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INFOGRAPHIC: Party-list nominees who belong to political families

ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group; infographic by Pamela Ramos, ABS-CBN News

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Politics is addition.

That's a long-held maxim in any democracy. But no one expected the addition to happen as perversely as it has in the Philippines' party-list system, which was conceived as a means to empower the marginalized, under-represented sectors of society.

Kingpins of provinces and congressional districts are now adopting this long-held maxim in an attempt to expand their control by way of the party-list system, fielding relatives as nominees in the May 13 midterm elections.

To be sure, it has been happening for years. But it has never been as brazen as today, to quote an election watchdog.

Political families--or families that have produced more than one elected or appointed official--have fielded 49 party-list nominees in the May elections, and if their parties garner enough votes, the nominees could occupy 83% of the 59 party-list seats in the House of Representatives.

ABS-CBN's Investigative and Research Group is publishing its findings to help voters make informed decisions on election day.

Read the full story here: EXCLUSIVE: Political clans ‘hijack’ party-list