Metro Manila 2025 polls: Familiar names battle it out in hot races

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MANILA, Philippines – Familiar names and faces dominate the 2025 local elections in Metro Manila, home to 7.56 million voters, making it one of the most vote-rich regions in the Philippines.

Clans entrenched in their particular Metro Manila strongholds are the Cayetanos, Binays, Tiangcos, Gatchalians, Belmontes, Zamoras, and the Olivarezes.

There are 11 mayors seeking reelection in Metro Manila, which is comprised of 16 cities and one municipality. They are the following:

Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco
Caloocan City Mayor Dale Gonzalo “Along” Malapitan
Valenzuela City Mayor Wes Gatchalian
Malabon City Mayor Jeannie Sandoval
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto
San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora
Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano
Muntinlupa City Mayor Ruffy Biazon
Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano

Anticipated victories

In Valenzuela, Mayor Wes Gatchalian is expected to retain his family’s control of city hall with only a lone challenger, independent candidate Benjie delos Angeles. Meanwhile, in nearby Navotas, Mayor John Rey Tiangco is running unopposed.

Mayor Ruffy Biazon is also unopposed in Muntinlupa, ensuring himself of a second term.

Four candidates are running against Belmonte in Quezon City, with none of them seen as posing a serious threat to her third and final term.

Belmonte has been enjoying a surge in popularity following positive public reception programs like the right to care card for LGBTQ+ community, Libreng Sakay, and automated birth registration. Her running mate is fellow reelectionist, Vice Mayor Gian Sotto.

Two other mayors who are seen to secure their last terms are San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora, who is being challenged by former vice mayor Philip Cezar, and Pasay Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano. Pasay Councilor Editha Yambao Manguerra is running against Rubiano, who overwhelmingly led a November 2024 Social Weather Stations survey on Pasay voters’ preference over Manguerra.

Another anticipated second termer is Caloocan Mayor Along Malapitan, who is being challenged by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV. Malapitan topped a commissioned February SWS survey on Caloocan voters’ trust in mayoral candidates. The Malapitans have held Caloocan’s city hall since 2013.

It’s round two for Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano against former Taguig-Pateros congressman Arnel Cerafica in the mayoral race. Cayetano won the battle in the 2022 elections, with Cerafica securing only 24.24% of the vote. He also fell short in the 2019 mayoral race against Lino Cayetano, garnering 111,460 votes.

In this election, EMBO residents will now vote as part of Taguig after the Supreme Court ruled that their barangays do not belong to Makati. The transition has been rocky, marked by battles over ownership of schools, health centers, and other local facilities. There has been resistance among the residents who enjoyed benefits from the Makati government. Now, local candidates face the challenge of winning over EMBO voters.

Heated races

In Malabon, congresswoman Jaye Lacson is running against Mayor Jeannie Sandoval. Their husbands — former An Waray congressman Bem Noel and former Malabon congressman Ricky Sandoval, respectively — are pitted against each other in the city’s congressional race, along with former mayor Lenlen Oreta.

Challenging Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto’s bid for a last term is construction executive Sarah Discaya of St. Gerrard Construction. Both camps had been embroiled in a public spat since the filing of certificates of candidacy in October 2024 over the latter’s alleged anomalies in their business.

In a recent video Inquirer.net posted on Monday, March 17, Discaya criticized Sotto’s “focus on good governance” while supposedly neglecting health care and education concerns in Pasig. Many Filipinos online, in turn, questioned her understanding of “good governance.”

In the national capital, former allies Mayor Honey Lacuna and former mayor Isko Moreno now find themselves on opposite sides of the political fence as they vie for control of Manila. In 2019, Moreno and Lacuna ran and won in tandem.

Lacuna was under fire earlier this year because of uncollected waste in Manila. She admitted unpaid fees to waste management firm Leonel Waste Management Corporation.

The graduates: A family affair

In most of the six local governments in Metro Manila where the incumbent mayors are on their third term, family members are seeking to keep control of city hall. The only exception is Pateros, where Mayor Miguel “Ike” Ponce III is on his final term. Those seeking to replace him are Councilor Ronnie Miranda and former vice mayor Gerald German, who reportedly has Ponce’s support.

In Las Piñas, Mayor Imelda Aguilar is on her third consecutive term and is running for vice mayor in tandem with her daughter, April Tobias Aguilar, who is seeking to replace her.

Running against April is her cousin, Carlo Rebueno Aguilar, who is supported by the Villars.

The Makati mayoral race will be a showdown between in-laws Senator Nancy Binay and Makati 2nd District Representative Luis Campos, husband of Mayor Abby Binay, who is running for senator. The Binay sisters are both term-limited.

Losing the EMBO barangays, which are mostly residential, means Makati will serve fewer constituents. Abby previously noted that a significant portion of the city’s expenses went to the EMBO barangays, so their removal will boost the budget for the remaining Makati areas. Makati is the second richest city in the Philippines, based on 2023 assets.

It’s also a family affair in Parañaque. The wife of Mayor Eric Olivarez, Aileen, is seeking to replace him in city hall. Aileen is running against her brother-in-law, Parañaque 1st District Representative Edwin Olivares, who was a three-term city mayor before his successful congressional bid in 2022. Mayor Olivarez, in turn, is running for Parañaque 1st District congressman. The brothers are running under one slate.

Marikina anticipates a heated race between the Quimbos and Teodoros. Marikina 2nd District Representative Stella Quimbo is running for mayor, head-to-head with Marikina 1st District Representative Marjorie Ann Ang-Teodoro, the wife of Mayor Marcy Teodoro.

Quimbo’s husband, former House deputy speaker Miro Quimbo, is running to replace her in Congress. Mayor Teodoro, who is seeking his wife’s congressional seat, is facing a disqualification case because of a residency issue.

Mandaluyong Mayor Benjamin Abalos Sr. is only on his first term but he opted not to run for reelection for the post that he previously held from 1986 to 1987, and again from 1988 to 1998. His daughter-in-law, Vice Mayor Menchie Abalos, is running for mayor. She is the wife of former interior secretary and former mayor Benhur Abalos, who is is eyeing a Senate seat.

NCR voters, turnout history

In the National Capital Region, Quezon City has the largest voting population, with 1,454,411 registered voters, followed by Manila’s 1,142,174 registered voters.

In the past two presidential elections, Metro Manila voted for the winning candidates: Rodrigo Duterte in 2019 and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022.

Metro Manila saw a voter turnout of 81.43% in the last national elections in 2022.

Food, health care, jobs, and education are some of the top concerns that will make Filipinos vote for a candidate, according to a February SWS survey.

In Metro Manila, families need to have higher income to afford food as compared to the income needed in the rest of the country. More than half of the bottom 30% income households are in Metro Manila.

In addition to these, the metro is bursting at the seams. Signs of wear and tear in the capital and the neighboring cities are inescapable. Tons of garbage assail the senses. Every day, people have to brave heavy traffic and overwhelmed public transportation to get to their destinations. And whenever the rainy season comes, flooding is expected.

These problems are not new. But will Metro Manila’s leaders, old and new, be able to respond?