March 4, 2025
Manila – The Philippines mid-term poll in May should be a Senate game and thousands of local positions. But one month after the campaign season, the toughest showdown was not among the candidates, but two very voiced figures.
The 2025 election has become an alternative battle for the current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, 67, and his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, 79. Populist leaders have been exchanging speeches in speeches that aim to recognize their respective senator seats.
Danger is the future of its dynasty clans.
Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte, was called a referendum for Marcos' presidency by Marcos Allied's legislators in less than a week during the February 11 poll. Ms. Duterte's impeachment trial will begin when the new Congress takes place in July.
Filipinos will vote in 24 Senate seats in May, while the rest will compete in the 2028 poll. Every province, city and town has more than 300 members of Congress and thousands of local officials participating in the election.
Mr. Marcos launched an opening ceremony against Dutertes during his campaign for Ilocos Norte, a fortress in northern Laos, in the northern Philippine city of Laos.
Confronting a 20,000-person crowd in an arena filled with supporters, Mr. Marcos said that voting for his anointed candidate was also a vote for the return of Mr. Duterte’s “bloody, corrupt and pro-minister” regime.
“No Filipino wants to go back to this kind of governance. That's why you can be sure that when our candidates are elected to the Senate… they won't be involved in these policies we've left behind and don't want to return to the Senate.”
The infamous warlike Mr. Duterte stood out two days later in the campaign for his Senate candidate for Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas Ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
The party was held at a small, historic event hall in San Juan, near the capital Manila, the Philippines Club. In 1986, the Filipino democratic icon Corazon Aquino was sworn in at the peak of the near-bloodless revolution, the dictatorship of Mr. Marcos' late Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Mr Duterte re-accused his successor of drug addicts, a charge often denied by the current president.
“Marcos will go crazy. Maybe as he continues to use heroin, he will reach 80. But by then, he will not be able to move. Mr. Duterte said he will either stand only in his room or sleep.
He went on to joke that he would kill the current senator with a bomb explosion to ensure his PDP-Laban bet will win as Mr Duterte's allies have been lagging behind in the pre-election investigation so far. By contrast, most candidates recognized by Marcos led the investigation, including five current senators seeking re-election.
On February 18, Mr. Marcos's slate brought their campaign to Pasay City near the capital, he mentioned his opponent's speech.
“Forgive me, but I'm just counting my candidates here to make sure they're still intact and no one is killed by grenades,” Mr. Marcos joked in turn.
Mr Duterte then stepped up his stakes at a campaign rally held on February 22, Cebu is the country's most abundant provincial-level campaign rally in the central Philippines with 3.7 million registered voters.
He accused Mr. Marcos of possessing plans as a dictator with the intention of declaring martial law like his father. He then first brought up his daughter's impeachment, urging Filipinos to vote for all PDP-Laban candidates to help stop Ms. Duterte from dismissing from the office.
This prompted Mr. Marcos's office to issue a statement the next day calling Mr. Duterte a “single-person fake news factory.”
According to local rules, the judge at Ms. Duterte's impeachment trial will be the winning Senate candidate in May once the Senate summons the court to hear her case in July.
As ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute Visit Senior Aries Arugay told The Straits Times: “Mr. Duterte is calling up troops and telling them we need to mobilize and try to the Senate, and to the Senate.”
He added: “For Duterte, this game is no longer just in the May vote. It's about the improvisation (his daughter).”
Meanwhile, it is more strategic that Mr. Marcos did not mention Ms. Duterte's impeachment in his speech, as he may be accused of the risk of improper impact on the lawsuit.
But the president cannot bear Duters' attack on him, so he will focus on his ex. “You can't stay silent for a long time, especially when the attacks get stronger and more personal. You have to respond,” Mr Yusingco told ST.
He said Mr. Marcos and Mr. Duterte probably knew that their verbal war would not be a huge determinant for voters, as Filipinos traditionally chose their senators based on familiarity and popularity.
Regardless, two men should keep the trade barbs on the campaign.
“If the (Marcos) government wins a big victory, Duterte has no choice but to retreat into the darkness. But if the government doesn't win a big victory, if they win just because of the skin of their teeth, the second half of the presidency will be sulfuric acid,” Mr Yusingco said.
“The political discourse will be more intense than we see now. The battle at Marcos-Duterte is not a real campaign, but something happens for it.”
- Mara Cepeda is the Philippine correspondent for The Straits Times.
