MANILA, Philippines – The Adiong brothers, powerful political figures in Lanao del Sur, have found themselves at the center of a controversy after images surfaced of emergency rescue vehicles bearing the name of 1st District Representative Ziaur-Rahman Alonto Adiong being distributed in the Bangsamoro province.
The vehicles, emblazoned with the congressman’s nickname “Zia” in bold letters, quickly raised eyebrows and reignited concerns over the often blurred line between public service and political self-promotion.
While the province’s officials initially said that the vehicles serve only the public interest, the optics tell a different story.
The emergency rescue vehicles were presented during a turnover ceremony attended by Adiong and his brother, Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr.
Zia showed the
Aside from Marawi, a city still bearing the scars of the five-month battle between government forces and an extremist group in 2017, the vehicles were also given to the following towns: The initiative drew both applause and sharp criticism. The backlash was swift in a country where public officials have long mastered the art of self-congratulation at the taxpayers’ expense. One critic, unimpressed by the display, took to the discussion thread on Zia’s Facebook page to ask: “Pera ng mga taxpayer ‘yan ba’t nakalagay pangalan mo? Para kunwari sa ’yo galing, ikaw nagdonate?” (That’s taxpayers’ money, why is your name written on it? To make it look like it came from you, like you made the donation?) The backlash brought to the fore an old practice in Philippine politics where government-funded projects are branded with the names of elected officials to reinforce their presence ahead of elections. Lawmakers allied with the Marcos administration have been criticized over the way they have been spending public funds for financial aid programs. While aimed at easing economic hardship, many see them as temporary solutions that do not address the root causes of poverty. Critics also said such programs prioritize political self-promotion over real solutions. For years, there were efforts in Congress to pass legislation against epal (slang for the attention-seeker) practices, but defining what constitutes self-promotion in government projects has proven difficult, allowing the practice to persist. The Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Commission on Audit have policies prohibiting officials from placing their names, initials, or images on government-funded projects. In 2021, senators sought to formalize these restrictions in the General Appropriations Act that year, barring officials from displaying their names, images, or insignia on publicly funded programs, projects, and infrastructure. Despite all these efforts, the anti-epal policy remains unenforced, lacking the necessary legal framework to make it binding. The Adiong brothers have yet to directly address the criticisms. Their silence only reinforces the longstanding overlap between public service and political self-promotion, a concern that extends beyond Lanao del Sur. For nearly a century, the Adiongs have shaped the province’s political landscape, and the clan’s influence remains deeply entrenched. The siblings’ great-great-grandfather helped draft the 1935 Constitution. Their parents, Mamintal Sr. and Soraya, each held the governor’s seat at different times. Their grandfather, Ahmad, once served in the Senate. Rappler reached out to the congressman for comment, but neither he nor his assistant responded as of posting time. This report will be updated once they do. Jennie Alonto Tamano, provincial information officer, declined to comment, saying she was not present during the vehicle distribution. She said it was an initiative of the congressman’s office. – Rappler.com