Opulence.
That is how most accounts describe the lifestyle of the Ampatuans as exemplified by their fetish for big and expansive mansions in Manila and Mindanao. And these are the elected government officials of the country’s second poorest province.
I personally passed by these mansions in my recent trips to Davao while our friend from Ateneo de Davao explained how the father and the son seem to be engaged in a contest on who could the build the bigger and more luxurious mansion in such a short span of time. Apparently, the whole of Davao City including the old rich themselves are just in awe. The city has never seen big edifices like these and thus, it has become a common practice for locals to show these to their visiting friends.
And then there is another story of the grand daughter studying at an exclusive school in Manila.
Head-on Dialectic 