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Elections in the Philippines are of several types. Thepresident,vice-president, and thesenators are elected for a six-year term, while themembers of the House of Representatives,governors, vice-governors,members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board members), mayors,vice-mayors,members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod/members of the Sangguniang Bayan (city/municipal councilors),barangay officials, and themembers of the Sangguniang Kabataan (youth councilors) are elected to serve for a three-year term.

Congress hastwo chambers.^[1] TheHouse of Representatives has 316 seats since 2022, of which 80% are contested in single seatelectoral districts and 20% are allotted to party-lists according to a modifiedHare quota with remainders disregarded and a three-seat cap. These party list seats are only accessible to marginalized and under-represented groups and parties, local parties, and sectoral wings of major parties that represent the marginalized. TheConstitution of the Philippines allows the House of Representatives to have more than 250 members by statute without a need for aconstitutional amendment. TheSenate has 24 members who are elected on a nationwideat-large basis; they do not represent any geographical district. Half of the Senate is renewed every three years.

The Philippines has amulti-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party normally has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form acoalition government. TheCommission on Elections (COMELEC) is responsible for running the elections.

Under the Constitution, elections for the members of Congress and local positions (except barangay officials) occur every secondMonday of every third year after May 1992, and presidential and vice presidential elections occur every second Monday of May every sixth year after May 1992. All elected officials, except those at the barangay level, start (and end) their terms of office on June 30 of the election year.

There were a few attempts to nationally elect local officials during the Spanish colonial period. Following the defeat of Spain in theSpanish–American War and the Philippines later in thePhilippine–American War, theCaptaincy General of the Philippines and theFirst Philippine Republic were replaced by theInsular Government of the Philippine Islands (which was established by theUnited States), multiple had been elections held throughout peaceful areas of the country for provincial and local officials.

The Philippine-American civil and military authorities supervised the first municipal elections, having chosen Baliuag as the site of the1899 Philippine local elections, the first Philippine elections of May 7, 1899. Francisco Guererro was elected the First Presidente Municipal.^[2] The Filipinos gathered at the plaza of the St. Augustine Church after the Holy Mass, and thereafter the officials were selected based on the qualifications for voters set by the Americans.^[3]

During theFirst Philippine Republic, an attempt was made to elect a national legislature but the former did not control the whole Philippine archipelago so no nationwide election could be held. The first fully national election for a fully elected legislative bodywas in 1907 for thePhilippine Assembly, the elected chamber of the bicameralPhilippine Legislature during the American colonial period. Starting in 1909, periodic local and Philippine Assembly elections were done concurrently until 1916, until theJones Law reorganized the Philippine Legislature to theSenate and theHouse of Representatives, both now popularly elected. This setup continued until theTydings–McDuffie Act authorized the then U.S. territory to draft a constitution. The ensuing 1935 constitution instituted theCommonwealth of the Philippines, and with it the presidency, vice presidency, and the unicameralNational Assembly, then elections were done for these offices later that year.

The National Assembly amended the constitution, reconstituting a bicameralCongress, in 1941. The first elections under this setup was donelater that year.World War II intervened, and theJapanese occupation of the Philippines led to the creation of theSecond Philippine Republic, with elections donein 1943 for its ownNational Assembly. In 1945, the Americans defeated the Japanese, PresidentJose P. Laurel declared the dissolution of the Second Republic, and the Commonwealth was reestablished. Commonwealth elections meant for 1945 were donein April 1946, and independence was granted on July 4, 1946.

From 1947 to 1971, there were biennial elections: every two years, eight out of 24 senators were elected (this setup started in 1951, with 16, then 8 senators elected in 1946 and 1947, respectively), and for every four years starting in 1949, the presidency, vice presidency and the entire House of Representatives were at stake, while for every four years starting 1947, local offices were at stake.

On September 23, 1972, PresidentFerdinand Marcosdeclared martial law. The constitutional convention, which had earlier been electedin 1970, submitted its draft constitution.A plebiscite approved this constitution in 1973. A series of referendums consolidated Marcos's rule, and the first local elections were donein 1975. The first parliamentary election to the unicameralBatasang Pambansa, the national parliament, was donein 1978. The first presidential election under the 1973 constitution was donein 1981. A special"snap" presidential election was held in 1986, with Marcos being declared as the winner. There were allegations of massive fraud, and thePeople Power Revolution drove Marcos from power.

