With the 2025 elections over let's look at some more of the fall out. In a previous article I examined the political fall out which included criminals and family dynasties being elected to high office. In this article I want to examine the societal fall out. Every election season is a season of violence. Politicians retired and active are assassinated weekly in the Philippines. During election season crimes such as murder increase. This year several candidates were murdered before they even had a chance. The PNP says violence is down 56% in 2025.
Validated election-related incidents for this year’s midterm elections went down by 56 percent compared to the barangay elections in 2023, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday, May 13.
But while the 46 validated election-related incidents was lower compared to the 2023 barangay elections with 105, the figure, however, is higher compared to only 27 cases reported for the 2022 national and local elections.
PNP chief information officer Col. Randulf Tuaño said they will soon conduct assessment and analysis of the security situation and police response and action for this year’s elections to identify the good practices that could be replicated and security matters that could be adjusted.
“These data will serve as the guide of the PNP in future election preparations. We will draw lessons from this data,” said Tuaño.
At least 163,000 policemen were tapped to secure the midterm elections and this was augmented by around 200,000 personnel from other law enforcement agencies like the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil commended all police units and partner agencies for what he described as dedication and discipline in performing election duties.
“We stood firm and followed the President’s directive. The Filipino people deserve nothing less than a peaceful and honest election. We did not allow any force to interfere with the voice of the nation. We were ready, we were vigilant, and we delivered,” said Marbil.
While minor technical and logistical issues such as malfunctioning of Automated Counting Machines (ACMs), delayed opening of precincts, and difficulty in locating voters’ names were reported in several areas, Marbil said these were all addressed by concerned authorities.
None of these incidents, he emphasized, escalated into security threats or disrupted the overall peaceful conduct of the polls.
Marbil said they also responded to isolated reports of liquor ban violations and alleged vote buying.
“Investigations are ongoing, and charges will be filed against all individuals found in violation of election laws,” said Marbil.
Still on alert
On May 10, all police forces were placed on highest security alert status to ensure the peaceful and credible conduct of elections.
Marbil said his men will remain on alert: “The PNP remains on full alert as the canvassing and proclamation processes continue.”
“The public is encouraged to report any post-election irregularities through official hotlines and communication platforms,” he added.
Police response
Tuaño also said the gun ban violators have reached 3,100 while the firearms confiscated recorded at 3,190 as of May 12.
He said alleged vote buying and vote-selling incidents were responded to, with 43 cases reported until the election day.
Tuaño said isolated reports of liquor ban violations were also recorded wherein a total 232 persons were arrested for violating the liquor ban nationwide from May 11-12.
What is the exact standard of measurement here? Violence this year is down from the 2023 election but up from the 2022 election. So, violence is both up and down. That's a bit confusing. The headline says violence is down but the article says validated election-related incidents are down which is also confusing. Do all 3,100 gun ban violators not count as election-related incidents? The statistic of violence being down by 56% seems more like good public relations than a picture of reality.
In another article the PNP says these incidents are "isolated."
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has validated 46 election-related incidents (ERIs) from the start of the election period on Jan. 12 up to the election day on May 12.
PNP Public Information Office chief Col. Randulf Tuaño said the ERIs are lower compared to the 105 incidents logged during the Otober 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, but higher than the 27 ERIs reported in the 2022 presidential polls.
“This year’s polls were notably more peaceful compared to previous elections, with only a few election-related incidents reported in areas such as the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) and Abra,” Tuaño said in a press conference at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
“Nonetheless, these incidents were isolated, and no failure or postponement of elections was recorded anywhere in the country,” he added.
Law enforcers recorded 3,100 gun ban violators and confiscated 3,190 firearms as of May 12.
The liquor ban violators on May 11 and 12 reached 232, while 43 cases of vote-buying and vote-selling were recorded from Jan. 12 to May 12.
He said charges will be filed against all individuals found in violation of election laws.
Tuaño said all PNP units nationwide will remain on full alert status as the canvassing and proclamation continue.
Under a full alert status, police personnel are not allowed to go on leave to ensure sufficient deployment.
