Senatorial candidates Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan kick off the campaign season with a mass at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice in UP Diliman. The two were joined by former Vice President Leni Robredo. Paige Javier, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATE) —  The campaign period for senatorial and party-list candidates kicked off on Tuesday, with bets outside the administration-backed coalition launching their electoral journey in Metro Manilla.

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Former senators Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan kicked off the campaign season with a mass at the UP Chapel. They were joined by former Vice President Leni Robredo.

After the mass, Aquino's wife Timi and actress Marjorie Barretto joined forces in a house-to-house campaign at Barangay Krus na Ligas in Quezon City to rally support for Aquino’s Senate bid.

Pangilinan also joined them to campaign for himself.

Meanwhile, the 11-member slate of the Makabayan coalition kicked off the campaign period in different areas of Metro Manila.
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ALYANSA PARA SA BAGONG PILIPINAS

It was a sea of red at the locos Norte Centennial Arena as thousands of supporters of the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas from various towns gathered to show support to the administration's senatorial bets hours ahead of the coalition's kickoff proclamation rally on Tuesday.

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The mood at the Centennial arena was festive as various artists entertained the enthusiastic crowd prior to the arrival of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and the administration's senatorial bets.

Outside, organizers set up giant LED screens to allow other supporters who could not get inside the venue to view the program. Drummers and other entertainers also worked to energize the crowd of supporters.

Campaign manager and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco earlier said that the decision to launch the coalition's nationwide campaign in Marcos stronghold Ilocos Norte was a "reaffirmation of their commitment to build on the progress made under President Marcos Jr."

A Pulse Asia survey published on Monday showed that most of those included in the "Magic 12" were from the administration's Senate slate.

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Of the 66 senatorial candidates, 14 would have a "statistical chance of winning if the May 2025 polls were held during the survey period," the survey found.

Over 18,000 elective positions will be up for grabs in the May 2025 elections.

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