‘Family feud’ sparks divisiveness

Normally a low-key affair compared to presidential elections, the midterm polls were expected to hold the key to the political futures of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.

The two “ruling” families in the Philippines have been in open conflict since the implosion of the strategic alliance they formed for the 2022 presidential elections, known as the “Uniteam.”

There was also no doubt that dramatic feud between Marcos and Duterte has since polarized the Filipino electorate, months before the start of the campaign period.

Tensions arose in the first half of 2024, when domestic and foreign policy disagreements between the two camps were exacerbated by several personal attacks, including outlandish accusations of drug abuse exchanged between Marcos and his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, the Vice President’s father.

In mid-2024, the Vice President expressed her opposition to Marcos and resigned from his Cabinet. Duterte then came under investigation by the Marcos-aligned House of Representatives for her alleged misuse of millions of pesos in public funds. In February, Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives for “high crimes,” including corruption and an alleged assassination plot against the president.

Tensions then reached a high pitch in March following the arrest of Sara’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte and his subsequent extradition to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, where he faces charges related to his drug war.

The midterm polls served as a de facto pre-trial proxy war between the Marcoses and the Dutertes.

The Dutertes fielded 10 candidates for Senate, the so-called “Duterten,” which comprised Jimmy Bondoc (former member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation), Jayvee Hinlo (former commissioner of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission), Raul Lambino (former chief executive officer of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority), SAGIP Party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta, Richard Mata, detained televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, actor Philip Salvador, as well as incumbent senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Christopher “Bong” Go, and Imee Marcos.

On the other hand, the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas was formed by allies of the Marcos administration — Benhur Abalos (former Interior and Local Government chief), Abigail Binay (Makati mayor), Senator Bong Revilla, Senator Pia Cayetano, former Senator Ping Lacson, Senator Lito Lapid, former Senator Manny Pacquiao, former Senator Tito Sotto, former Senator Francis Tolentino, ACT-CIS Partylist Representative Erwin Tulfo and Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar.

Longtime Duterte ally, Go, won reelection and the most votes of all candidates. Duterte’s former police chief, dela Rosa, also secured another term with a third-place showing. Imee — the President’s “estranged” sister — and Villar also won seats with the explicit blessing of the Dutertes.

Meanwhile, the Marcos camp won more seats and some added strength in its battle with the Dutertes’ control of the Senate ahead of the trial of the country’s second most powerful leader. Tulfo, a popular television news anchor and Marcos’ former Social Welfare and Development chief, won the fourth-place seat. He was accompanied by four former senators also affiliated with Alyansa — Lacson, Sotto, Cayetano and Lapid.

However, the midterms, overall, do not seem to have improved the prospects for the successful conviction of the vice president. Questions about the allegiances of several of the 12 senators already seated remain. Thus, the elections failed to decisively strengthen either family, so their bitter rivalry is likely to continue throughout the remainder of both their terms.