LIST: Celebrity candidates who lost their bids in 2025 PH elections
The 2025 midterm elections last May 12 saw celebrities trying their chances in local and national positions.
But not all of them was able to capitalize on their good looks, acting prowess, singing skills, comedic timing, and overall star power in their attempt to land new roles as politicians.
Here's a list of celebrities who fell short of winning seats in public office.
National positions
Senators
Singer-turned-lawyer Jimmy Bondoc, action star Philip Salvador, and television host Willie Revillame took their stab at becoming senators but were far from inclusion in the so-called Magic 12.
According to the Commission on Elections' partial and unofficial count—based on 97.37% of election returns as of May 14 at 1:30 p.m.—Bondoc was in the 17th spot with 10.3 million votes, Salvador was in the 19th spot with 9.9 million votes, and Revillame was in the 22nd spot with 8.4 million votes.
Incumbent senator-slash-actor star Bong Revilla, meanwhile, is in the 14th spot with 11.7 million votes.
Boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao, who's seeking a senatorial comeback after his failed presidential bid in 2022, is in the 18th spot with 10.2 million votes.
Party-list representatives
The latest unofficial count at 1:30 p.m. showed that comedian-host Bayani Agbayani's party-list group Tupad, which seeks to provide jobs and other forms of assistance to the poor, is in the 60th spot with over 232,876 votes (0.57%). Agbayani is the group's second nominee.
Actor-model Zanjoe Marudo's party-list group ASAP NA, which seeks to represent drug addiction victims, is in the 78th spot with 158,304 votes (0.39%). Marudo is the group's second nominee.
Party-list representatives get elected upon reaching a 2% threshold, with a group only getting a maximum of three seats each.
The 20th Congress will have 317 representatives, 254 (80%) of whom are from legislative districts and 63 (20%) from party-list groups.
Local positions
Several actors also weren't able to win their way to public office on the local level.
Ejay Falcon, the outgoing Oriental Mindoro 2nd District vice governor, is lagging as congressman after getting 89,753 votes compared to the province's representative PA Umali's 112,741 votes.
Dan Fernandez, who ran as Laguna governor, placed third with 280,478 votes, losing to former ABS-CBN reporter Sol Aragones, who got 627,034 votes.
Emilio Garcia, who ran as Bay, Laguna mayor, ranked third among four candidates with 3,515 votes, losing to incumbent Joe Padrid, who got 18,391 votes.
Victor Neri, who ran as Makati mayor, placed third among four candidates with 2,144 votes, losing to outgoing senator Nancy Binay, who got 112,703 votes.
Lucky Manzano, who ran as Batangas vice governor, is in the second spot at 552,044 votes against outgoing governor Dodo Mandanas, who got 804,225 votes.
Angelika Dela Cruz, who ran as Malabon vice mayor, is in the second place with 54,401 votes versus incumbent Edward Nolasco, who got 73,063 votes.
Yul Servo, who sought reelection as Manila vice mayor, got 249,419 votes, losing to Chi Atienza, who got 582,510 votes.
Anjo Yllana, who ran as Calamba, Laguna vice mayor, got 18,011 votes, a far cry from reelectionist Totie Lazaro, who got 228,884 votes.
Marco Gumabao, who ran as Camarines Sur 4th District congressman, got 112,426 votes, just behind incumbent Arnie Fuentebella, who got 143,879 votes.
For the city council race, only the top six councilors will be elected. Enzo Pineda (Quezon City 5th district) placed seventh spot. Ara Mina, who ran in Pasig's 2nd District, placed 10th. Shamcey Supsup, who went by her married name Shamcey Lee (Pasig 1st District), placed 7th.
Marjorie Barretto (Caloocan 1st District), placed 7th while Dennis Padilla, who went by his real name Dennis Baldivia (Caloocan 2nd District), landed on the 16th spot.
David Chua (Manila 2nd District) placed 11th, while Mocha Uson (Manila 3rd District) placed 10th.
Priscilla Almeda, who went by her given name Maria Isabel Viduya (Paranaque 1st District), placed 12th.
Neil Coleta, who used his full name Neilson (Dasmariñas, Cavite lone district), placed 14th.
Aljur Abrenica (Angeles City lone district), meanwhile, placed 14th.
The 2025 midterm polls took place on Monday, May 12. Check out PhilSTAR L!fe's coverage of this year's elections here.
