The Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) says that that it has received 43,033 applications for the midterm elections scheduled for May 2025. Each voter will select 12 senators, a district representative, a partylist representative, and local officials in each province, city, and municipality. A total of 18,280 elective posts will be available for competition. The poll body said there are 183 candidates for senator and 190 partylist groups.
The registration of candidates reportedly ended peacefully but the initial list of the next set of local and legislative leaders reflected the dominance of political clans backed by big business interests. Despite the push for more inclusivity and gender equality, only 9,381 individuals, or 21.8 percent, of the total number of candidates were female.
As expected, political dynasties continued to field candidates across the country. Dynasty building is prohibited under the 1987 constitution but the absence of an enabling law has rendered this supposedly democratizing provision irrelevant. There have been attempts to pass a law against dynasties but they all failed to get support from both houses of Congress.
The filing of candidacies confirmed the proliferation of old and new political dynasties. As old families retain their influence, new dynasties are emerging, led by sports champions, celebrities, and vloggers. The traditional elite is represented by the family of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who has relatives aiming to be reelected in local and national positions. His sister is an incumbent senator, his son is a congressman, his nephew is governor of Ilocos Norte province, and his cousin is speaker of the House of Representatives. The speaker’s wife is also a partylist representative.
Even the original intent of the partylist system to give representation to marginalized sectors has been distorted by the entry of political clans and groups advocating the agenda of large corporations. Activist groups whose constituencies come from the basic sectors of society such as workers, farmers, and the urban poor are now forced to compete with resource-rich groups established by political dynasties and tycoons.
Meanwhile, former President Rodrigo Duterte came out of retirement and filed his candidacy for mayor of Davao City, a position he held for nearly three decades before becoming the country’s head of state in 2016. His son will run for vice mayor, his other son is a congressman, and his two grandchildren also aim to become city councilors and legislators. His daughter is the country’s vice president. His decision to run for mayor could be an attempt to consolidate the family political base as he fends off attempts by the International Criminal Court to investigate him about his role in the bloody “war on drugs” that took place under his presidency.
The Duterte-led party has also nominated senate candidates but they are not part of the lineup endorsed by the ruling coalition. There’s no surprise in this break-up of the once formidable “unity team” headed by Marcos and Duterte since both leaders and their families have clashed over the past year. There are also supposedly “independent” candidates but who are known to be allies of Duterte like the controversial church leader who is currently detained over human trafficking charges.
Amid the bickering of these powerful families, the opposition has also presented candidates in both Senate and partylist elections. The leftist Makabayan (Patriot) coalition has 11 candidates in the Senate race as they vie to challenge the rule of political dynasties and traditional parties. They also hope to garner the support of ordinary citizens who are increasingly voicing out their frustration against the corruption and incompetence of those in power. The last time a Leftist Senate slate competed in the election was in 1987 but that campaign endured violent backlash from the state.
Another major upgrade (or potential debacle) in the country’s electoral system is the Comelec decision to partner with a company that has promised to roll out new voting machines and more efficient automated transmission of results. This requires more effort in teaching the public about the voting machines and persuading the skeptical stakeholders that the new system will eliminate opportunities for fraud or hacking.
The week-long filing of candidacies has revealed several old and new features of the Philippine political and electoral system. Overall, they confirmed the persistence of the critique that old families continue to dominate and stunt the local political landscape. There have been efforts to introduce reforms but so far they have yet to make a substantial impact in making politics more equal and democratic. These issues are expected to be raised again in the succeeding months leading to the start of the campaign period in February.