6 hours ago
3
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
It’s hard not to feel that this November 2026 US midterm elections is a déjà vu of cheating in Philippine elections.
“Dinaya!” is usually the first word a losing candidate shouts in the Philippines: “I got cheated!” President Donald Trump seems to have taken this script to heart, casting a shadow over the forecasted “Blue Wave” that could flip Congress to Democratic control even before the first ballot is counted.
Even if Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud are overwhelmed by a huge Democratic turnout, many fear that Republicans in Congress, out of loyalty to Trump, may try to block Democrats from assuming the majority.
Echoing the “doomsday scenario” espoused by US Attorney General Todd Blanche — delaying the count or refusing to certify results if they favor Democrats — Trump has directed the Justice Department to block certification of the coming Senate election in Alaska if Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan loses by a narrow margin. The New York Times reported that the justice department cited flimsy concerns about confusion with another candidate whose name is similar to Sullivan’s.
Their efforts to project a narrative of widespread noncitizen voting is also relentless, even using as bogeymen the 11 individuals the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) who were arrested in California on October 16 for allegedly illegally registering to vote. Election experts have raised questions as to whether the charges could be trusted to be accurate, citing similar accusations being disproved elsewhere in the country.
‘Dagdag-Bawas’
Remember when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called “Hello, Garci!” to pad her votes during the 2004 presidential election against the late Fernando Poe Jr.? Trump seems to have taken a page from that “Dagdag-Bawas” playbook by questioning voter registrations, challenging mail-in ballots and raising the possibility of hacking voting machines.
“My thought was they could keep it in their back pocket to invalidate any election results they don’t like,” a former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) official told ProPublica, which reported that DHS has asked CISA to “secretly acquire a voting machine and hack it.”
With early voting underway, shaving off Democrat votes is in play, with software glitches delaying nearly 600,000 voter registrations in Texas. In Nashville, Tennessee, Dolly Parton’s sister, singer Stella Parton, claimed she had to correct her ballot multiple times, saying a voting machine repeatedly selected Republican gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn when she tried to vote for Democrat Jerri Green.
Guns, goons, gold
While a seasoned “trapo” in the Philippines rolls a ₱1,000 note in a folded T-shirt to buy votes, Trump is dangling $5,000 to voters and billions in federal aid to farmers affected by tariffs if Republicans keep control of Congress.
While hired armed goons in the Philippines steal ballot boxes, Trump has threatened to send heavily-armed ICE agents and National Guard troops to polling places, raising fears of intimidation among immigrant and minority voters. Though we are hopefully far from the impunity of an “Ampatuan massacre,” the shocking, pre-dawn DHS raid on Representative Ilhan Omar’s home three weeks before election day smacks of the same tactic in eliminating his political enemies.
FilAm candidates
Amid this chaos, Filipino candidates running across statewide and local races find themselves navigating an American political system increasingly resembling tactics they thought they had left behind.
This year’s crop includes California Attorney General Rob Bonta, seeking reelection; Assemblymember Jessica Caloza, fighting to retain her 52nd District seat; and Cerritos City Councilmember Mark Pulido, campaigning for the 67th Assembly District in the California state legislature.
In Daly City, Councilmember Rod Daus-Magbual is running for reelection, joined by Tony Bayudan in what is often celebrated as the “Pinoy Capital” of the United States, where Filipinos make up a full third of the population. In Southern California, Artesia Councilmember Melissa Ramoso is defending her seat while Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia seeks a second term.
The Filipino political footprint extends beyond California.
In Nevada, Assemblymember Erica Mosca is seeking reelection. In New York, Assemblymember Steven Raga is running for State Senate in Queens, while Georgia State Representative Marvin Lim is running unopposed.
Across the Pacific, Hawaii — the first state to elect a Filipino governor in US history with the landmark 1994 election of Benjamin Cayetano — has its own growing crop of FilAm candidates. State Senator Joy A. San Buenaventura is seeking reelection in Puna, joined by State House candidates including Tess Abalos, Travis Bumanglag, Danny Degracia, Diamond Garcia, Greggor Ilagan, Darius K. Kila, Rose Martinez and Julie Reyes Oda.
At the county level, Tyler Dos Santos-Tam is seeking another term on the Honolulu City Council, while Kauanoe Batangan and Addison Bulosan are running for county council seats on Maui and Kauai.
It’s time for us to walk precincts, man phone banks and donate to our kababayan running for office.
We immigrated to the United States to escape the feudal dynasties, vote-buying and the “Guns, Goons and Gold” of traditional Philippine politics. Now it’s time to push back and make sure those tactics don’t follow us here.
So, don’t forget to vote. If voting in person, carefully review your selections before submitting your ballot to make sure the machine properly records your choice.
If voting by mail, don’t wait until November 3 to mail your ballots to prevent the understaffed US Postal Service from throwing them away if they don’t get picked up on Election Day.
In one of the most consequential elections in modern history, our mission this November is not only in supporting our kababayan to win — it is a front-line battle to make sure our votes are counted, and defend them if need be. – Rappler.com
Oscar Quiambao is a former reporter for The Philippine Daily Inquirer who now lives in San Francisco.
