#PHVote: After the numbers, the whys and hows

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After the numbers, we show you the whys and hows of those numbers, one race and one locality at a time

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We continue to give you the unique takes and interesting angles on the results of the elections nearly a week after the polls. The outcomes in the local races have been particularly colorful, if not gripping. 

In the north, the reliable voting bloc is what seems to have allowed Imee Marcos to hold on to dear senatorial Magic 12 life — despite her having betrayed her brother, the President. 

In the city of Manila, the voters of the 2nd and 3rd districts proved more discerning than be swayed by Sara Duterte’s vitriolic sorties against their congressmen, Rolando Valeriano and Joel Chua, respectively. They reelected these lawmakers who pursued the Vice President for fund misuse. 

Cavite’s mayoral profile is a classic showcase of people voting for familiar names: 13 incumbents have been reelected, 1 former mayor — previously implicated in a fatal hazing and misuse of funds — is given a fresh mandate, and the 9 “newbies” are not exactly first-timers in politics as they have held lower elective posts before.  

The latest news from the Visayas are about dynasties falling and consolidating. Iloilo’s 5 congressional districts remain under political clans while political families suffer major losses in Negros Occidental’s 4th and 5th districts. 

In Surigao del Norte, the Barbers-Matugas rivalry was ever-present after many decades, but this time the Barbers side tightens its grip on the mainland. (When I was covering the Department of the Interior and Local Government during the time of their father, Lyndon Barbers was yet to be elected governor, Ace was years away from becoming one of the “Spice Boys” of the House, and the latter’s wife Bernadette was personal assistant to her father-in-law, Secretary Robert Barbers. She’s just been elected congresswoman.) 

In Muslim Mindanao, the MILF scores big wins in Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi, but suffers losses elsewhere.

As we wind down our week-long daily #PHVote newsletters, you will notice Rappler journalists offering you a deeper take on the results. After the numbers, we show you the whys and hows of those numbers, one race and one locality at a time.   

Have the voters of the EMBO barangays — once pampered in Makati but placed under Taguig about two years before the polls — cozied up to the new dynasty ruling over them? James Patrick Cruz shows us how divided the EMBO vote was for Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano.

Dwight de Leon maps the towns and cities where Sol Aragones won in the 2025 Laguna gubernatorial race — a close vote at that, on her second try. 

John Sitchon and Max Limpag make sense of how Cebu voted against Governor Gwen Garcia and Alyansa. They are saying it’s not as simple as the challenger of the incumbent governor having been endorsed by former president Rodrigo Duterte. 

Finally, we contemplate the future of the Dutertes after the dynasty’s 2025 landslide wins as well as what the 2025 Senate race results mean for Marcos at his midway point.   

Tomorrow, we will be sending our last #PHVote newsletter on the 2025 National and Local Elections that will feature our top picks for videos, care of Rappler’s multimedia and production head, Beth Frondoso. 

Let me thank you for trusting and joining Rappler in our thrust to empower the voters and the communities through our election coverage. Stay subscribed to our various newsletters, because after we’ve elected the leaders, we will be watching how they will govern. – Rappler.com