Dynasties (WIP)
a hundred years later, a political dynasty fantasy
Over 80% of Congress members in the Philippines belong to political dynasties. For decades, aspirational legislation attempted to prevent this concentration of power since the ratification of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, but this has never been put into practice.
2026
Portraits, simulation, game
Dynasties (WIP title) is a series of works on political dynasties in the Philippines.
Run as a simulation, the site loops through centuries of politicians across the provinces, witnessing the rise and fall of families and figureheads, drawn from actual tactics and strategies used by families to maintain power: swapping positions to bypass term limits, tactical marriages, conflicts resolved via parricide, and more. Drawn & warped from actual real-world dynasty structures, imagining an absurd yet plausible future of inbred, thirsty, corrupt, and unrelenting legacies.
In the game, you are randomly positioned in a Filipino province and aspire to one day rid the nation of dynasties by finally enacting the Anti-Dynasty Law, often at the cost of hypocrisy, violence, and personal loss.
In 2009, the Maguindanao massacre occurred when the Ampatuan clan kidnapped, murdered, and raped 58 people going to support Esmael Mangudadatu's gubernatorial bid. The Ampatuan clan is the 'fattest dynasty' in the Philippines, who had 29 family members in power in the same year.
