Several Senate candidates were early birds in the 2025 Philippine midterm elections, taking advantage of the early voting hours by casting their votes at the crack of dawn in their respective precincts.
The early birds included Gregorio Honasan, Lito Lapid, Ben "Bitag" Tulfo, Panfilo Lacson, Ariel Querubin, Bong Revilla and Willie Revillame.
Lapid, a candidate of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, voted at the clustered precinct in Brgy. Poblacion, Porac, Pampanga while Honasan, who is endorsed by the PDP-Laban slate, voted at the Nativity of Our Lady Parochial School in Marikina City past 5 a.m. Monday.
Tulfo, who is running as an independent, was seen lining up to vote at Pasong Tamo Elementary School in Quezon City before 6 a.m.
Lacson, 76, a candidate of the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas, was also spotted at Bayan Luma Elementary School in Imus, Cavite to cast his vote at 6:35 a.m.
The voting process for Lacson took around 15 minutes. He shared that the machine did not initially accept his filled out ballot on his first try but later did after he flipped the ballot.
“May konting glitch. Kasi hindi siya tinanggap noong una… Noong binaligtad, inuna ‘yung backpage, pumasok siya. I hope ma-resolve nila ‘yung mga minor issues na ganoon. Kasi ‘yung iba baka hindi makahintay, baka umalis na lang,” Lacson said.
Eden Reyes, the DepEd Supervisor for the school, explained that the ink needs to dry first before feeding the ballot into the machine to avoid glitches.
“Kailangan po kasi tuyong-tuyo ‘yung ating ballots bago i-pasok sa machine… para maging maayos,” she said.
Asked whether he is confident about his chances of making a Senate comeback this year, Lacson said he is “hoping”.
He reminded voters to be discerning and consider the younger generations when deciding who to vote for.
Should he win a Senate seat, Lacson said among his priority measures is ensuring that local governments will also benefit from the national budget.
Asked about his thoughts on the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, Lacson refused to comment.
EARLY VOTERS
Other candidates spotted in their respective polling precincts around 7 a.m. were Querubin, Revillame and Revilla.
Speaking to reporters, Lapid urged voters to vote for him, saying it will be his fourth and last term in the Senate.
He also expressed hope of returning to the popular series “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” despite the death of his character Supremo.
Senatorial candidate Tito Sotto and his wife Helen Gamboa also voted early and used the senior citizen lane in Monday's polls. They said their voting experience was "pleasant."
Boxing legend and senatorial candidate Manny Pacquiao cast his vote early Monday at Kiamba Central Elementary School, arriving around 8 a.m. in the hometown of his wife, Jinkee.
Senatorial candidate Rep. Camille Villar meanwhile registered her vote at the Las Piñas City National Science High School.
Senate bet Erwin Tulfo has also cast his vote Monday morning.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said some 12 million senior citizens are eligible to vote in the 2025 midterm elections.
Over 18,000 elective positions will be up for grabs for those who successfully filed their candidacies:
- • Senators - 12
- • Party-List Representatives - 63
- • Member, House of Representatives - 254
- • Governor - 82
- • Vice Governor - 82
- • Provincial board member - 800
- • City Mayor - 149
- • City Vice Mayor - 149
- • City councilor - 1,690
- • Municipal Mayor - 1,493
- • Municipal Vice Mayor - 1,493
- • Municipal councilor - 11,948
- • BARMM Members of the Parliament - 25
- • BARMM Party Representatives - 40
- • TOTAL: 18,280