Ah, yes of course. These incidents are isolated. They're not part of the broader trend which is Philippine elections. They are so isolated that every cycle there are gun bans, liquor bans, and money bans as well as police checkpoints put in place. They so isolated that the AFP and PNP have to patrol the streets to keep order.
These incidents are not isolated. International Observer Mission, a group of human rights advocates across the world deployed in the country to observe the elections, disputes the PNP's assessment.
A group of international observers on Tuesday said that reports of machine glitches, technical issues and violence that transpired in the 2025 midterm elections led to disenfranchisement of voters.
International Observer Mission (IOM), a group of human rights advocates across the world deployed in the country, flagged issues such as malfunctioning automated counting machines (ACMs), reports of invalidated ballots due to alleged overvoting, and unexplained software.
“Our rights-based methodology has revealed violations of civil and political rights, including the right to vote, occurring on and around election day. Our mission is to document and to amplify what the Filipino people are already bravely calling out.” said IOM Commissioner Lee Rhiannon, a former Australian senator.
The IOM said that the group, along with local partners Vote Report PH and Kontra Daya documented verified issues of election irregularities by interviewing voters in respective areas.
The IOM said that the teams monitored vote-buying before and during voting hours. It also raised reports that ballots were placed inside a cardboard box, instead of the voters personally feeding them into the ACMs.
“This case was documented by foreign observers, where respondents expressed concerns about whether their votes were counted and if any tampering occurred. In some precincts in Zamboanga, voters complained of not seeing the name of the partylist they voted for in the receipts,” the IOM said.
Aside from this, the IOM said that it will recommend a probe into the ACM running version 2.5.0 software, instead of the certified version 3.4.0. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier said that the source code of the ACMs is “duly audited” and it matches with the hash code it uses in the final trusted build audited by an international certification entity.
The Comelec also said that the 3.4 version in the local source code review is the same version the independent third-party audit tested and it was named as the version 3.5 after it passed the test.
Meanwhile, the IOM pointed out the “disturbing pattern” of election-related violence and human rights violations such as election-day riots, armed attacks, and multiple fatalities on election day.
“We’ve observed a disturbing pattern: escalating violence, red-tagging of candidates and supporters, and coordinated disinformation against progressive voices,” said IOM Commissioner Colleen Moore.
Moore added that the incidents are not isolated incidents, and created a “chilling atmosphere that compromises the safety and freedom of voters.”
The IOM cited Vote Report PH’s report of 1,445 incidents of red-tagging, with cases spanning throughout the campaign period in Cordillera Administrative Region, Southern Luzon, Negros, and Mindanao.
It noted that the “attacks intensified on election day, with red-tagging flyers and posters targeting progressive candidates and partylists still being circulated.”
The group said that the final report of its election observation will be released within two weeks.
The IOM seems to think the issues experienced during the election are a big deal while the media and the PNP downplay them. EU observer's agree with the IOM.
Vote-buying in the Philippine election setting is “endemic” and “well-entrenched”, the deputy chief observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) said on Wednesday, May 14, as the group’s preliminary findings took note of “credible indications” of vote-buying either via cash or goods.
Manuel Sanchez de Nogues, EOM’s deputy chief observer, told the media in a press conference that the practice of vote-buying was observed in Davao Oriental, Bohol, La Union, Palawan, Quezon, Siquijor, Zamboanga City, and Zamboanga del Sur provinces.
“Our observers in the field have received criminal reports on the practice of vote-buying… So it's a practice that is highly entrenched,” he said, noting the social economic concerns that came with it.
“We have received reports, we have also, in some cases, witnesses, which is even difficult because we are highly identified as election observers, but we still have some evidence of those practices,” he added.
Marta Temido, EU EOM chief observer, also said that their observers have “witnessed several credible indications and received reports of vote-buying through cash and goods, as well as partisan distribution of welfare payouts (ayuda).”
This even as the observers noted the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) efforts to address vote- buying through regulations and initiatives, including forming a dedicated task force named “Kontra Bigay.”
Out of the 98 observed campaign events, the EU EOM said that they witnessed at least five instances of vote-buying.
