Key allies of detained former President Rodrigo Duterte and two liberal opposition candidates were among top winners in the May 12 Senate race in the Philippines, according to official results released Friday by the Election Commission.
The midterm election outcome provided unexpectedly strong backing for Duterte and boosted his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, ahead of her impeachment trial in the Senate in July.
The election also was a blow to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration, whose candidates did not do as well as expected in midterm polls when the president’s influence is usually strong, analysts said.
Five of the 12 Senate race winners were endorsed by Sara Duterte, including the president’s sister, Imee Marcos, and Camille Villar, another Marcos alliance candidate from a wealthy political family. Five others were aligned with Marcos, while two surprise winners were from the opposition. Two Duterte allies were among the top five.
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Christopher Go, a former Cabinet member under the elder Duterte, led the Senate winners with more than 27 million votes. Ronald dela Rosa, Duterte’s first national police chief and executor of his deadly anti-drugs campaign, ranked third.