Corazon Aquino succeeded Marcos as president. A new constitution was approved in a plebiscitein 1987. Legislative elections were donelater that year, then for every three years thereafter in 1992. Unlike in the 1941 amendments to the 1935 constitution, 12 senators, all members of the House of Representatives, and local officials are to be elected every three years; 24 senators were elected in 1987 and 1992, and 12 were subsequently elected starting in 1995. The president and vice president now have six-year terms, and were first elected in 1992.Party-list representatives were first elected in 1998. This is the current setup.

Every citizen 18 years old or above on election day who has been a resident of thePhilippines for at least a year and for at least six months in the place where she or he is registered, and who is not otherwise disqualified by law, may vote. To actually vote, a citizen has toregister.^[4] COMELEC has a registration period of several months prior to the election. Those who are not registered do not appear on the voters' list and are ineligible to vote despite being otherwise qualified to do so.

People aged 15 to 30 may vote inSangguniang Kabataan elections. As with their adult counterparts, COMELEC has a registration period a few months prior to the election.

Absentee voters are divided into two types: the local absentee voters and the overseas absentee voters. Local absentee voters include people who are working during election day. These include soldiers, policemen, government employees, mediamen and the like. Overseas absentee voters areFilipinos residing abroad. They are eligible to vote for national positions only (president, vice-president, senators and party-list representatives).^[4] Overseas absentee voters may vote in Philippine embassies and consulates, and voting begins as early as 4 months prior to the election. The voting can be as long as 6 months in very few situations.

Once a registered voter finds their name in the voters' list and locates the correct precinct, they may queue in line for the distribution of the ballot.

Prior to the2008 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao general election, voters have to write the names of the candidates next to the positions in which they are running. COMELEC-approved nicknames may be used by the voters in writing the names. After the polling period ends, the Board of Election Inspectors (or the teachers manning the polling precinct) counts the ballots by hand. Once all the ballots are counted, the election returns will now be sent to the city or municipal Board of Canvassers, political parties and other groups.

The city or municipal Board of Canvassers canvasses the votes from all polling precincts within their jurisdiction and prepares two documents: a Statement of Votes (SOV) in which all votes from all candidates in all positions per precinct is listed; and a Certificate of Canvass (COC), a document showing the vote totals of all candidates within the Board of Canvassers' jurisdiction.

If the city or municipal Board of Canvassers' jurisdiction is an independent city with its own congressional district, they will send their SOV and COC to the national Board of Canvassers (COMELEC for senate and party-list elections,Congress for presidential and vice presidential elections). If it is otherwise, they will send their SOV and COC to the provincial Board of Canvassers where the votes as stated from the city or municipal COC will be canvassed. The provincial Board of Canvassers sends their SOV and COC to the national Board of Canvassers once canvassing is done. The national Board of Canvassers then canvasses all COCs and declares the winners for national positions.

Since the2008 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao general election, the voters have to shade the oval that was indicated before the candidate's name, and avoting machine manufactured bySmartmatic automatically counts each ballot as it is fed into it. The results are then printed as the election return and sent electronically to the city or municipal Board of Canvassers.

In 2016, for the third time in a row, the Philippines automated their elections using electronic vote counting machines. The deployment of 92,500 of these machines was the largest in the world. Brazil andIndia, countries which also use technology to process their votes, employ e-voting instead of an automated count.^[5]

For the 2019 elections, COMELEC presented its source code for review by accredited U.S. software testing companyPro V&V in an effort to make the automated elections transparent.^[6]

For the 2025 midterm elections, COMELEC and Miru Systems Co. Ltd, on March 11, 2024, signed the 2025 automated election system (AES) service contract withTransparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) atPalacio del Gobernador. On February 22, 2024, the COMELECen banc held that the Miru Systems Co Ltd, Integrated Computer Systems, St. Timothy Construction Corporation, and Centerpoint Solutions Technologies, Inc. (MIRU-ICS-STCC-CPSTI) is the "Single Calculated and Responsive Bid" with a bid offer of PHP17,988,878,226.55. The contract includes 110,000 automated counting machines, election management systems, consolidation and canvassing systems, ballot printing, ballot boxes and other peripherals.^[7][8]

National and local elections are held on the second Monday of May every third year starting 1992. The presidential and vice-presidential elections are held every six years. Election days in which the president and vice president andbarangay officials are not elected are called "midterm elections"; Election days in which the president and vice president are elected are called "presidential elections". Barangay-level officials, although are no longer elected in the same year as the other officials since 2022, are elected separately the succeeding months (see below).