The mission also raised concern about the so-called “bidding wars” among candidates, as well as the “countrywide partisan distribution of welfare payouts” or most commonly known as “ayuda (aid).”
Aside from rampant vote-buying, the EU EOM also reported on “political families” dominating the local elections.
“The elections took place against the backdrop of a continued dominance of few political families in the lists of candidates, detracting from overall competitiveness,” Temido said in a statement.
The report furthered that in 20 percent of district races, the candidates, mostly incumbents, ran unopposed, which limited the “genuine pluralistic competition and voter choice in those districts.”
“Voter engagement was strong nationwide but belied the fact that one in five district races were non-competitive, typically featuring only the incumbent. Some stakeholders opined that political programme of some parties were not distinguishable and often overshadowed by personality stagecraft, which could negatively impact the availability of genuine political alternatives to voters,” the preliminary findings read.
The EU EOM said that electoral violence continues to be a “recurrent feature” in Philippines elections, with it being manifested “through intimidation, harassment and violent incidents targeting candidates, their supporters and election administrators.”
“Violent incidents marred the election process in some parts of the country, including through at least 30 killings of candidates and election officials” Temido said, adding that it influenced the overall atmosphere of the elections because of “widespread intimidation in several provinces.”
Vladimir Prebilič, head of the Delegation of the European Parliament that joined the EU EOM and fully endorsed its statement, stressed that election violence was “unacceptable.”
“Violence during an election is utterly unacceptable, particularly when it results in the loss of dozens of lives. A democratic electoral process should never be associated with such tragic incidents,” he added.
Quoting reports from the Philippine National Police (PNP), the EU EOM said there were about 111 election-related incidents across the country during the election period.
During Election Day, violence was prevalent in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Southern Mindanao (BARMM) and other hotspots, with 10 fatalities reported.
The EU EOM noted, however, that government agencies were “responsive” and have been “actively updating” the list of “areas of concern.”
Citing the Philippines’ “vibrant media environment,” the EU EOM said there are “long-standing” challenges to election coverage in the country, but the atmosphere has improved.
“Long-standing challenges to journalists’ work, such as incidents of intimidation, including red-tagging, impunity for violence and economic fragility persist. Positively, as reported also by EOM interlocutors, the atmosphere has improved overall, and the intensity of hostilities has decreased,” the report added.
It took note of how “access to diverse information, in particular at regional level, continues to be adversely affected” following the lost of franchise of ABS-CBN, once the country’s biggest network, during the Duterte administration.
The preliminary findings aims to “outline initial findings and conclusions, and the extent to which the mission considers the election to have been conducted in line with Philippine laws, as well as with the international commitments to democratic elections the country has subscribed to.”
A comprehensive final report, which will be published two months after the elections, will include “recommendations for the improvement of future elections.”
Vote-buying, political dynasties, and violence are all endemic to the Philippine election system. The EU says, “Violence during an election is utterly unacceptable, particularly when it results in the loss of dozens of lives. A democratic electoral process should never be associated with such tragic incidents." But the PNP thinks it's a win that violence is down by 56%.
Even Asian election monitors observed shenanigans.
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) released Friday its interim report on its observation of the 2025 Philippine midterm elections, which flagged mainly the abuse of state resources and vote-buying.
In a press briefing in Manila, ANFREL Chairperson Rohana Hettiarachchie and four other observers presented their findings and reported their concerns on the overall election-related activities in the Philippines for Eleksyon 2025.
Hettiarachchie tagged vote-buying and the abuse of state resources as "disturbing factors" in the polls.
"The vote buying, I think it's public secret now. Everybody knows it is happening across the country, not only this elections, even in the previous elections. It's a very known factor that has to be addressed because otherwise, it will [give] undue advantage to the people, the candidate, [and] those with financial power. So somehow if we [want to] maintain equal playing field, we have to address this issue," the ANFREL chairperson said.
"The misuse of the public resources, and maybe the power also. That is also observed throughout the process, in many ways, the government resources being used and taken advantage of [by] some candidates. I think it's the duty of the Comelec that they need to address this issue," he added.
With this, Hettiarachchie recommended the implementation of a campaign finance ceiling.
