Written for The Diplomat
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 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.
Election Campaign Begins with Marcos-Duterte War of Words
Written for The Diplomat
The first week of the mid-term election campaign in the Philippines has been marked by a vicious exchange of words between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The challenge for the opposition is not just to expose the self-serving motives of Marcos and Duterte but to articulate the everyday economic concerns of ordinary citizens. More importantly, opposition groups should prove that they offer a better model of governance and are determined to exact accountability from erring officials.