From 1949 to 1971, election days are held every second Tuesday of November of every odd-numbered year with the presidential and vice presidential election held the every fourth year starting from 1951.

Barangay-level elections, starting from 2007, are usually held every three years during the last Monday of October, although these elections are frequently postponed (and incumbents' terms are extended) as a cost-saving measure. Elections for the positions in theBangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), starting from 2011, are held every three years during the second Monday of May.

Notes

In a presidential election year, a voter may vote for as much as 34 names and a party-list organization. In Bangsamoro elections, a voter may vote for a member of the Bangsamoro Parliament from one's district, and a party-list. In barangay elections, a voter may vote for eight names. A voter for theSangguniang Kabataan (SK, youth council) may vote for eight names; an SK voter may also vote for barangay officials.

Elections for positions in the Executive Department of the Philippine government (i.e. Presidents and Vice presidents) is regulated by Article VII, Section 4 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Terms for positions with the Executive Department run for 6 years; with presidents only allowed to serve 1 term of service, and Vice presidents with 2 terms of service. This same Section (4) in the Article (VII) indicates when elections are done: during the "second Monday of May" and their public service begins at noontime of the "thirtieth day of June... and shall end on the same date, six years thereafter."^[1]

Each voter is entitled to one voteeach for the duration of the election. The voter may split his or her ticket. The candidate with themost votes wins the position; there is norun-off election, and the president and vice president may come from different parties. If two or more candidates emerge with an equal and highest number of votes, one of them will be elected by the Senate and the House of Representatives, voting separately.

The first presidential and vice-presidential election in the Philippines was theTejeros Convention of 1897; this was for the leadership of theKatipunan, whereEmilio Aguinaldo was elected as leader. The first presidential election in which the presidency of the Philippines was at stake was on January 1, 1899, when theMalolos Congress elected Aguinaldo as president.

The first presidential election via adirect election was onSeptember 16, 1935 where Aguinaldo was defeated byManuel L. Quezon. The first presidential election in the current constitution was onJune 30, 1992 whereFidel Ramos defeated six other candidates.

Previous PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo is the only president toserve more than 6 years under the 1987 Constitution. She served as president for almost 10 years due topolitical instability in 2001, rising to Presidency from her Vice President position on January 20, 2001. A clause within the Section 4, Article VII allowed her to run for presidency in 2004.^[9]

TheSenate has 24 members, and 12 members are elected every election; hence, each voter is entitled to twelve votes for theSenate in every election. The voter may not complete the twelve votes for the Senate, but s/he must not surpass the twelve votes or else his/her ballot for that position will benullified. With the entire country as oneat-large district, thetwelve candidates with the most votes are elected. This is often notproportional to the results.

From 1951 to 1971, instead of 12 senators elected every three years, the electorate voted for eight senators every two years in the same format. From 1941 to 1949, all elections to the senate were by block voting: the voters may write a name for every seat contested, or they can write the name of the party, which would then giveall of the voters' votes to that party's ticket. Compounded with theNacionalista Party's dominance, this caused a sweep of 24 seats for them in1941.^[10] From 1916 to 1934, voting was viasenatorial districts; voters vote for one candidate every three years, except for the first election in 1916 where they'd vote for two candidates; the second-placed candidate would only serve for three years.

The first Senate election wasin 1916. The first election under the current constitution wasin 1987, while the first election where 12 seats are contested wasin 1995.

Each voter has two votes in theHouse of Representatives, viaparallel vote: 80% of seats are fromsingle-member districts, and 20% are from theparty-list system. The vote totals in either election do not influence the number of seats a party wins. A party usually is barred from joining both elections unless granted permission by the Commission on Elections.

A voter may vote a representative from thecongressional district of residence. Each district hasone seat. The candidate with thehighest number of votes in a district wins that district's seat.

A voter may also vote a party-list organization. The votervotes for the party, not for the candidate, and the voter is restricted to one vote. All votes are tallied in anat-large basis, and parties with at least 2% of the vote wins at least one seat in the House. At least two more seats may be granted if the party's proportion of the vote compared to the remaining seats compensates it to get those seats. If there are still spare seats (the party-list representatives comprise 20% of the House), the parties with less than 2% of the vote will get one seat each in descending order until all seats are filled. A party-list organization is limited to representing marginalized sectors of society such as youth, laborers, women, and the like. Each organization submits a list, in ranked order, to the Commission on Elections. This list determines who among the nominees are elected.