Khoirunnisa Nur Agustyati, one of the ANFREL panelists, also noted that vote-buying and the abuse of state resources did not happen only during the campaign period.
"It happens long before the elections, pre-election and even after the election because sometimes, it's like a reward and punishment to the voters. It's like the candidates who were elected, 'Okay, I will give you scholarship because you voted for me,' but the scholarship will not be given to the voters who did not vote for them," Agustyati said.
She said this might "look normal" for the people as this happens in periods like the beginning of the budgeting process.
"People think it's normal and legalized because [it happens] long before the elections," she said.
While they acknowledged Comelec's Kontra-Bigay committee, ANFREL raised the need to expand its coverage to include the "ayuda" or cash dole outs to "level the playing field."
"The candidate that has no [state] resources cannot do that. It has become personal politics. It used the state funding, the money is from people's tax but it was claimed by the candidate," she said.
Like the ANFREL chairperson, Agustyati recommended the campaign finance documents to be more transparent and the enactment of a Freedom of Information law to push for transparency and accountability in the budgeting process, which contained details on the funding of the "ayuda" programs.
ANFREL likewise observed "apathy" on the part of voters in areas where there are "unopposed" candidates.
"This is partly, as we noticed, due to endemic issues of power entrenched in political families and dynastic politics," Jake Betram Barker, another panelist, said.
He also noted media reports showing the links of party-lists to political dynasties.
With this, Barker said the upcoming BARMM and Barangay and SK Elections polls later this year would test the Bangsamoro Electoral Code and the SK Law's provisions against political dynasties.
Barker said this should be monitored and noted by the Comelec and Congress for the possible enactment of a political dynasty law.
Ballot secrecy
Further, the election observers raised their findings on the situation in the polling precincts and ballot secrecy.
"In our opinion, the secrecy of ballot, it may not be a big issue in local contest but when it comes to international standards, the secrecy of ballot was not seriously looked at," Hettiarachchie said.
He added that although polling precincts were organized, the crowd outside the polling centers were "not managed properly."
ANFREL recommended the Comelec to increase polling officials that will manage the crowd.
Sought for comment on ANFREL's report, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a message to GMA News Online: "We wholeheartedly appreciat[e] Anfrel for its direct and constructive assessment of the recently concluded election."
Garcia added, "As is clearly pointed out, to sum up the findings, legislation is the key. The Commission is dut[y] bound to implement all."
Of course it looks normalized. That's just how things happen in the Philippines. Political corruption is Filipino culture.
A lot of election problems occurred in the BARMM.
Just like in previous elections, recurring problem such as alleged vote-buying, harassment against election officers, and other election-related violence were still prevalent in many parts of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on May 12.
In a briefer released by the Cotabato City-based Independent Election Monitoring Center, 24 election-related violence were recorded, mostly in the province of Maguindanao del Sur.
Among these incidents were in Buluan town where military personnel arrested a group of men for carrying high-powered firearms.
According to the IEMC, they reportedly attempted to usher in more than 50 men alleged to be flying voters.
The Police Regional Office-BARMM confirmed that joint police and military forces intercepted 64 individuals believed to be flying voters.
Authorities confiscated firearms and grenades.
The IEMC also noted that brawls, several indiscriminate firing incidents, and harassment were reported in different parts of Maguindanao del Sur.
Lawyer Benedicto Bacani, executive director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, said that they have observed a shortage of election officers who could respond to a vast number of incidents during Election Day.
Bacani added that it was difficult to reach out to election officers because they may have been preoccupied by the number of election-related incidents.
In Cotabato City, the IEMC documented that police officers arrested a group of men after they were caught carrying metal bats and intimidating some residents.
A riot erupted between rival groups involving more than 40 men in Rosary Heights 5 in Cotabato City.
Two persons were killed in a shooting incident in Bayang, Lanao del Sur, including a municipal council candidate.
IEMC blamed the election-related violence on the unresolved issue of loose firearms and organized armed groups that may have enabled many accounts of unrest and intimidation of voters and poll workers even before Election Day.
It added that violence was propagated by attackers who feel disadvantaged in their bailiwick areas.
