By Anthony Divinagracia

(May 14, 2025) – Family members may share a common name, but their political fates may not always be the same.

Exhibit A: Some senatorial candidates in the 2025 elections.

If anything, the recent polls showed how their families have dominated their respective strongholds yet again. But the disconnect is revealing. Of the 10 senatorial candidates who came from political dynasties, only half are likely to join their relatives in the winners’ circle, based on partial and unofficial results. For context, a political dynasty in the Philippines is either “thin” or “fat” according to studies published by the Ateneo School of Government (Mendoza et.al., 2019). Relatives in a thin dynasty are voted in succession (i.e. sunod-sunod), while members of a fat dynasty run simultaneously (i.e. sabay-sabay).

Traditionally, politicians build their reputations in local government to strengthen their prospects for national office. Unsurprisingly, many senatorial aspirants previously held local positions before setting their sights on the Senate—or even Malacañang. However, in this year’s elections, those seeking local posts seemed luckier than their relatives running for the Senate.

BENHUR ABALOS (outside the Top 12)

The former Mandaluyong mayor and Interior secretary ranked outside the Top 12 in most pre-election surveys. Based on partial and unofficial results, he is currently 16^th with 11,354,112 votes of 9AM today.

What about in Mandaluyong? Benhur ranked first with 109,763 votes. His relatives also did well in their known bailiwick.

• Menchie Abalos, Benhur’s wife, was proclaimed mayor after amassing 141,597 votes unopposed. She previously served as vice mayor and mayor of the city from 2016 to 2022.
• Charisse Abalos, the eldest daughter of Benhur and Menchie, topped the 1^st district city council race for the third time after tallying 78,830 votes.  
• Benjie Abalos, the son of Benhur and Menchie, also led the 2^nd district balloting for city councilor with 44,530 votes.

CAMILLE VILLAR (in the Top 12)

One of the youngest members of the prominent Aguilar-Villar clan, the former Las Piñas congresswoman is a steady 10^th in the senatorial contest with 13,359,779votes as of 11AM, closely reflecting her survey rankings.

The family scorecard: Camille placed sixth in Las Piñas with 87,253 votes behind Bam Aquino, Bong Go, Kiko Pangilinan, Ping Lacson, and Tito Sotto. How about her relatives?

• Cynthia Villar, Camille’s mother, won’t be in public office for a while after losing her bid for Las Piñas lone district representative to her brother Nene Aguilar’s protegee, councilor Mark Anthony Santos, who won with 108,206 votes against the outgoing senator’s 78,526.
• April Aguilar, the niece of Cynthia and cousin of Camille, won as Las Piñas mayor, defeating another cousin, Carlo Aguilar, after collecting 116,680 votes.
• Imelda Aguilar, outgoing Las Piñas mayor and sister-in-law of Cynthia, was elected vice mayor with 122,428 votes.
• Alelee Aguilar, daughter of Imelda and sister of April, was ranked first among 1^st district councilors with 71,311 votes.
• Albie Aguilar, another cousin, got 54,621 votes for second place behind Alelee.
• Lord Aguilar, also a cousin, was the topnotcher among the 2^nd district councilors with 57,590 votes.

ABBY BINAY (outside the Top 12)

Outgoing Makati mayor Abby Binay remains outside the Top 12, trailing at 15^th place so far with 11,569,704 votes as of 9AM.

Makati delivered for Abby, giving her 137,633 votes for first place. The twist:

• Senator Nancy Binay, Abby’ sister was proclaimed Makati mayor after beating Abby’s husband Luis Campos with 112,703 votes.Nancy was personally endorsed by their father, former vice president Jejomar Binay.

PIA CAYETANO (in the Top 12)

Senator Pia Cayetano is safely perched at 9^th place so far with 14,306,765votes as of 9AM. The many-term senator is likely to rejoin her brother, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, for another tour of duty in the Upper House.

