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MANILA, Philippines — In the 2025 senatorial elections, even administration candidates have been careful not to alienate the opposition vote.
It’s a strange predicament made more complicated in the aftermath of the Marcos administration’s decision to enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against former president Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in his bloody drug war.
“I’ll be honest with you, siyempre merong epekto, kasi hindi natin maikakaila na marami ring taga-suporta si President Duterte, rightly or wrongly, siyempre nandoon ‘yung kanilang sentimiento para sa kanya,” said senatorial candidate Panfilo Lacson during a press briefing on Friday, March 14, ahead of the Marcos-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas’ campaign sortie in Tacloban, Leyte.
(Of course there’s an effect, because we cannot deny that President Duterte still has many supporters, rightly or wrongly. Of course their sentiments on him are unchanged.)
Duterte, who had mostly retreated from public engagements after stepping down in 2022, remains a widely popular figure in Philippine politics. Political sources earlier told Rappler that his endorsement power remains high, despite public appearances that are few and far apart.
The 2025 elections have, in fact, shaped into a showdown between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Duterte clan — led by the former president and his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte, with whom Marcos was once allied with but now faces an impeachment trial.
While Marcos is endorsing the 12-member Alyansa slate, Duterte has his own slate of 9.
Since the beginning of the campaign, Alyansa’s bets — a mix of Senate return aspirants, reelectionists, and members of entrenched political clans — had skirted around the rift between the Marcos and Duterte clans.
When the campaign kicked off in early February, Alyansa bets avoided making a stand on the impeachment of Vice President Duterte — arguing that it was either premature to talk about the impeachment trial, or that it was not an election issue altogether.
Lacson, who was the first Alyansa bet to address questions about how Duterte’s arrest could affect their campaign, said, “But tayo naman, instead na tumulong tayong mag-escalate, makadagdag pa tayo sa mag-escalate ‘yung divisiveness, mas maganda siguro tumulong na lang tayo para mag-deescalate, kasi nandiyan na ‘yan.”
(On our part, instead of helping escalate tensions and add to the escalation of divisiveness, it would be better to help deescalate because it’s already there anyway.)
“I would suggest na ang government at the very least, dapat gawin nila, ipakita nila ‘yung standard na tulong na ginagawa gobyerno na maski sinong Pilipino, kapwa Pilipino na nasa labas ng bansa, nangangailangan ng tulong,” said Lacson, who is seeking a return to the Senate.
(The government should, at the very least, show the same standard of help towards any Filipino outside the country who needs help.)
The Philippines’ embassy in The Hague earlier announced it was providing assistance to Duterte and his party, which includes former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea.
ACT CIS Representative Erwin Tulfo, who once held the solo top spot in preference surveys, asked the crowd in Tacloban to pray for Philippine leaders past and present — but did not name names. He specifically asked the Waray crowd to pray for Marcos, too.
But at least one Alyansa candidate made explicit her stand on Duterte’s arrest — Senator Imee Marcos, the sister of the president, who skipped the sortie in protest. President Marcos made mention of his sister’s absence, but only to regret it because, he pointed out, she’s the one who can speak Waray.
Tacloban is the hometown of the President’s mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos.
The best response? None
Tito Sotto, who is also seeking a Senate return, deflected by instead talking about the Senate’s history in dealing with presidents — like Duterte — who want to pull out of international or bilateral agreements. In 2018, Duterte ordered a unilateral pullout from the ICC.
“Walang tama o mali na response diyan. Alam mo ang pinakamagandang response diyan is not to respond. Kasi kahit anong sabihin mo diyan, mayroong magpipintas sa ‘yo,” said Sotto, when asked about his stand on whether Marcos was right in complying with the Philippines’ International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) commitments.
(There’s no right or wrong response. The best response is not to respond. Because whatever you say, there will be criticism.)
“Yung history books na ang magsasabi diyan, saka pa lang malalaman kung tama o mali pagdating ng takdang panahon. ‘Yung takdang panahon na ‘yon, hindi ‘yun ngayon,” said Lacson.
(History books will be the judge of whether it was wrong or right. The time will come, but that time is not now.)
Marcos’ unity message
As his bets tried to appease both the pro-Marcos and pro-Duterte crowds, the President made clear where he still stands: a Chief Executive who, he insists, is taking the country to a better path in contrast to his predecessor.
“Sa laban naman kontra droga at sa krimen, hindi natin kailangan dumaan sa madugong solusyon, wala sa amin naniniwala na ang solusyon sa krimen at droga ay pumatay ng libo-libo nating kapwang Pilipino. Hindi po tama ‘yun,” said Marcos.
(In the fight against drugs and crime, we do not need to opt for a bloody solution. None of us here believes that the solution to crime and drugs is to kill thousands of our countrymen. That is not right.)
Former president Duterte imposed a bloody drug war in the Philippines, hinged on a failed campaign promise of “eradicating” criminality in three to six months. Within his first few months in office, he extended his promised deadline for six months months, then later to another year until he admitted that the problem cannot be solved within his term.
“Ang tamang paraan para tiyakin ang kapayapaan at ang kaayusan at iyon ay sa pamamagitan sa maayos na batas at epektibong suporta sa ating kapulisan at sa ating mga local government,” said Marcos.
(The right way to ensure peace and order is through laws and effective support of our police and local governments.)
Just like in previous iterations of his speech, Marcos sold his administration as one that “fight for sovereignty and our rights” through diplomacy. “Hindi natin isusuko kahit isang pulgada ng ating teritoryo at hindi tayo kailangan sumunod sa kahit na sinong dayuhan,” he said.
(We will not give up even an inch of our territory and we don’t need to obey any foreigner.)
Duterte wanted closer ties with Beijing during his presidency, and infamously refused to enforce the 2016 Arbitral Award, which affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights in an area called the West Philippine Sea.
Marcos also lambasted “illegal” operations such as the Philippine offshore gaming operators that proliferated under the previous administration.
“Magkaisa po tayo. Ang kailangan po natin dito sa Pilipinas ay hindi makipag-away. Ang kailangan po natin dito sa Pilipinas ay maging Pilipino na nagmamahal sa kapwa Pilipino,” he said.
(Let’s be united. We do not need to fight. What we need is to be Filipinos who love their fellow Filipino.)
A November 2024 Pulse Asia survey showed that Marcos and Vice President Duterte enjoyed almost the same trust and approval ratings — hovering at 50% or just below 50%.
A February 2025 Pulse Asia survey, meanwhile, showed that a plurality of Filipinos (45%) did not agree with the impeachment of the Vice President, 26% agreed, and 23% were undecided.
More than two-thirds or 35% of those surveyed believed the Senate would not be fair once it convenes as an impeachment court, 21% believed the Senate would be fair, 33% were undecided, while 11% said they don’t know enough about the issue to give their opinion.
In a stunning turn of events, the Marcos-allied House of Representatives voted to impeach the Vice President on the last day of session before a long break for the campaign.
Marcos tried to distance himself from the actions of his allies in the House, including his cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez and his son, Deputy Majority Leader Sandro Marcos. – Rappler.com
