MANILA (SE): “The people have spoken, but it was not a perfect discourse. Money tainted it. Blood stained it. It was blotted by lies,” Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan wrote on social media on May 13 following the Philippine midterm elections the day before. Violence, vote-buying and rigging were reported and slammed by Church leaders joined poll watchdogs and activist groups, according to UCAN.
Archbishop Villegas, a former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said the election “was coloured with vulgarity.”
George Erwin Garcia, chairperson of the Commission on Elections [Comelec], said the midterms were the most peaceful so far in terms of election-related violence.
The poll body chief claimed at a press conference in Manila on May 12 that the 44 incidents of violence were much lower compared with the 128 incidents in 2019 and around 120 in 2020.
As millions endured blistering heat and long queues to cast their votes, the day was marred by widespread disenfranchisement, technical failures, and violence, according to local watchdogs and international monitors, LiCAS News reported.
The people have spoken, but it was not a perfect discourse. Money tainted it. Blood stained it. It was blotted by lies
Archbishop Socrates Villegas
Rights observers cite violence, machine failures, and voter suppression as major threats to the integrity of the elections.
A preliminary report by the International Observer Mission, composed of global human rights advocates, flagged severe concerns over the credibility of the elections. In partnership with Vote Report PH and Kontra Daya [against cheating], the mission documented numerous irregularities across multiple regions.
“These aren’t just technical glitches, we are seeing failures that are disenfranchising thousands of Filipinos at a critical democratic moment,” said commissioner, Lee Rhiannon, a former Australian senator.
The mission cited malfunctioning automated counting machines, pre-shaded ballots, vote-buying, and unexplained software updates among the issues that cast doubt on the vote’s integrity. In some locations, valid ballots were erroneously read as overvotes, nullifying votes. At least one polling centre in the Southern Tagalog region had over 900 voters queueing at a single ACM, with many walking away without casting their vote.
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The political feud between the president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and impeached vice president, Sara Duterte has cast a shadow over the electoral proceedings and are seen as a crucial test of supremacy between the two.
Duterte, faces impeachment for abuse of power and corruption, among other charges.
A day after the midterm elections, some 200 members of various groups led by Kontra Daya and progressive group Makabayan, protested in Manila against alleged irregularities and voter disenfranchisement.
These aren’t just technical glitches, we are seeing failures that are disenfranchising thousands of Filipinos at a critical democratic moment
Lee Rhiannon
Danilo Arao, convenor of Kontra Daya said the Comelec had a lot of explaining to do for the reported blunders and violations of the poll code.
The errors in automated counting machines [ACM] topped the list of blunders with 557 reported cases, followed by 142 incidents of illegal campaigning and 86 cases of disenfranchisement, he said.
Lawyer, Aaron Pedrosa, secretary-general of the multisectoral group Sanlakas, said the violence and other anomalies have called into question the integrity of the entire electoral exercise.
“Comelec must show an iron resolve in prosecuting election offenses, including cases of vote-buying, and addressing technical concerns by conducting a no-nonsense audit,” Pedrosa said.
A status report on May 13 by Vote Report PH said that malfunctioning of the ACMs accounted for 50.09 per cent of the reported cases, followed by voters citing ink smudging and overly sensitive scanners that may lead to unintended overvotes.
Voter disenfranchisement ranked third, primarily due to missing names on voter rolls and procedural barriers that prevented eligible voters from exercising their franchise, the report stated.
Red-tagging [labeling as communist supporters and sympathisers] of progressive candidates remains prevalent, with 54 cases or 3.39 per cent of the reported cases.
Other reported cases included those of election-related violence [2.76 per cent], election harassment [2.39 per cent], vote buying/selling [2.13 per cent], tampered ballots [1.76 percent], and black propaganda/disinformation [1.44 per cent], among others.
Most electoral irregularities were reported in 229 cities and municipalities nationwide, the report added.
The European Union Election Observation Mission, which was invited by the Philippines to observe the 2025 national midterm elections, raised concerns about “the necessary guarantees for adequate access to polling precincts, which is an essential element of the EU’s observation methodology.”
It said, “As a result, the EU EOM could not ensure meaningful observation of the voting phase in polling precincts.”
Consequently, the mission did not deploy the whole team of observers as originally planned. However, all EU observers were deployed to the counting process after the closing of the polls,” the monitoring body said in a statement on May 12.