In Taguig, Pia placed second with 269,870 votes, behind Bam Aquino. But it was a split for other family members.

• Lani Cayetano, Pia’s sister-in-law and wife of Alan, was elected to a second term as Taguig mayor via landslide with 407,299 votes.
• Lino Cayetano, Pia’s younger brother, lost his Taguig congressional bid to incumbent Ricardo “Ading” Cruz, who retained his post with 105,231 votes. Cruz was endorsed by Lino’s brother Alan, sparking controversy during the campaign.

IMEE MARCOS (in the Top 12)

The eldest sister of President Bongbong Marcos topped the Ilocos Norte senatorial race once more. If her lead holds, Imee is set for a Senate return at 12^th place so far with 13,037,730votes as of 9AM.

The North remembered again, as Imee placed first in her home province with 259, 320 votes. The trend practically rubbed on her relatives.

• Matthew Marcos-Manotoc, the outgoing Ilocos Norte governor and Imee’s son, easily won unopposed as vice governor with 313,391 votes.
• Cecilia Araneta Marcos, their relative through husband Mariano Marcos II, moved up to the governorship with a 298,533-vote victory.
• Rep. Sandro Marcos, the president’s son, retained his post as Ilocos Norte 1^st district representative, notching 169,307 votes as an unopposed candidate.
• Michael Marcos Keon, cousin of Imee, lost his reelection bid for Laoag City mayor over James Bryan Alcid, who was endorsed by the president. Keon narrowly lost, getting 34,502 votes to Alcid’s 36,071.

MANNY PACQUIAO (outside the Top 12)

The global boxing icon’s chances of a Senate return looked bleak as he only managed to snare the 18^th spot so far with 10,208,065 votes as of 9AM. But while Manny continues to languish outside the Top 12, his relatives won in Sarangani and General Santos City.

Manny, to his credit, was second in Sarangani with 150,381 votes behind Bong Go. In Gen-San, he ranked fifth with 111,311 votes, next to Bong Go, Bam Aquino, Bato Dela Rosa, and Erwin Tulfo. The rest of the Pacquiaos scored knockout wins.

• Rogelio Pacquiao, Manny’s bother, won another term as Sarangani governor with 155,090 votes.
• Lorelie Pacquiao, Manny’s sister-in-law, was also reelected as General Santos City mayor after winning 147,992 votes.
• Michael Pacquiao, one of Manny’s sons, secured his first term as councilor of General Santos city, placing 7^th with 108,604 votes.

BONG REVILLA (outside the Top 12)

The actor-turned-politician is likely to miss a Senate comeback, placing only 14^th so far with 11,789,695 votes as of 9AM. Bong was fifth in Cavite with 669,898 votes, behind Bam Aquino, Bong Go, fellow Caviteño Ping Lacson, and Kiko Pangilinan. Lady Luck smiled more on the other members of the Revilla family.

• Lani Mercado-Revilla, wife of Bong, was elected 2^nd district representative of Cavite with 172,182 votes, after serving her final term as Bacoor City mayor.
• Jolo Revilla, son of Bong and Leni, secured the 1^st district congressional seat of Cavite after collecting 145,505 votes.
• Ram Revilla, Bong’s youngest son, handily won the Cavite vice governorship, tallying 1,166,769 votes as an unopposed candidate.
• Strike Revilla, also a brother of Bong, reclaimed the Bacoor mayoral seat with unopposed with 171,676 votes
• Rowena Bautista-Revilla, one of Bong’s sisters, was elected Bacoor vice mayor unopposed with 157,799 votes to complete the sweep with brother Strike.

VICENTE SOTTO III (in the Top 12)

Former Senate President Tito Sotto is tightly bunched in the middle of the pack at 8^th place with 14,596,453 votes so far as of 9AM. The 1992 senatorial election topnotcher is in good company with winning relatives at the local level. Tito Sen, who was a former Quezon City vice mayor, ranked sixth with 385,245 votes in QC, next to Bam Aquino, Bong Go, Kiko Pangilinan, and Bato Dela Rosa. He was fourth in Pasig with 158,441 votes, behind Bam Aquino, Kiko Pangilinan, and Bong Go. In Cebu where the Sottos trace their roots, Tito Sen is only 18th with 571,865 votes.

