MANILA, Philippines – The partial, unofficial results of the 2025 midterm elections have left Filipino voters wondering what the senators of the 20th Congress will bring to the table, and what this means for the near future of Filipino politics.
The initial results for the senatorial race have also raised many questions. Among them: How will this impact Vice President Sara Duterte’s upcoming impeachment trial?
Following her impeachment at the House of Representatives, Duterte is set to face the Senate, likely on July 30 this year. Her impeachment trial will happen during the 20th Congress, which will be composed of the incumbent senators, who will be joined by the leading 12 candidates from the 2025 election.
A two-thirds vote in the Senate is required to convict the Vice President, remove her from public office, and ban her from seeking any public post. This means she needs nine senators to vote for her acquittal to keep her in office.
Given initial results of the senatorial race, what can Filipinos expect from Duterte’s impeachment trial?
Rappler looked into the possible composition of senators for the 20th Congress, based on partial, unofficial results sourced from the Comelec Media Server as of 1:57 pm on May 13, 2025. At the time, 97.23% of election results had been processed.
Out of the 24 shortlisted senators and/or senatorial candidates, Rappler identified seven politicians who are likely to acquit Duterte in her impeachment trial, based on alliances and previous statements. Should these politicians vote to acquit her during the actual trial, Duterte will only need two more votes to remain Vice President.
Among the senatorial candidates who are poised to win are reelectionist senators Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa, representing Rodrigo Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) party. Go tops the list of senatorial candidates and currently has 26,463,949 votes, while Dela Rosa ranks third with 20,250,871 votes. They will be joining their partymate Senator Robin Padilla, another key Duterte ally in the upper chamber.
Another Duterte-backed candidate is SAGIP Representative Rodante Marcoleta, who ran as an independent candidate, but was included in the “Duter10” senatorial slate. Marcoleta ranks sixth with 14,895,858 votes.
Some leading senatorial candidates include incumbent congressmen who did not sign the House of Representative’s impeachment complaint. This included Erwin Tulfo, who ranks fourth with 16,805,318 votes, and Camille Villar, who ranks 10th with 13,350,716 votes.
Reelectionist Senator Imee Marcos also just made it within the winners’ circle, ranking 12th place with 13,028,580 votes. She has straddled between Team Duterte and Team Marcos in the lead-up to election day — she withdrew from the administration’s Alyansa slate and later secured the Vice President’s endorsement ahead of the polls.
It remains to be seen whether other incumbent senators or senatorial candidates will vote in favor of, or against, Duterte. For instance, opposition bets Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan made stunning comebacks in the midterm elections, but they’ve also previously promised to exercise fairness in Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Duterte was impeached earlier this year by the House of Representatives for threatening to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and for her alleged misuse of confidential funds.
You can view partial, unofficial results of the senatorial race here:
– Rappler.com
