Even prior to the campaign period starting,
Imee Marcos and
Camille Villar were identified to be the heaviest spenders in political advertisements on television, each reportedly spending 1 billion
pesos each. Campaigning for nationally elected positions, including those for senators, start on February 11, 2025, and ends on May 11, 2025, election eve. On February 5, the final session day before Congress goes on recess for campaigning, the House of Representatives
impeached Vice President Sara Duterte. The Senate then received the articles of impeachment later in the day, an hour or so before the Senate went on recess. The following were the personnel of each slate:
February At the start of the campaign period, the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas held a proclamation rally at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena in
Laoag,
Ilocos Norte. In this rally, President Marcos took jabs at some opposition candidates, saying "parang 'yung mga iba na naging kandidato eh nag-deliver lang yata ng suka eh nabigyan na ng certificate of candidacy" (), with "
suka" referring to
vinegar), as opposed to their slate's candidates' track record for public service. Bam Aquino and Francis Pangilinan held their proclamation rally at Dasmariñas Arena in
Dasmariñas,
Cavite, together with
Akbayan and
Mamamayang Liberal partylists. On February 11, Aquino maintained that their
KiBam slate is an "independent slate" and not an "
opposition" one, Makabayan held their proclamation rally at the
Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila. Quiboloy also held a proclamation rally at the
Ynares Sports Arena in
Pasig, attended by some PDP candidates. On February 13, PDP also held their proclamation rally at the
Club Filipino in
San Juan. On that proclamation rally, Duterte joked "Let's just kill incumbent senators so there will be vacancies. If we can kill 15 senators, we can all get in." On the same proclamation rally, Ronald dela Rosa, in response to President Marcos's "
suka comments", said that their slate should be called "Team Suka", and that vinegar vendors should not stop oneself from dreaming big. Also in response to allegations that he is a "
pro-China" candidate, dela Rosa said "I am eager to wage war there in the
West Philippine Sea" This is also after fellow PDP slate member
Rodante Marcoleta said that "There is not—there is nothing as" the West Philippine Sea. Marcoleta reversed his statements on February 13, saying "I am not saying it is wrong for us to call [it the] West Philippine Sea, because I said, with or without name, that particular area is ours". On their proclamation rally at the
Bantayog ng mga Bayani in
Quezon City, the Partido Lakas ng Masa, in reference to President Marcos's "
suka comments", decried the latter's candidates on not showing up for debates. Leody de Guzman labeled the administration's candidates as cowards, while Luke Espiritu called Marcos's statement as arrogant. The
Workers' and Peasants' Party started their campaign at Manila.
March (second from right) endorse Pangilinan and Aquino in
Iloilo City, March 6, 2025 On March 11,
former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on basis of a warrant from the
International Criminal Court (ICC) coursed via
Interpol. Duterte was arrested at the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after returning to the country after an election rally at
Hong Kong. Senate President
Francis Escudero urged due process from the ICC and called for restraint, warning against using Duterte's arrest for political gain ahead of the election. Reelectionist Imee Marcos, criticized the political divisions, saying Duterte's arrest only creates "chaos" and questioning whether it benefits ordinary Filipinos. She also expressed sympathy, noting his age. Marcos skipped a campaign rally in
Tacloban in protest of Duterte's arrest. She then asked the Senate to conduct an investigation on the manner how Duterte was arrested. Makabayan candidate
Arlene Brosas called it "a glimpse of hope" for the victims' families, while fellow Makabayan candidate
France Castro described it as "a concrete step towards accountability and justice" for victims of
human rights abuses. PLM candidate
Luke Espiritu expressed strong support for Duterte's arrest, accusing the former president of severely damaging the nation's values and character, and calling the arrest "just". A rally protesting Duterte's arrest and asked for his return to the Philippines was held at the
Liwasang Bonifacio, attended by PDP candidates. Meanwhile, dela Rosa asked for the Senate to provide him protection in case the ICC issues a warrant for him. Escudero said "the Senate will not allow any of its members to be arrested within the Senate, especially during a session." Dela Rosa initially said that once the Senate's protection on him ends, he would have surrendered peacefully, saying he will not engage in a gunfight with the arresting team. However, a day later, he said that he is mulling on hiding from the authorities instead of surrendering. East Bloc,
Santa Rosa, Laguna On the Senate hearing regarding former president Duterte's arrest, Senator Marcos, who was the chair of
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Duterte's rights were violated as he was not given the chance to subject the ICC warrant via judicial review, and that Duterte was not given a physical copy of the warrant of arrest. Anthony Alcantara, executive director of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime, said that they did not receive a
red notice from Interpol, but instead a red diffusion, or a "wanted person notice".