How about the young ones?

• Gian Sotto, Tito’s only son, won another term as Quezon City vice mayor with 919,089 votes.
• Vico Sotto, Tito’s nephew, completed another landslide victory for his third term as Pasig mayor, registering 345,375 votes.

FRANCIS TOLENTINO (outside the Top 12)

Senator Francis Tolentino’s ranking dims the possibility of reelection with his 7,563,918votes good only for 25^th place as of 9AM.

Francis, who was a former Tagaytay mayor, placed first in his home city with 31,142 votes. His political future, though, is the exact opposite of family members in Tagaytay.

• Aniela Tolentino, Francis’ niece, has comfortably secured another term as 8^th district representative after securing 164,716 votes.
• Brent Tolentino, a nephew of Francis, successfully won the Tagaytay mayoral seat with 36,590 votes without opposition. He will replace his father, outgoing mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
• Agnes Tolentino, the sister-in-law of Francis and outgoing mayor, will again reprise her role as Tagaytay vice mayor after winning with 36,662 votes.
• Micko Tolentino, the son of Francis, topped the polls for city councilor with 30,869 votes.

ERWIN TULFO (in the Top 12) and BEN TULFO (outside the Top 12)

The Tulfo brothers Erwin and Ben are poles apart in this year’s election. Erwin, who consistently dwelled in the upper half of pre-election surveys, is sitting 4^th with 16,815,375 votes as of 9AM. Ben, who straddled between 4^th to 8^th places in most surveys, now hangs at 13^th place with 11,886,239votes and is yet to close the 1-million gap set by the 12^th running Sen. Imee Marcos as of posting time.  

In Davao City, where some of the Tulfos grew and resided, Erwin placed only 19th with 74,537 votes, while Ben was 24th with 52,876 votes. But in the lower house, the story is different.

• Ralph Tulfo, the nephew of Erwin and Ben and son of Sen. Raffy Tulfo, won 180,302 votes to retain his post as 2^nd district representative of Quezon City.
• Joselyn Tulfo, the sister-in-law of Erwin and Ben and wife of Sen. Raffy Tulfo, is likely to secure another term as party list representative of ACT-CIS, which has reached the 2-percent threshold.
• Wanda Tulfo Teo, older sister of Erwin and Ben, is highly unlikely to get a House seat as her party list Turismo could only muster 0.08 percent of the voters.

So far, the results tell us one thing: Bailiwick politics, though aided by performative governance, does not always ensure national success. Mounting a campaign in a geographically demanding Philippines is more than just pulling dynastic or familial weight to rescale and reflect municipal, provincial, or regional realities. In some cases, a nationally elected politician may still lose in his/her own backyard come election time.

What now after this election?

The losing senatorial candidates will be back in 2028. Some of them may essay a comeback as local candidates again, if only to rejuvenate their political motivations to seek higher office. As for the winners, the horizon teems with opportunities and challenges. One notable challenge is the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which is likely to test political loyalties among senators supposedly aligned with the administration, opposition, and the middling pack.

In terms of opportunities, the moment suggests recalibrating political energy into crafting corrective and complementary measures to address issues that caused their election in the first place, such as good governance, poverty alleviation, economic stability, and ensuring domestic and regional security. The usual politicking will occasionally stick its head, but winning senators should be ready to wield the hammer of conscience and conviction. The relatives of these senatorial bets in local government may not necessarily rock the political boat as it ferries through the stream of national consciousness. But their parochial power and persuasive actions are more than enough to sway, if not shape their constituents’ views. Issues are cyclical. All politics are local. The national – whether presidential or senatorial – could just be, at this point, ephemeral.