By David Asta Alares
Manila, May 13 (EFE).- The recent midterm elections in the Philippines are seen as a “rebuke” to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr amid his face off against the Duterte family.
Vice-president Sara Duterte’s senatorial candidates did much better than expected in the elections, whereas her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, won the mayoral race in his home city, Davao, despite his detention by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the “war on drugs” during his presidency.
“We may not have won every seat, but our work and our mission continue,” Marcos said on Monday, calling for unity across the political spectrum.
The campaign was marked by the feud between Marcos and Vice President Duterte, as well as the investigation of former President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity by the ICC.
With 97 percent of the preliminary results counted, and pending the release of the official count by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in the coming days, the senatorial candidates of Marcos’ alliance barely managed to secure five of the 12 contested seats.
According to Sol Dorotea Iglesias, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines, there has been a clear change in the country’s electoral dynamics.
“The results look like a rebuke,” she said.
The elections, in which not only half of the Senate but also the entire lower house of Congress and 18,000 local government seats were at stake, are seen as a referendum on Marcos’ policies after he came to power alongside Sara Duterte in 2022.
The alliance began to crumble and finally exploded in November when the vice president said she had given orders to kill Marcos in the event of her assassination.
The Duterte clan staked its political survival on these elections, and, according to Iglesias, “it seems clear that it received something of a boost” in the Senate and a consolidation of its political base in the southern island of Mindanao.
Duterte won the mayoralty of its stronghold in Davao, while his two sons and two grandsons won posts at the national and local levels.
Accused of crimes against humanity and currently detained in The Hague, Duterte managed to get three candidates into the upper house of parliament, including the popular Bong Go and the alleged mastermind of his so-called war on drugs, former police chief Ronald Dela Rosa.
The last-minute inclusion of Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, and Camille Villar on Rodrigo Duterte’s list, initially on the Marcos side, has led to a tie between the two sides.
“While the outcome was not what we had hoped for, our commitment to the people remains unwavering,” Sara Duterte said in a statement.
Two of the five senators won by the vice-president’s candidacy were last-minute additions, and in turbulent Philippine politics that can imply questionable loyalty.
The Senate results would directly affect the political aspirations of Sara Duterte, who faces an impeachment trial that could lead to her removal from office, eliminating her chances of seeking the presidency in the 2028 elections.
“But out of 24 senators, she only needs eight to vote against impeachment,” Iglesias said.
Aside from the Marcos and Duterte clans, two candidates made a surprise appearance on the senatorial list: Bam Aquino, cousin of former president Benigno Aquino (2010-16) and nephew of former president Corazon Aquino (1986-92), and veteran politician Kiko Pangilinan, the failed 2022 vice presidential candidate.
The “surprising” results of Aquino and Pangilinan are “a clear reflection of the Filipino people’s renewed demand for ability and reformist leadership,” said Victor Andres Manhit, founder of the Stratbase think tank. EFE
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