Registered voters of Barangay 659 cast their ballots at a mall in Manila as one of the mall voting pilot testing areas during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on October 30, 2023. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — On May 12, 2025, Filipinos will once again exercise their right to vote as the Philippines holds its midterm elections to elect new leaders in national and local positions. 

Philippines enters new election season as candidacy filing for 2025 kicks off

VACANT ELECTIVE POSTS 

From Oct. 1 to 8, 2024, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) carried out its “ministerial duty” of accepting Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) and Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) for those seeking to be elected as the country's new set of leaders. 

'Fiesta-like' gimmicks during COC filing more for aspirants than voters: strategist

Over 18,000 elective positions will be up for grabs for those who successfully filed their candidacies:

• • Senators - 12
• • Party-List Representatives - 63
• • Member, House of Representatives - 254
• • Governor - 82
• • Vice Governor - 82
• • Provincial board member - 800
• • City Mayor - 149
• • City Vice Mayor - 149
• • City councilor - 1,690
• • Municipal Mayor - 1,493
• • Municipal Vice Mayor - 1,493
• • Municipal councilor - 11,948
• • BARMM Members of the Parliament - 25
• • BARMM Party Representatives - 40
• • TOTAL: 18,280
  

On December 13, 2024, the Comelec announced that a total of 66 senatorial aspirants made it to the final list of senatorial candidates that would be included in the official 2025 ballot. The other 117 who filed their candidacy for the Senate were identified as "nuisance."

66 aspirants make it to Comelec's final list of candidates for senator

MIRU IN, SMARTMATIC OUT

For 2025 midterm polls, the Comelec tapped South Korean joint venture Miru Systems Inc. to provide the new voting machines after the poll body banned its longtime contractor Smartmatic over its bribery scandal in the United States. 

Miru bags P18.8-B project for May 2025 elections

ELECTION CALENDAR

Comelec Resolution No. 10999 listed the following dates for all its activities ahead, during, and after the May elections:

• • Jan. 12, 2025 to June 11, 2025: Start of the election period and implementation of gun ban
• • Feb. 11, 2025 to May 10, 2025: Campaign period for candidates for senator and groups in the party-list elections (except April 17, Maundy Thursday, and April 18, Good Friday)
• • March 28, 2025 to May 10, 2025 - Campaign period for candidates for House of Representatives and parliamentary/provincial/city/municipal officials (except April 17, Maundy Thursday, and April 18, Good Friday)
• • April 13, 2025 to May 12, 2025 - Voting period for overseas voters
• • April 28-30, 2025 - Voting period for local absentee voters
• • May 11, 2025 - Liquor ban and  end of campaigning 
• • May 12, 2025 - ELECTION DAY
• • June 11, 2025 - Last day to file SOCE
• 
  

While campaign period will only officially begin next month, several candidates and groups already started promoting themselves to voters, an act the Comelec has condemned but could not prohibit. 

'Hinay-hinay lang': Comelec saddened by politicians who post ads ahead of campaign period

'AREAS OF CONCERN'

The Comelec on Jan. 9 identified places it considered "areas of concern" with varying degrees of danger. 

Comelec identifies 38 election areas of 'grave concern'

The country’s election areas of concern classification has four categories: green, yellow, orange, and red. 

For the May 2025 elections, 38 areas were under the "red category" or "areas with grave concern."

The Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines said they would deploy additional personnel to areas of grave concern, especially in the Bangsamoro region.

Please refresh for future updates.

For more news and features on Philippine elections, visit the ABS-CBN News' Halalan 2025 page.

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