and Sogod, Cebu for many years. Its most popular member is Ace Durano, the present Tourism Secretary.

A son of Paulo Almendras was Senator Alejandro Almendras, whose marriage to a Bendigo of Davao City connected them to the ruling families of Davao: the Banggoys, Palma Gils, Lizadas, Nograleses, and many others. The current Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives is Davao City congressman Prospero “Boy” Nograles. The current mayor of Davao, Rodrigo Duterte, is also of the Duterte family of Danao, a rival political clan of the Duranos but one allied to them maritally, many times over. Senator Almendras' brother, Josefino, married Rosita Dimataga, the sister of Leonila Dimataga, who in turn was the wife of President Carlos P. Garcia. President Garcia’s father, Policronio, served as a mayor of Talibon, Bohol.

Several other cousins of Narciso Ramos’s second wife Alfonsita, married into other political families or were themselves personalities in the Philippines: one cousin is Hilario G. Davide, Jr., former Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court and now the country’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations; another, Simeon L. Kintanar, served as Cebu’s second district representative to Congress; still another, James Lucero, married Nazarena Soon, whose sister, Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, is currently a member of the House of Representatives; still another cousin, Procopio C. Lucero, Jr. married Gliseria Gullas, the daughter Paulino Gullas and sister of Eduardo and Jose Gullas, all of whom served as members of the House of Representatives; still another cousin was Januaria Taguenca Cabrera, who married Don Victoriano Osmeña, an uncle of President Sergio Osmeña. Among all the Philippine presidential families, the Osmeñas of Cebu have had the most number of members who served in the government to date. Excluding Sergio Sr., the family has had four senators and four members of the House of Representatives. The clan has also produced a governor, a vice governor, a provincial board member, mayors, vice mayor, and several councilors. The Osmeña family remains the premier political dynasty of Cebu, and one of the most enduring dynasties in the country.

President Osmeña's half-sister was Doña Modesto Singson-Gaisano, the matriarch of the affluent Gaisano family of Cebu City. Modesta was a progeny of Don Pedro Gotiaoco, whose other descendants include Atty. Agusto Go, President of the University of Cebu and Honorary South Korean Consul; John Gokongwei, Jr., a great-grandson of Don Pedro Gotiaoco and the owner of Cebu Pacific, Robinson’s Mall, JG Summit, and many more; and the Sy-Gaisano family, who operate chains of shopping malls all over Visayas and Mindanao. A grandson of the brother of Don Pedro is Andrew Gotianun, who owns the FILINVEST Group and the East West Bank.

Imelda Romualdez's marriage to Marcos also brought in many famous personalities. Imelda’s son, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., has served as Governor of Batac, Ilocos Norte while a daughter, Imee, currently a member of the House of Representatives, married Tommy Manotoc (whose first wife was Aurora Pijuan, the first Filipina to win the Ms. International title), whose mother, Nena Lao Manotoc, was the sister of Chita Lao, wife of Eugenio “Genny” Lopez, Jr., whose family owns ABS-CBN, MERALCO, Sky Cable, and other major corporations in the country. A son of Imee Marcos and Tommy Manotoc is Borgie Manotoc, a model.

Aside from being a capitalist clan, the Lopezes are also into politics: one member, Fernando Lopez, was a former senator and served as Vice-President under President Elpidio Quirino and Ferdinand Marcos; all in all, six members of the Lopez clan have served as Vice-President, Senator, and House Representatives. A great-nephew, Manuel “Beaver” Lopez, Jr., married Jacqueline “Jackie” Estrada, daughter of President Joseph Ejercito “Erap” Estrada, whose own wife, Dr. Loi P. Estrada, and son, Jinggoy, have served as Senators of the Philippines.

Imelda’s own niece, Marean Romualdez, daughter of her brother Leyte Governor Alfredo Romualdez, married Thomas Pompidou, the grandson of former French President Georges Pompidou.