Previously, the calculation for the winners in the party-list election was different: the winning parties should have 2% of the national vote and are awarded one seat; any additional 2% is given an additional seat until the maximum of three seats per party is filled up. Since only a few parties surpassed the 2%election threshold, the number of party-list representatives was always less than 20% of the House's membership.

The party-list system was first used in 1998; from 1987 to 1995, the president with the concurrence of theCommission on Appointments, appointed the sectoral representatives. Sectoral representatives were first elected during1978.

The first legislative election was for theMalolos Congress onJune 23 – September 10, 1898. The first election for an entirely elected body was onJuly 30, 1907; this was also the first general election in the Philippines.

Synchronized with the national elections are the local elections. The voter may vote for any of the following:

• Provincial-level:
  • One governor
  • One vice governor
  • One to sevenSangguniang Panlalawigan members (provincial board)
• City- or municipal-level:
  • One mayor
  • One vice mayor
  • Four to twelveSangguniang Panlungsod/Sangguniang Bayan members (city or municipal council, respectively)

If the city the voter is residing in ahighly urbanized city, or independent component city, or inPateros, the voter can not vote for any of the provincial-level positions.

TheSangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board),Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council) andSangguniang Bayan (municipal council)'s manner of election is identical with that of the Senate. In some cities and provinces, they are split into districts (not necessarily the same as the congressional district) in which separate board members/council members are elected.

Barangay elections are held every three years, although usually not in the same time as elections for other positions. Terms of incumbent barangay officials are often extended when Congress suspend the barangay elections as a cost-saving measure. The barangay-level positions are:

• Onebarangay captain
• Sevenbarangay councilors; regular members of theSangguniang Barangay)
• OneSangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairperson (youth council chairperson)
• Seven SK councilors

The SK elections have been postponed or scheduled separately from barangay elections in the past.

The manner of election of the Sangguniang Kabataan in the barangay is identical to the one used in the Senate. Each barangay is entitled to one SK. The SK chairperson is also an ex officio member of the Sangguniang Barangay.

During the Spanish era, there was no elected or appointed national legislature representing the Philippines. The natives were allowed to elect thecabeza de barangay or thebarangay (village) chief, but the electorate was almost always from theprincipalia or the ruling class. Originally hereditary, the position of cabeza de barangay become elective by 1768. In each town, agobernadorcillo serves as the representative of the Spanish government. It is elected by the 12 most senior cabezas, and the outgoing gobernadorcillo. The position of gobernadorcillo was made elective in 1786. Elections are scheduled independently per town. This system of governance persisted until the enactment of theMaura Law in 1893. The first (and only) election under this new system was onJanuary 1, 1895.

When the Americans defeated the Spanish in theSpanish–American War, and the Filipinos in thePhilippine–American War, the Americans began holding elections in pacified areas. The first such elections, which are open to all males above 21 years of age, was held onMay 7, 1899.

The first general election for theBangsamoro was scheduled to be in 2022, but was postponed to 2025 to give theBangsamoro Transition Authority more time to finish its task in restructuring the Bangsamoro government.^[11] Elections to the 80-memberBangsamoro Parliament shall be similar to how the members of the House of Representatives are elected, and are expected to be synchronized with the congressional and local elections.

One-half of the membership (40) will be elected via the party-list system, and not more than 40% of the seats (32) are via single-member parliamentary districts. Not more than 10% of the seats arereserved seats, 2 seats for non-Moro indigenous peoples and settler communities, and one seat each for women, youth, traditional leaders and the Ulama, with these seats should be not less than 8 seats.

The Bangsamoro Parliament shall elect the chief minister, the regional head of government, and thewali (governor), the ceremonial head of the region.

In the now defunctAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which was replaced by the Bangsamoro, voters elected the regional governor and regional vice governor via the plurality system, and members of theRegional Legislative Assembly via plurality-at-large voting.

