Headlines

Philippines Holds Midterm Elections

Published MAY 12 2025

Story

Above: People wait to vote as election officials (foreground) work at a polling station during mid-term elections in Manila on May 12, 2025. Image credit: Jam Sta Rosa/AFP via Getty Images

The Facts

The Philippines held its midterm elections on Monday to elect approximately 18,000 local and national positions, including half of the 24-member Senate and all 317 House seats. Over 68 million Filipinos registered to vote, with the polls closing at 7 p.m. local time.
Reuters
The Associated Press
The election unfolded amid the political rift between the Marcos and Duterte families, who entered office together in 2022. The alliance collapsed after Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment in February 2025 and the arrest and extradition of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to The Hague, which President Marcos Jr. expedited.
BBC News
The Times (UK)
The senate race will determine the 12 newly elected senators who will form half the jury in Sara Duterte’s upcoming impeachment trial in July, where she faces accusations of plotting to assassinate the president and misusing intelligence funds.
Guardian
The Times (UK)
Automated vote counting began to deliver unofficial and partial results within hours of polls closing. The Commission on Elections, however, announced in its calendar of activities that the official declarations will take up to a week to be disclosed.
Aa
Comelec
Notably, early partial results indicate that Rodrigo Duterte (despite being detained at the International Criminal Court) has won the Davao City mayoral race by a landslide, leading second-place Karlo Nograles by around 470,000 votes at the time of counting.
Halalanresults
BBC News
The New York Times
Election day itself was marred by reports of faulty voting machines, causing long delays and leading to counting machines being replaced, and election-related violence, with three killed in Basilan and two more in Silay City.
INQUIRER.net
INQUIRER.net
PCIJ.org
South China Morning Post

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

The Marcos Jr. administration has brought prosperity to the Philippines. Today, the country is one of the world's fastest-growing and most dynamic economies, with unemployment at its lowest level in two decades. In contrast, the alternative is a discredited political dynasty led by a former president wanted for crimes against humanity and his daughter, accused of plotting to assassinate the president. To safeguard the nation's future, administration-aligned candidates must prevail over Sara Duterte’s loyalists.

Pco

Narrative B

At their core, these elections are about safeguarding democratic institutions and protecting political actors from targeted persecution. The recent impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte and the ICC detention of former President Rodrigo Duterte are attacks aimed at eliminating Marcos Jr.’s political opposition. Rodrigo’s re-election, however, demonstrates that despite the smears, public confidence still holds in the political family that steered the Philippines onto the right track.

East Asia Forum