Imelda's first cousin, Senator Danieling Romualdez, married Pacita Gueco of Tarlac. In an ironic twist of fate, Pacita Gueco happened to be the first cousin of Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. Of course, the Aquinos themselves are one of the premier political clans of the country and a scion of the Aquino clan was Senator Eva Estrada Kalaw, one of the Philippines' very first female senators. Ninoy Aquino’s own grandfather, Don Servillano Aquino, was a member of the Malolos Congress while his father, Benigno Aquino, Sr., also served as Philippine Senator. A sister of Ninoy, Tessie A. Oreta, also became senator of the Philippines while uncles Agapito and Herminio and nephew Jesli A. Lapus, served as members of the House of Representatives. Ninoy’s own son, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, currently sits as a Philippine Senator and, as already mentioned, is a presidential hopeful for the 2010 elections.

Ninoy's marriage to the heiress Corazon Cojuanco also allied his family to another political dynasty. Corazon Aquino, after her husband's heroic death in 1983, later became the country's first female Chief Executive. Her maternal family, the Sumulongs, have also produced several lawmakers: her grandfather, Juan Marquez Sumulong, was a three-term senator while an unlce, Lorenzo Sumulong, and cousins, Victor Sumulong and Emigdio S. Tanjuanco, Jr., served as members of the House of Representatives. The Cojuangco family, on the other hand, owns one of the oldest-existing haciendas in the country today, and the Cojuangcos control many of the country's business enterprises. They have also done very well in politics: Cory’s own grandfather, Melecio, was a member of the HOR. Her brother Jose “Peping” Jr., cousins Eduardo “Danding” Jr., Mercedes, Carlos, and Marcos, and nephew Gilbert C. Teodoro, have all served as representatives to congress. Gilbert C. Teodoro, as mentioned above, is another 2010 elections presidential hopeful.

Further, two Cojuangcos, sons of Cory's cousins Ramon and Eduardo, respectively, married Rio Diaz (Charlie Cojuangco), sister of former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz and Gretchen Baretto (Tony Boy Cojuangco). Gretchen's sisters are Claudine and Marjorie, themselves married to actors. Cory's niece, equestrienne Mikee Cojuangco, married Dodot Jaworski, son of basketball legend and Sen. Robert Jaworski. Senator Jaworski, on the other hand, married Susan Bautista Revilla, daughter of Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr., whose son Bong Revilla was a former governor and Senator. One of Sen. Ramon Revilla, Sr.'s partners and mother of several children is Genelyn Magsaysay, an illegitimate daughter of Ladelyn Madrigal and Senator Genaro Magsaysay. Senator Magsaysay was the brother of President Ramon Magsaysay.

Clearly, this Byzantine illustration of family connections is proof of the intricacies of Philippine politics. In this short presentation, we have already linked no less than 14 of our 15 Presidents, one Prime Minister, two former Ms. Universe and three Ms. International titleholders, several senators, and many other personalities, political or otherwise. We have even connected our "Philippine Family Tree" to a former French President and the Royal family of Brunei! Imagine what further research into the other family trees could reveal?

Philippine politics, undoubtedly, is still a family affair.

(C) TODD LUCERO SALES, 2012.

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Author’s note: (1) The original title of this article was RP Politics: Family Affair. I have, since then, made a lot of improvements to the original article and now have actual charts to show how these people are related. (2) All the abovementioned facts can be checked. To give the readers an idea of where these information came from, I have collated genealogical data from several internet sites (GMA7’s research during the SONA2007 really helped a lot), from books such as the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s “The Rulemakers”, and Alfred C. McCoy’s “An Anarchy of Families”. Many of the information here were collected over many years of research, and, just like an actual tree, this article will continue to expand as more genealogical data will come to light. Of course, corrections or additions to this article will be appreciated! Thanks also to ROLAND OSCAR ARANETA for sharing the Araneta Family website and for the many information I got that helped connect many personalities here. (Todd Lucero Sales).

Author’s request: The writing of this article was a laborious process. While I am not asking for any payment for every reposting of this article, I would like to request all those who wish to cite or repost this article to please, please cite my name as a source. Thanks!