Ping Lacson: Admin machinery failed in 2025 elections

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May 15, 2025 | 6:52pm

MANILA, Philippines — Former senator Ping Lacson, a member of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s senatorial slate, admitted that the administration machinery he ran with failed to deliver.

Marcos’ “Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas” was initially poised to sweep the elections, with pre-election surveys placing most of its candidates within the winning circle. However, only six of the 11 candidates from the slate secured Senate seats, based on unofficial tallies.

The Alyansa slate campaigned across the country, often with Marcos himself in tow. However, the latter part of the campaign was marred with controversy following the public breakaway of two of its members: Sen. Imee Marcos and Rep. Camille Villar. Both of them joined the camp of Vice President Sara Duterte. 

Lacson, a veteran lawmaker with several national campaigns under his belt, acknowledged that the results defied expectations.

“The much-hyped administration machinery especially during the midterm elections failed,” Lacson said in a statement on Wednesday, May 14. 

Lacson also said the youth vote made a huge difference. The Commission on Elections backed this observation, saying that the youth came out to vote in droves. 

He also pointed to the role of the youth vote, saying it had a significant impact on the results. The Commission on Elections supported this view, noting a strong turnout from young voters.

Developments involving former president Rodrigo Duterte also influenced the results, Lacson added. While he did not elaborate, Duterte’s arrest and turnover to the International Criminal Court drew widespread attention and mobilized his base.

“All that being said, the biggest beneficiaries of ‘DuterTen’ and ‘Alyansa Minus Two’ are Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan. To their credit, they are both qualified, and they campaigned hard, to the last day of the 90-day campaign period. I certainly look forward to working with them again in the Senate in case the current trend of the election results holds,” Lacson said.

Aquino and Pangilinan were among the surprise winners in the Senate race. Both were trailing in pre-election surveys but ultimately secured decisive victories in the unofficial counts. Aquino surged to second place, while Pangilinan was in fifth.

Their projected return to the Senate denied both the Marcos and Duterte camps a clear majority in the upper chamber.

Senate President Francis Escudero, however, said he disagreed with Lacson’s observation, noting that he himself won a seat under the same administration slate.

But it was more than a matter of machinery, Escudero said. If anything, the Senate president took it as good news.

“I think more than strategies, more than machinery, the issues dictated the results of these elections,” Escudero said.

The elections were not just a matter of who had more advertisements, machinery or money, Escudero said. The people discerned how candidates stood on issues leading up to the elections.