Elected local government officials may berecalled. A recall election may be called if there is a petition of at least 25% of the registered voters in that LGU. An amendment to the law where a majority of all members of a preparatory recall assembly, composed of all elected local officials within a local government unit (LGU), endorse a recall, was repealed. The recalled official is not allowed to resign when facing a recall election, but may participate in it; the candidate with the highest number of votes wins the recall election.

The president, vice president, members of Congress and cannot be removed via recall. The president and vice president can be removed byimpeachment, while members of Congress can be removed via expulsion within their ranks.

The last recall election above thebarangay level was the2015 Puerto Princesa mayoral recall election.

The term "special election" in the Philippines may mean either of the following:

• An election that was supposedly held with the general election but was delayed;
• An election to elect a new official after the predecessor left office (known as "by-elections" elsewhere)

Members of theHouse of Representatives and of unaffiliated members of the upcomingBangsamoro Parliament can be elected under the second type of special election whenever the predecessor leaves office, except when the next regularly scheduled election is less than a year away. A special election for president and vice president can only be called if both offices are vacant at the same time, and is outside the 18 months prior to the next regularly scheduled presidential election. Replacement of vacancies in legislatures governed by the Local Government Code is done via appointment, and not by special elections.

The most recent special election to elect a vacancy to the House of Representatives was held inFebruary 2023 for Cavite's 7th congressional district. The last special election for the presidency was in1986.

The barangay and SK chairmen, and the city and municipal councilors have a series of indirect elections among themselves to determine their representatives of the local legislature immediately above their level.

The barangay SK chairpersons in a city or municipality elect among themselves a president that will sit as anex officio member of the city or municipal council. The city (if applicable) and municipal SK presidents then elect among themselves a president that will sit in the provincial board as anex officio member. Finally, provincial and city (which are not under the jurisdiction of a province) chairpersons elect among themselves the SK national federation president that will sit as anex officio member of theNational Youth Commission.

The manner of representation of the different barangay chairmen in the municipal, city and provincial legislatures asex officio members is identical with the way how the SK chairpersons are represented; the provincial and city (which are not under the jurisdiction of a province) chairpersons elect among themselves the president of the National League of the Barangays (Liga ng mga Barangay).

The city (if applicable) and municipal councilors will vote among themselves which will be their representative to the provincial board. Councilors will also elect among themselves the officers of thePhilippine Councilors League.

Primary elections do not currently exist in the Philippines. The leaders of the various political parties select the candidates themselves, and party membership is liquid. In some cases, if a politician is not chosen to be a candidate, he can join another party (such asFerdinand Marcos, a Liberal, jumped ship to the Nacionalistas in 1965 when the Liberals picked incumbentDiosdado Macapagal as their presidential candidate), or create their own party (such asFidel Ramos, when he created Lakas ng Tao (nowLakas–CMD) after theLaban ng Demokratikong Pilipino choseRamon Mitra as their presidential candidate in 1992).

Primary elections did exist in the Third Republic era in the Liberal and Nacionalista parties.

Calling aconstitutional convention is one of the ways to amend or revise theconstitution of the Philippines. While voting is expected to be via the existinglegislative districts, Congress decides on how many delegates would be elected, thus how many delegates would be distributed per district. The election is nonpartisan.

During the1970 Constitutional Convention election, each district had 2 to 16 delegates, elected viaplurality-at-large voting. During the1934 Constitutional Convention election, each district had 2 to 14 delegates, also elected via plurality-at-large-voting.

The body that proposed the current constitution, thePhilippine Constitutional Commission of 1986, was appointed by the President,Corazon Aquino. TheMalolos Congress was partly elected.

Referendums and plebiscites are conducted to pass certain laws. Any amendments or revision to the constitution, merging, creation and abolition of local government units and autonomous regions and the like are validated via plebiscites. For a referendum and plebiscite to pass, the votes in favor must be greater in number than those which are opposed; there is no requirement for how high thevoter turnout should be in such referendums or plebiscites.

The terms "referendum" and "plebiscite" mean different things in the context of Philippine political discourse:

• Referendum is the power of the electorate to approve or reject a legislation through an election called for the purpose.
• Plebiscite is the electoral process by which an initiative on the Constitution is approved or rejected by the people.
  • It is also the term used in determining the creation of abarangay, municipalities, cities, provinces, and autonomous regions.

A referendum is passed if it is approved by a majority of the votes cast; a defeat means the law sought to be rejected or amended remains to be in full effect.

