Go, Aquino, Dela Rosa top Senate polls
Sen. Bong Go, Bam Aquino, and Sen. Bato Dela Rosa lead the senatorial race in the partial and unofficial results of the 2025 midterm elections.
Rounding out the top 12 are Erwin Tulfo, Kiko Pangilinan, Rodante Marcoleta, Ping Lacson, Tito Sotto, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Camille Villar, Sen. Lito Lapid, and Sen. Imee Marcos, as of May 13, 6:42 a.m.
Go has 21,749,393 votes, followed by Aquino with 16,805,238 and Dela Rosa with 16,654,763.
Also in the top 20 are Ben Tulfo, Sen. Bong Revilla, Makati Mayor Abby Binay, Benhur Abalos, Jimmy Bondoc, Manny Pacquiao, Phillip Salvador, and Colonel Bosita.
As of writing, 98.57% of local election returns and 84.71% of overseas election returns have been received.
Meanwhile, for the partylist, Akbayan leads the list, which has Chel Diokno as top nominee. It's followed by Duterte Youth, Tingog, 4Ps, and ACT-CIS.
High-stakes contest
With more than half of the votes counted in the unofficial tally, six of the 12 Senate candidates backed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. were among those receiving the most votes, signalling strong support for the president and his policy agenda after the dramatic collapse of his once formidable alliance with Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of detained former leader Rodrigo Duterte.
The Senate contest is critical, with its 24 members to become jurors if an impeachment trial goes ahead, where Duterte faces removal from office and a lifetime ban. At least 16 votes—a two-thirds majority—are needed to convict her.
Go and Dela Rosa are among her father's loyalists.
Leading local candidates
In local races, the elder Duterte, who's currently detained in The Hague for his alleged crimes against humanity, leads the race for Davao City mayor. So far, he has 536,888 votes, while second-placer Karlo Nograles lags behind with 64,835.
Former Vice President Leni Robredo, who's gunning for the Naga mayoral seat, is ahead by a wide margin with 68,198 compared to runner-up Toots De Quiros' 5,026. She is set to make history as the first female mayor of Naga City.
In Pasig City, reelectionist Vico Sotto takes the lead with 286,289. Sarah Discaya, who shared that she was voting for the first time this 2025, lags behind with 24,151.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte also has the edge in her reelection bid as she has 797,033 votes over Diosdado Velasco's 16,331.
Actress-turned-politician Vilma Santos-Recto is first in the Batangas gubernatorial race, while her son Luis Manzano trails behind Dodo Mandanas for vice governor.
Election Day
The 2025 midterm elections seek to fill 18,320 national and local positions. Reports of anomalies and violent incidents surfaced on Election Day, such as the shooting in Silay, Negros Occidental and Basilan.
Several Filipinos also took to social media to share the issues they faced while casting their votes, such as ink smears from shading markers, which caused overvoting in some cases.
Overall, Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia said that there is no failure of elections in any part of the country.
"Lahat naman po ay nag-function,” he noted in a press conference. (With reports from Karen Lema and Mikhail Flores, Reuters)
