Latest news with #PhilippinesElections
South China Morning Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippine midterm elections: Marcos set for political ‘thrashing' at hands of youth voters
A surprise surge of youth voters has upended the Philippines' midterm elections, delivering what analysts have described as a political 'thrashing' for President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and complicating the path forward for his administration. Advertisement With only five of Marcos Jnr's remaining 10 Senate candidates poised to win seats – after two of the original 12 switched allegiances at the last minute – observers say the eventual results could weaken his influence in Congress, undermine efforts to convict Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio in an impending impeachment trial, and reshape the battlefield for the 2028 presidential race. 'This is probably one of the most dramatic late election developments I have ever seen, since virtually all the latest surveys failed to predict this outcome,' said Barry Gutierrez, a former lawmaker and spokesman for ex-vice-president Leni Robredo. Historian Manolo Quezon described the outcome so far as 'the fourth worst' midterm showing for a sitting president since 1938. Although the vote appears evenly split – with five candidates each from the Marcos and Duterte factions projected to take Senate seats – the results so far suggest a wider public disaffection with the president. The tallies are from partial, unofficial results obtained from the 'central server' controlled by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which has said final confirmation of the winners would be due by the weekend. Advertisement Among the likely victors personally endorsed by Duterte-Carpio are returning senators Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa and Imee Marcos, as well as Rodante Marcoleta – a sitting congressman – and Congresswoman Camille Villar. The vice-president's endorsement was seen as crucial to their success. Villar and Imee Marcos, the president's sister, had initially appeared on Marcos Jnr's official slate but switched allegiance to Duterte-Carpio's side shortly before the election.
NHK
13-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Ballot counting underway for Philippine midterm elections
Ballot counting is underway in the Philippine's midterm elections amid an intense standoff between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte. Voters cast ballots on Monday at both the national and local level, halfway through the president's six-year term. Up for grabs are half the 24 Senate seats, all seats in the House of Representatives and posts in provinces, cities and municipalities. The most fiercely contested are the Senate seats, as the chamber is set to hold an impeachment trial against Sara as early as July. If convicted, she won't be able to run in the 2028 presidential election. Local media report the presidential camp has the upper hand in the Senate elections so far, with the candidates supported by Marcos securing six seats, while Sara's choices hold only three seats. But the president's camp might be on tenterhooks until the very end. On Tuesday, Sara's father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, was declared the winner of the mayoral election in his home city Davao. His landslide victory comes despite him being detained thousands of miles away in The Hague. He was arrested in March under an International Criminal Court warrant over his so-called "war on drugs" in which thousands of people were killed.
CBS News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Philippines election results a "Duterte landslide," family of detained former President Rodrigo Duterte boasts
Manila, Philippines — Despite his detention by the International Criminal Court, former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte appeared to have been elected as mayor in his home city by a landslide, according to preliminary results on Tuesday. At least five candidates backed by his family were also among those leading the race for 12 Senate positions, in a stronger-than-expected showing in Monday's midterm elections. Pre-election surveys had indicated only two of them would emerge victorious. The results come as a boost for Duterte's daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, ahead of an impeachment trial in the Senate in July over a raft of charges including alleged misuse of public funds and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife and the House speaker. Sara Duterte is considered a strong contender for the 2028 presidential race. But if convicted by the Senate, she will lose her job and be disqualified from holding public office forever. To be acquitted, she needs at least nine of the 24 senators to vote in her favor. The official election results will be known within a week. But the partial and unofficial count by election watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting showed Duterte garnering more than half a million votes in his stronghold Davao City, nearly eight times more than his closest rival. Supporters of arrested former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte chant his name during a solidarity rally on his birthday, in Davao City, Philippines, March 28, 2025. Eloisa Lopez/REUTERS His youngest son, Sebastian, the incumbent mayor of Davao, is also leading the unofficial vote count in the race for Davao vice mayor. His eldest son, Paolo, who is seeking reelection as a member of the House of Representatives, and two grandsons in local races were also in the lead, in an indication of the family's continued influence. "Duterte landslide in Davao!" his youngest daughter Veronica posted on Facebook. Duterte, nicknamed "the Punisher" and "Dirty Harry," served as Davao's mayor for two decades before becoming president. He has been in the custody of the International Criminal Court since March, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity over a brutal war on illegal drugs that left thousands of suspects dead during his 2016-2022 presidency. He was arrested at Manila's airport after arriving from Hong Kong, with police taking him into custody on orders of the ICC, which has been investigating mass killings that happened under his crackdown on illegal drugs. The impeachment and Rodrigo Duterte's arrest and transfer to the tribunal in The Hague came after Marcos and Sara Duterte's ties unraveled over political differences and their competing ambitions. Duterte supporters slammed Marcos's government for arresting and surrendering the former leader to a court whose jurisdiction his supporters dispute. Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gives a speech during a campaign rally at Southorn Stadium, March 9, 2025, in Hong Kong, China. Anthony Kwan/Getty Under Philippine law, candidates facing criminal charges, including those in detention, can run for office unless they have been convicted and have exhausted all appeals. Sara Duterte had told reporters after voting Monday that she was in talks with her father's lawyers on how he could take his oath as mayor despite being behind bars. She had said the vice mayor, widely expected to be Sebastian, would likely be the acting mayor.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Philippine polling firm disowns 'local election survey' graphics
"Former President Rodrigo Duterte who is currently detained in Hague, Netherlands (sic) is still leading in the latest Pulse Asia 2025 Electoral Preference Survey in Davao City from April 26 to May 6," reads a Facebook post on May 9. Another post claims to share Pulse Asia Research poll numbers for central Cebu province's race for governor and appears to show candidate Pamela Baricuatro massively leading incumbent Gwen Garcia. Some 18,000 seats were up for grabs in the mid-term elections largely defined by the explosive feud between President Ferdinand Marcos and impeached Vice President Sara Duterte (archived link). The 12 senators chosen will form half the jury in Duterte's trial tentatively set for July that could see her permanently barred from public office. Her father ex-president Rodrigo Duterte -- detained in The Hague for a crimes against humanity charge -- remains on the ballot in his family's southern stronghold of Davao city where he is seeking to retake his former job as mayor. An initial tally showed the 80-year-old former leader has won in a landslide. Baricuatro is currently leading Garcia with over 98 percent of returns in, results from the poll agency Comelec released by local media showed as of May 13. The circulating graphics, however, are not from Pulse Asia Research according to the organisation. "We strongly denounce any unauthorized use of our name to disseminate false or misleading information," reads a statement posted on its website May 9 which disowned the purported Davao city survey as well as several other local poll results (archived link). Ronald Holmes, the organisation's president, separately said on Facebook they "did not conduct any survey in Cebu province" (archived link). Keyword searches on the official website and verified Facebook page of Pulse Asia Research found no such surveys (archived here and here). The circulating graphics also do not match the format of the firm's survey publications which include the full names of candidates and indicate the question that respondents were asked (archived link). Moreover, the alleged Davao city survey only lists two rivals for former president Duterte for the mayoral race but Comelec's website says five candidates are vying for the seat. AFP has debunked other misinformation swirling around the Philippine mid-term vote here.
Washington Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Detained Philippines ex-President Duterte poised to win mayoral race in his home city
MANILA, Philippines — Despite his detention thousands of miles away in the International Criminal Court , former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte appeared to have been elected as mayor in his home city by a landslide, according to preliminary results on Tuesday. At least five candidates backed by his family were also among those leading the race for 12 Senate positions, in a stronger-than-expected showing in Monday's mid-term elections . Pre-election surveys had indicated only two of them would emerge victorious.
