The senators of the 19th Congress: A brief genealogical profile

Recently, five senators of the 19th Congress ended their legislative service as either their terms ended, such as Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, Nancy Binay, Ramon Revilla, Jr., Grace Poe, and Cynthia Villar, or as they unsuccessfully won their reelection as in the case of Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. who placed fourteenth in the recent election. Let’s review how inclusive (or exclusive) the senators of the 19th Congress were in terms of geographical representation and genealogical origins. Are our Senators truly representative of the Filipino people? Here’s an organized grouping of the current senators of the 19th Congress (2022–2028) by birthplace (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao), then by their specific region within those island groups, and finally noting known family origins where available. Most birthplace data is from official biographies.

In terms of birthplaces, Senators Risa Hontiveros (born in Metro Manila), Alan Peter Cayetano (Mandaluyong, Metro Manila), Pia Cayetano (Metro Manila), Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero (born in Sorsogon, Bicol Region), Imee Marcos (in Manila), Cynthia (Muntinlupa City) and Mark Villar (Las Piñas City), Loren Legarda (Malabon), JV Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada (Manila), Bong Revilla (Manila), Joel Villanueva (Bocaue, Bulacan), Migz Zubiri (Makati), Francis Tolentino (Guinobatan, Albay), Ramon Tulfo (Quezon City), Win Gatchalian (Manila), Lito Lapid (Porac, Pampanga), Nancy Binay (Manila), (Robin Padilla (Daet, Camarines Norte) and former senator and now Department of Education Secretary Sonny Angara (Manila), are all Luzon-born, majority having been born within the National Capital Region. Only Escudero, Lapid, Padilla, Villanueva, and Tolentino were born outside the “center of power”.

Senator Grace Poe, discovered as a foundling in Jaro, Iloilo, is the only one in the 19th Congress to be Visayas-born. As for Mindanao, we have the following: Bong Go (Davao City), Koko Pimentel (Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental), and Bato dela Rosa (Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur).

We have more “representation” when it comes to the origins of the senators’ families. While Hontiveros is more Luzon associated, her paternal line has deep Panay-Visayan roots; Koko Pimente has ethnic ties in Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro); while Zubiri’s paternity is from Bukidnon; while the Marcoses are Ilokano, Imee and her siblings, through their mother, have roots to Burauen, Leyte;

Escudero is almost pure Bikolano, while Bong Go and Dela Rosa are Mindanaoans. All the rest are still what can be called "Tagalogs”, though a few come from the peripheries of “imperial Manila”.

From 1916 to 1935, senators in the Philippines were elected to represent senatorial districts through plurality-at-large voting. Each district, composed of several provinces, elected two senators. The exception was the district covering the so-called non-Christian provinces, where the governor-general of the Philippines appointed the senators instead of them being chosen by popular vote. So there was a time in our history when we followed the American-style Senate. This also guaranteed, at least theoretically, that every senator had a cluster of provinces to mind.

The current senators of the 19th Congress have more than half of its members being Manila-born, with several more from Luzon. Only four are from Visayas and Mindanao. Taking into consideration the usual composition of the Senate, which is usually dominated by NCR-born members, and with just a few token senators selected from outside the National Capital Region, maybe because of our archipelagic configuration and extreme regionalism, perhaps a shift to a federal system is best.