Philippine Midterms Fail To Solve Marcos-Duterte Family Feud

2025-05-16 08:07:20

(MENAFN- Asia Times) With 317 congressional seats and nearly 18,000 local positions at stake, the May 12 midterm election results in the Philippines mean different things to people across the archipelago. But even a few hours after the unofficial results came in, the brute facts had already become clear.

Local elections for municipal and city mayorships, provincial governorships and congressional seats predictably produced victories for entrenched local“dynasties”. The advantages of incumbency – control over the patronage resources and regulatory powers of the state – ensured reelection for many sitting mayors, governors and congress members.

Midterm elections in the Philippines also include half of the seats in the nationally elected 24-member Senate. They thus serve simultaneously as tests for presidents halfway through their single six-year terms and previews of the next presidential election, in this case in 2028.

The latest mid-terms have been notable for their – ultimately ambiguous – implications for a major family feud at the top of the country's politics. This feud pits the family of current president Ferdinand“Bongbong” Marcos Jr against that of his vice president, Sara Duterte.

The elections have failed to strengthen either family decisively, so their bitter rivalry is likely to continue throughout the remainder of Marcos's term.

This family feud dates back to late 2021. At that time, Duterte agreed to run as Marcos's running mate for presidential elections the following year despite her clear lead in nationwide voter preference surveys.

The Marcos-Duterte ticket won a landslide victory . They benefited from the endorsement and assistance of the incumbent president, Rodrigo Duterte, whose enduring popularity extended to his daughter Sara.

But following Marcos's inauguration in late June 2022, a rift between the two families began to open up. Marcos settled into his presidential role and began to distance himself from the signature policies of his predecessor.

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