This paper examines the extent and significance of social relationships in business and politics in the Philippines. It is suggested that small collections of enterprises organized into webs are set atop a thick blanket of small, economically weak enterprises which lies across the archipelago. It is further suggested that the connections between politician and merchant represent the tendrils through which very personal interests in the national economy are fed back into a political life that is more parochial and factionalized. The apparent professionalization of merchant oligarchies, a quieter symbiosis between merchant and politician, and a strengthening interest in debates commonly associated with the evolution of a market economy and mass representative democracy, may be indicative of a subtle but profound change in attitudes towards social relationships.
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