MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines opened the weeklong window for aspiring politicians to formalize their candidacies in the 2025 midterm elections, a vote that is seen not just as a referendum on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s policies, but also as a test of the popularity of the Duterte family.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will accept certificates of candidacy (COCs) from aspirants for elective office from Tuesday, October 1, to the Tuesday after that, October 8.
More than 18,000 seats will be up for grabs, giving 67 million registered voters the opportunity to either reelect their leaders or install new ones, from senator to party-list representative at the national level, and from governor down to city or town councilor at the local level.
Aspirants for parliamentary seats in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will not join the rest of the country during the COC filing period, after the Comelec rescheduled the submission of candidacy papers there to November 4 to 9, in the wake of complications posed by the recent Supreme Court decision that excluded Sulu from BARMM.
Senate slugfest
Prior to Tuesday, more than 30 senatorial aspirants already threw their hat into the ring, informing the public that they would submit their COCs in a bid to occupy 12 of the 24 upper chamber seats that will be vacated next year.
President Marcos endorsed 12 senatorial candidates — most of whom are members of long-established political families in the country — lining them up under the administration’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas (Alliance for a New Philippines) coalition.
The ticket includes five reelectionist senators — Pia Cayetano, Lito Lapid, Imee Marcos, Bong Revilla, and Francis Tolentino; three former senators — Ping Lacson, Manny Pacquiao, and Tito Sotto; two House lawmakers — Deputy Speaker Camille Villar and consistent survey topnotcher Erwin Tulfo of party-list group ACT-CIS; Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos; and Makati City Mayor Abby Binay.
However, Senator Imee, the President’s sister who has close ties with the Dutertes — now her brother’s foes — has withdrawn from that alliance.
Vice President Sara Duterte, who resigned from Marcos’ Cabinet in June and has since accused the administration-allied House of Representatives of plotting her impeachment, has not come up with a senatorial slate, but she previously said that her father — former president Rodrigo Duterte — and her two brothers — Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte — would all vie for a slot in the Senate.
The Duterte patriarch’s party PDP has so far endorsed three candidates, including senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Bong Go.
For the anti-Duterte opposition, an opportunity to return to power
Opposition figures who were eased out during the Duterte presidency, meanwhile, are hoping for an electoral comeback in 2025.
Former senators Kiko Pangilinan and Bam Aquino are expected to file their candidacies, in hopes of joining Senator Risa Hontiveros in the Senate minority next year. Former senator Leila de Lima, former House members Teddy Baguilat and Erin Tañada, and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno will also vie for a congressional seat through their party-list groups.
Stalwarts of the Philippines’ leftist movement who were once members of Congress will also represent progressive party-list groups for the 2025 polls, including Neri Colmenares, Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, Sarah Elago, and Antonio Tinio.
The Makabayan bloc, for the first time, will also field a near-complete senatorial slate, led by its most prominent figures, former party-list representatives Liza Maza and Teddy Casiño, and outgoing lawmakers Arlene Brosas and France Castro.
Other prominent aspirants include labor leaders Sonny Matula, Leody de Guzman, and Luke Espiritu, former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson, retired soldier Ariel Querubin, influencer-physician Willie Ong, party-list lawmaker Wilbert Lee, and broadcaster Ben Tulfo, who, if he wins alongside his brother Erwin in the 2025 polls, would raise the number of Tulfos in the upper chamber to three, after Senator Raffy Tulfo.
The latest Social Weather Stations survey in June showed a favorable satisfaction rating for the Marcos administration, with respondents having a positive view of its disaster relief and poverty alleviation efforts. The public, however, is still critical of the administration’s efforts to eradicate government corruption and curb the rising prices of goods.
Politically, the last year has been defined by the messy erosion of the 2022 election alliance that President Marcos and Vice President Duterte had forged to secure a landslide victory. Currently, the House is investigating the Vice President’s alleged misuse of public funds, as well as the issues that hounded her father’s presidency, including extrajudicial killings related to the drug war, and the criminal activities tied to Philippine offshore gaming operators.
Many of the Duterte family’s allies, even in Mindanao, have jumped ship, making the midterms an important test to determine what remains of the political clan’s once-enduring popularity. – Rappler.com