There had been two "waves" of national referendums in the Philippines: the first was during theCommonwealth period, and the latter was during themartial law period. Locally, the most common plebiscites are on creating new provinces and the upgrading of a municipality into a city.

The last provincial-level plebiscite was in 2023 for theconversion of San Jose del Monte as a highly urbanized city; the last national plebiscite was in 1987 for theapproval of the constitution endorsed by the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

Initiatives (locally known as "people's initiative") are governed by the Initiative and Referendum Act of 1989, allowing the people to propose amendments or revisions to the constitution, or propose new laws.^[12]

However, theSupreme Court ruled in 1997 that the law was "fatally defective" as far as amending the constitution is concerned.^[13]

People's Initiative can also be used to propose new laws are allowed if there is a petition of at least 10% of all registered voters in the country, with at least 3% in everylegislative district. A plebiscite will be called it meets such requirements. A people's initiative in the national level has never made it past the stage verification of signatures. This is also possible locally, with varying requirements for each level of local government.

The first and only People's Initiative was in Barangay Milagrosa inQuezon City, which sought to stop the influx of informal settlers and the sale of illegal drugs in that barangay in 2011.^[14]

Campaign finance in the Philippines is regulated under several laws, including the Omnibus Election Code and the Synchronized Elections Law (Republic Act No. 7166). The law prohibits persons or organizations with government contracts from contributing to candidates' campaigns. Corporations may donate up to 5% of their taxable income under Comelec Resolution No. 10772 and the Corporation Code of the Philippines.^[18]

In 2025, Chiz Escudero was ousted as Senate president after a contractor for government flood-control projects testified that Escudero received a campaign contribution of ₱30 million from a top contractor for government flood-control projects.^[19]

Spending limits are set at ₱10 per voter for presidential and vice-presidential candidates, ₱3 per voter for local candidates, and ₱5 per voter for political parties and independent candidates. Candidates and political parties must submit an itemized Statement of Election Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) within 30 days after election day. Failure to submit the SOCE bars candidates from assuming office.^[20] Watchdog groups such as LENTE, Kontra Daya, and the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform monitor compliance through SOCE andSALN reviews.^[20]

Vote buying remains a persistent issue. COMELEC defines it as giving or promising money, jobs, favors, or items of value in exchange for votes. It is a punishable election offense under Article 12 of the Omnibus Election Code.^[21] In 2025, the European Union Election Observation Mission described vote buying in the Philippines as "endemic" and "well-entrenched."^[22] COMELEC issued 200 show-cause orders against candidates in the 2025 elections over allegations of vote-buying, vote-selling, and abuse of state resources.^[23]

Voter disenfranchisement in the Philippines persists due to administrative inefficiencies, legal constraints, and electoral malpractice. In the early 2000s, an estimated 4.5 million eligible voters, mostly first-time registrants, were unable to complete the registration process because of inadequate information dissemination and logistical issues.^[24]

Legal provisions, including the Omnibus Election Code and the Voter's Registration Act of 1996, restrict suffrage. Individuals convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment of at least one year are disqualified from voting. Those who have served their sentence may regain the right to vote only after a five-year waiting period.^[25]

In the 2025 midterm elections, voter disenfranchisement included missing names from voters' lists and technical issues with vote counting machines.^[26][27] Foroverseas Filipinos, COMELEC introduced online voting, but access issues and digital literacy may have limited participation.^[28]

Philippine elections have frequently been marred by acts of violence. These incidents remain a serious concern.^[29] TheMaguindanao massacre is considered the worst case of election-related violence in the Philippines, during which 58 people were ambushed and killed while on their way to file a certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu.^[30]

During the 2025 elections, media reported the killing of 10 people on election day, while the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections reported 240 election-related deaths during the campaign period from October 2024 to May 2025.^[31] Reports of voter intimidation were also documented, especially in rural areas and localities dominated by political dynasties. Tactics included coercion by armed groups, threats against voters, and the presence of uniformed personnel near polling stations, contributing to a climate of fear.^[32]

According to Danilo Arao of Kontra Daya and Vote Report PH, "The situation remains that political elites operate their own bailiwicks, private armies, and patronage networks, which fuel the highest levels of violence in the archipelago's rural areas".^[33]

