IN NUMBERS: 2025 Philippine elections

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VOTERS. File photos show a person inside a voting precinct in Cebu City to vote in the 2022 Philippine elections.

Jacqueline Hernandez/Rappler

Know the numbers related to the 2025 national elections, including the total number of candidates and areas of concern that the Comelec is monitoring

MANILA, Philippines – Things are about to get crazy in the run-up to the 2025 Philippine elections.

It’s easy to get lost in the whirlwind of campaign ads, speeches, and rumors as political tensions continue to escalate with new alliances forming. The circus-like reality of polls in our country — as well as the political arena in general — make it more crucial to step back and see the big picture.

One way to do this is by understanding the numbers surrounding the election process to have a clearer view of what is to come. These data include the number of elective positions, candidates, and even areas of concern that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) deems in need of close monitoring.

This page will be updated as the Comelec releases more election-related data.

Both aspiring and veteran politicians are vying for 18,320 elective positions across the Philippines in the 2025 elections — from the Senate down to cities and municipalities.

This number is an increase from 2022’s 18,180 due to the addition of parliamentary positions under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. BARMM elections, however, are at risk of being postponed after the House of Representatives passed a bill seeking to reschedule its first regular parliamentary polls to May 2026.

There were also additional allocated seats in the provincial board of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Batanes, Quirino, Aurora, Marinduque, Romblon, Catanduanes, Guimaras, Biliran, Siquijor, Southern Leyte, Camiguin, Davao Occidental, Agusan del Norte, Dinagat Islands, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi.

Senators are elected for six years per term while the rest are expected to serve for three years. They are all qualified to be reelected but cannot serve for three consecutive terms.

There are 329 seats up for grabs in the Philippine Congress in the upcoming 2025 national elections. Out of this number, 12 are Senate positions while 317 are under the House of Representatives.

Legislative district representatives make up the bulk of the House, with 254 seats available for candidates. More than half of this number — 56% or 143 — are from Luzon while 50 and 61 seats are allotted for districts in Visayas and Mindanao, respectively.

Party-list representatives will hold 63 seats, constituting 20% of the total membership of the House, as mandated by Republic Act No. 7941, or the Party-List Act. These representatives are elected from sectoral parties, sectoral organizations, or political parties. Each winning party-list representative may serve a maximum of three consecutive terms, as nominated by his or her respective elected party or organization.

The Comelec recorded at least 43,033 individuals who filed their certificates of candidacy for the 2025 national elections. These were submitted in their respective jurisdictions from October 1 to 8, 2024.

Male COC filers continue to significantly outnumber their female counterparts. At least 33,652 individuals — or at least 78% — are male while 9,381 are female.

Not all of those who filed their COCs and CONAs will reach the ballot, with only less than half of senatorial aspirants making the cut.

The number of senatorial candidates is now at 66, according to a release by the Comelec in December 2024. This is a significantly lower than the list containing 183 candidates as of November 2024. Those who did not make the cut were the ones declared as nuisance candidates based on motu proprio cases handled by the Commission.

Meanwhile, there will be 160 party-list groups vying for a slot at the House of Representatives.

403 election areas of concern

The Comelec announced 403 areas of concern for the upcoming polls.

Out of this total, 38 areas are classified under the red category, indicating a grave peace and order situation. This designation allows for the potential motu proprio declaration of Comelec control that allows the Commission full and direct supervision over local employees and law enforcement agencies.

At least 32 of the areas under the red category are cities and municipalities within BARMM.

Meanwhile, 177 localities were tagged under the orange category, which indicates the presence of serious armed threats. In addition, 188 areas were placed under the yellow category, characterized by any of the following factors:

A history of being declared as places of concern under Comelec control
Suspected election-related violence
Intense political rivalries
Possible deployment of partisan or private armed groups by candidates
Politically-motivated election-related incidents

Check this link for the full list of election areas of concern.

There are a number of overseas Filipino voters who will cast their votes online during the 2025 national elections, provided they are registered in one of the 76 Philippine diplomatic posts implementing this voting method for this year’s polls.

Online voting is the newest of the three voting methods available to registered overseas voters. Voters are assigned a specific method and cannot choose their preferred option.