Jesus Crispin Remulla, the Secretary of Justice, invoked the commitment of the Philippines to Interpol and following Republic Act No. 9851, the law punishing crimes against humanity. Remulla refuted Marcos's pronouncements that ICC lacked jurisdiction as the Philippine justice system was working, pointing out that relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings found it impossible to file cases on local courts due to lack of police reports, and due to inaction from fiscals. On subsequent Alyansa rallies, President Marcos omitted his sister's name in his speeches. Vice President Duterte then later endorsed ten candidates: the nine candidates on the PDP slate, and
Richard Mata, but not Senator Marcos. The PDP slate then adopted the name
DuterTen, a
portmanteau of "Duterte" and "ten", the number of candidates on their senatorial ticket). Imee Marcos then left Alyansa on March 26, 2025. On the findings released by the committee led by Marcos, it found that the Philippines had "no obligation to arrest Duterte and turn him over to the ICC, that the Philippine government decided to arrest Duterte, and that Duterte's rights were violated. Marcos then later said that "I'm not paying attention to it" on rumors that the DuterTen ticket was planning to adopt her
April On his first appearance since the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte,
Ronald dela Rosa attended the second hearing of the foreign relations committee. Government officials skipped the meeting, citing
executive privilege. In the hearing, Dela Rosa montioned to issue
subpoenas to missing cabinet members; Senate President
Francis Escudero did not issue subpoenas to the hearing. On the third hearing attended by government officials, Markus Lacanilao, Special Envoy on Transnational Crimes, was cited in
contempt of Congress by the committee. Escudero refused to sign the contempt order, releasing Lacanilao from the Senate's custody. Dela Rosa motioned Lacanilao to be cited in contempt, after dela Rosa accused him of lying during the hearing. Escudero issued a statement saying that Marcos "to refrain from using the Senate as a platform for her own personal political objectives".
Jesus Crispin Remulla, the justice secretary, said that they did not attend the second hearing as they anticipated that the senators would bully them and pressure them on making admissions. On April 13, Senator
Robin Padilla, also president of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, endorsed Marcos. A day later, Sara Duterte releases a political advertisement endorsing Imee Marcos, with both women clad in black clothing. The government decried the advertisement, calling it as "fake news", calling the Duterte administration being "black" as the one having best describing the advertisement. A week later, Duterte appeared on another political advertisement endorsing
Camille Villar. Later that week, the COMELEC summoned Villar for alleged
vote buying in
Cavite. Villar denied that the incident was illegal, having occurred on February 9, two days before the campaign period. Despite this, Toby Tiangco, Alyansa's campaign manager, maintained that Villar was still a part of the slate. Villar then skipped a campaign sortie with her fellow Alyansa candidates in
Dagupan, saying that she was sick. A week after Duterte's endorsement of Villar,
Bulacan vice governor
Alex Castro appealed to the Senate to investigate
PrimeWater's alleged appalling service. PrimeWater is a water management service owned by the Villars. Castro cited issues in
San Jose del Monte, where the local government sued the company to terminate their 25-year joint venture agreement that was signed in 2018. Bulacan governor
Daniel Fernando, citing instances where communities have no running water for days on weekends, and exorbitant water bills, described it as "very poor" service. On April 30, presidential spokesperson
Claire Castro (no relation to the vice governor) said the president will order an investigation on PrimeWater.
May Despite this, while Alyansa backed the government on investigating PrimeWater, they maintained that Villar is still a part of their slate. The government and several Alyansa candidates denied Sara Duterte's allegations that the investigations on PrimeWater were politically motivated, with it having 73 joint ventures with local water districts around the country. The Local Water Utilities Administration began its investigation on PrimeWater on May 2. Meanwhile, on a rally at
Batangas City, President Marcos did not endorse Villar. On a rally at
Quezon City,
Honeylet Avanceña, Rodigo Duterte's domestic partner, and their daughter
Kitty Duterte, campaigned for a
block vote the DuterTen slate. Kitty's statement of "I am here now because they took from us, from all of us, most of all from me, my father... Instead of addressing crime, corruption, and poverty, this administration is prioritizing ruining my family and all of its allies," was roasted in social media. At a later rally in
Malolos, despite Villar's absence, President Marcos endorsed the latter, after not being mentioned in prior rallies in Batangas City and
Dumajug. The COMELEC dismissed the vote-buying case against Villar, confirming the incident, which involved giving cash prizes to rallygoers, indeed occurred prior to the campaigning period, despite it being posted on social media after the campaign period began. On May 8, the Partido Demokratko Pilipino held their
miting de avance at the
Liwasang Bonifacio in
Manila. PDP candidates exhorted the people to support the Dutertes. In the rally, Sara Duterte said that she is "not the problem of the Philippines. A Duterte is not the problem of the Philippines." The Alyansa ended their campaign at their
miting de avance in Nueve de Pebrero Street in
Mandaluyong on May 9; Villar was still absent. Villar instead attended the
miting de avance of the local
Nacionalista Party in her hometown of
Las Piñas.
Makabayan held their
miting de avance in
Tomas Morato Avenue,
Quezon City on the same day. The
miting de avance of
Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod of the Dutertes in Davao City was attended by most of the DuterTen candidates. Also on the same day, the
Iglesia ni Cristo released its list of endorsements for eight senatorial candidates. Meanwhile, the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines labeled that neither they nor Cardinal
Pablo Virgilio David endorsed any candidates in any position, denouncing circulating social media posts as "
fake news". David also said that Filipinos "can treat the election of a leader as a sacred moment", comparing the election to then just-concluded
papal conclave. On May 10, the KiBam ticket attended the local
Liberal Party miting de avance in
Naga, hosted by mayoral candidate and defeated 2022 presidential candidate
Leni Robredo. Just before the end of the campaign period, Marcos and Villar were officially added as guest candidates of DuterTen. ==Results==