National–Local Synergies for Development: How a Local Political Machine Delivered Infrastructure Results in Iloilo City

• Published in: Journal of current Southeast Asian affairs Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 286 - 307
• Main Author: Hall, Rosalie Arcala
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-08-2024; Sage Publications Ltd; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Central government; Cities; Economic elites; Government agencies; Infrastructure; Local businesses; Machine politics; Political elites; Political leadership; Public officials; development; Iloilo City; infrastructure; local government; Franklin Drilon; political machine; Business
• ISSN: 1868-1034; 1868-4882
• DOI: 10.1177/18681034241265724

The upsurge in big-ticket infrastructure projects in Iloilo City for the past two decades owes much to the developmental alliance amongst Senator Franklin Drilon as the national government benefactor, multi-term city mayors, and the local business sector. These government officials’ prolonged tenure in office afforded a stable political leadership that ensured long-term planning around key infrastructure projects and continued access to national government funding. Robust institutional and informal ties between political and economic elites enabled consensus-building on the virtues of market-driven growth for which infrastructure is key. The Drilon political machine orchestrated a diverse but astutely networked group of local businesses by involving them in formal participatory planning processes, thereby facilitating approval of big-ticket items, and by influencing bureaucrats from national government agencies to approve the projects.