The group said that intimidation was not through firearms but more on the show of force in numbers and their strong presence by assembling in polling centers and the vicinity.
“We note in particular the delay in the opening of voting in Datu Odin Sinsuat where a mob led by a candidate for vice mayor stopped the delivery of election paraphernalia,” the IEMC said.
Even as Datu Odin Sinsuat is under the control of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the IEMC said the mob succeeded in delaying the opening of the polling centers by half a day.
Photos and videos of brawls in different parts of Maguindanao del Sur and Lanao del Sur circulated in social media on Monday.
Even with the presence of police and military personnel, supporters of political groups engaged in fistfights and disrupted voting in the schools.
The IEMC disclosed that some indigenous peoples in Maguindanao del Sur, especially in the mountains town of South Upi, abstained from voting due to reported firefights.
Like in the past elections, the IEMC noted that vote-buying and selling were pervasive.
It reported that authorities arrested a man in possession of named coupons allegedly for distribution of “ayuda” or assistance on Election Day in Talitay, Maguindanao del Sur.
The IEMC bared that some voters in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte received claim stubs that can be converted to P5,000 after casting their votes.
The IEMC urged the Comelec and security sector to “proactively accost individuals and disband groups who are not voters or authorized, whose presence and conduct in and around the polling centers are creating a climate of fear and intimidation to the voters in exercising their right to suffrage.”
“There is a need to develop reforms in the rules to counter the dominance of money and fear politics that subvert the will of the electorate,” it added.
The IEMC is a collaborative initiative led by several organizations such as Institute for Autonomy and Governance, National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame Broadcasting Corp., Climate and Conflict Action Asia, Coalition for Social Accountability and Transparency, and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.
Did any one really think Muslims would be able to handle "democracy?" If so they are fools and the having a nation within a nation was never a good idea.
The problem is the Philippines political system is a combination of tribalism and the Western Democratic process. In a tribalistic society like the Philippines violence is a given. Tribe members will do what it takes to protect their chief and the chiefs will do whatever it takes to win. The EU will never understand that.
The AFP was deployed to safeguard the elections and they are being lauded as heroes.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Tuesday thanked all military personnel for doing their best to ensure the success of the May 12 midterm elections.
“As the 2025 national and local elections draw to a close, I extend my deepest personal gratitude to all the men and women of the AFP for their dedicated and professional service in support of this important democratic exercise," he said in a statement.
Brawner said the troops’ “unwavering” commitment to securing polling places, transporting election materials, or protecting Filipino citizens in vulnerable areas has been crucial in ensuring a fair, orderly and reliable election.
"You have once again proven that the AFP remains a steadfast and non-partisan pillar of democracy," he added.
The AFP chief also expressed his thanks to all Filipino citizens for their trust and unity.
He added that people’s active participation and vigilance give life to Philippine democracy.
"Let me assure everyone that the AFP’s role in safeguarding our democratic institutions does not end today. We remain fully committed to supporting the Commission on ElectionsQ, the Philippine National Police and other agencies as we move forward -- protecting the peace, respecting the will of the people and upholding the rule of law," Brawner said.
They aren't heroes. They are symptoms of a disease that has ravaged the Philippines. That disease is political violence.
On a lighter note, the MMDA has collected six tons of election garbage on the first day of election clean-up.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) collected 6.1 tons of garbage throughout the National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday, the first day of election cleanup.
In a report on Tuesday, the MMDA said election waste was collected by its Metro Parkway Clearing Group (MPCG) - Special Ornamental Plants Development Management Unit from 11 cities.
The team collected the largest amount of waste in Malabon with 1.48 tons, followed by Manila with 0.97 tons, and Parañaque City with 0.72 tons.
The report showed there was no garbage collection in the cities of Las Piñas, Makati, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Pasay, and Pateros.
Before the elections, the MMDA ramped up its “Oplan Baklas” campaign that sought to remove unlawful election materials in the NCR.
From Feb. 1 to April 28, the MPCG collected nearly 33 tons of illegal election materials as part of the campaign.
What good does it do to spend millions on posters which will only end up in the trash? Especially when instead of casting a ballot you might catch a bullet?
