Millions of Filipinos headed to the polls on Monday in a midterm election widely viewed as a proxy battle between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his estranged vice president, Sara Duterte, whose impeachment trial later this year could reshape the nation’s political landscape.
The vote will determine more than 18,000 positions—from local mayors and governors to congressional representatives—in the 110 million-strong nation. But the most consequential contests are for the Senate, where 12 seats in the 24-member chamber are up for grabs. The winning candidates will form half of the jury in Duterte’s impeachment trial, expected later this year. If convicted, she could be barred from public office.
Once political allies, Marcos and Duterte have been locked in a bitter feud that escalated in February when the House of Representatives impeached Duterte for alleged “high crimes,” including corruption and plotting the president’s assassination—accusations she denies. The rift deepened in March when her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested and extradited to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of crimes against humanity tied to his deadly war on drugs.
Duterte has framed her father’s transfer as a “kidnapping” and accused Marcos of undermining Philippine sovereignty by cooperating with the ICC. “Who benefits if the Duterte family is erased from this world? Not the Filipinos,” she declared at a recent campaign rally. Despite his detention in The Hague, Rodrigo Duterte remains on the ballot for mayor of Davao City, his family’s political stronghold, where polls suggest he is poised to win.
Authorities have deployed over 163,000 police officers nationwide to secure polling stations, with additional support from the military and other agencies. Elections in the Philippines have a history of violence, and tensions are particularly high this year. On Sunday, the military reported a deadly clash between rival political supporters, adding to at least 16 election-related killings in recent weeks.
In a separate incident, authorities arrested men at Cebu airport carrying 441 million pesos ($8 million) in cash, suspected of vote-buying—a violation of election laws.
As voting began Monday, long lines formed at polling stations in Manila, underscoring the high stakes of an election that could determine not just the fate of two powerful families, but the direction of the Philippines itself.