Under the Omnibus Election Code, candidates with criminal records may run for and hold public office, except if they have been "sentenced by final judgment for subversion, insurrection, rebellion, or for any offense with a penalty of more than 18 months, or for a crime involving moral turpitude, or have been granted plenary pardon or amnesty".^[44] After the Sandiganbayan convicted Edgar Teves for graft and corruption, COMELEC disqualified him from running for office. The Supreme Court reversed this disqualification in 2009.^[44]

In 2007, the Sandiganbayan convicted deposed President Joseph Estrada of plunder and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, which included "perpetual disqualification from public office".^[45][46] Estrada applied for pardon with a promise not to run for office. He was granted absolute pardon by President Gloria Arroyo and later ran for president in 2010, losing the election. He successfully ran for Manila mayor in 2013.^[45]

Along with themass media, theNational Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), theParish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV),^[47][48] andKontra Daya are groups that work as watchdogs during elections in the Philippines.^[49] Other election watchdogs set up by civil society organizations are the Automated Election System (AES) Watch, Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) and the Workers' Electoral Watch (We Watch).^[49] The European Union sent an election observation mission to the Philippines for the first time in 2025.^[50]

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Lakas–CMD	16,596,698	32.87	+23.70	103	+77
	National Unity Party	6,080,987	12.05	+0.13	32	−1
	Nationalist People's Coalition	5,974,201	11.83	−0.60	31	−4
	Partido Federal ng Pilipinas	5,286,538	10.47	+9.53	27	+25
	Nacionalista Party	4,724,803	9.36	−4.38	22	−14
	Liberal Party	1,555,941	3.08	−0.70	6	−4
	Aksyon Demokratiko	1,341,540	2.66	+0.72	2	+2
	Partido Demokratiko Pilipino	666,067	1.32	−21.45	2	−64
	Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod	542,710	1.07	+0.93	3	+3
	Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino	314,981	0.62	−0.16	2	+1
	People's Reform Party	292,665	0.58	−1.38	1	−2
	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino	269,949	0.53	+0.52	2	+2
	United Bangsamoro Justice Party	236,857	0.47	−0.14	0	0
	Unang Sigaw	183,912	0.36	−0.29	0	0
	Makatizens United Party	150,189	0.30	New	2	New
	Sama Sama Tarlac	143,868	0.28	New	0	0
	United Nationalist Alliance	142,655	0.28	+0.14	1	0
	Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino	134,137	0.27	+0.26	0	0
	National Unity Party/United Negros Alliance	130,023	0.26	−0.27	1	−1
	Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines	127,646	0.25	−0.02	1	0
	Partido Navoteño	116,622	0.23	+0.06	1	0
	One Capiz	109,249	0.22	New	0	0
	Reform PH Party	107,966	0.21	New	0	0
	Lakas–CMD/One Cebu	104,768	0.21	New	1	New
	Adelante Zamboanga Party	100,035	0.20	+0.05	1	0
	Padajon Surigao Party	99,856	0.20	New	0	0
	Galing at Serbisyo para sa Mindoreño	91,073	0.18	New	0	0
	Filipino Rights Protection Advocates of Manila Movement	87,183	0.17	New	0	0
	Nationalist People's Coalition/One Cebu	74,936	0.15	New	1	New
	Asenso Manileño	70,780	0.14	New	1	0
	Akay National Political Party	68,524	0.14	New	0	0
	Workers' and Peasants' Party	50,618	0.10	+0.00	0	0
	Kusog Bicolandia	33,789	0.07	New	0	0
	Partido Lakas ng Masa	28,746	0.06	+0.05	0	0
	Asenso Abrenio	23,308	0.05	New	0	0
	Makabayan	22,698	0.04	New	0	0
	Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas	14,343	0.03	−0.13	0	0
	Partido para sa Demokratikong Reporma	12,672	0.03	−0.96	0	0
	Independent	4,371,611	8.66	+4.23	11	+5
Party-list seats					64	+1
Total		50,485,144	100.00	–	318	+1
Valid votes		50,485,144	88.46	+1.48
Invalid/blank votes		6,585,150	11.54	−1.48
Total votes		57,070,294	100.00	–
Registered voters/turnout		68,431,965	83.40	−0.70
Source: COMELEC (results per district,registered voters)

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system

• Official website of the Commission on Elections

• Philippine Electoral Almanac (Revised and Expanded ed.). Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office. 2015. Archived fromthe original on June 15, 2021. RetrievedSeptember 10, 2021.

• Elections in the Philippines
• Politics of the Philippines

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