Blood on the Ballots: Political violence and the Philippine Vote 

ELECTION-RELATED violence continues to haunt the democratic exercise in the country, a reality that authorities expect to worsen with the official start of the local campaign period on March 28, 2025. Historically, conflict-prone areas have been noted as “hotspots,” undermining the prospect of free and fair elections.

Incendiary Rhetoric and Rising Tensions

Not surprisingly, Former President Rodrigo Duterte contributed early to the buildup of volatility with an inflammatory remark. During a rally on February 18, 2025, he said that 15 opposition senators should be “killed” to make way for his party’s candidates in the May elections – a kind of rhetoric that only charged up the atmosphere with more violence, as cases had begun to mount as early as October 2024, the filing of candidacies. 

From January 12, the official start of the election period, the Philippine National Police (PNP) recorded 12 election-related incidents. But media suggested a higher number by reporting separate cases, indicating possible under-reporting by authorities. CMFR has noted how media pick up reports from police blotters which do not capture the connection of victims to politics. 

Since the filing of certificates of candidacies in October 2024 until February 17, CMFR counted 29 attacks reported in the media, with seven cases in October, four in November, four in December, 8 in January 2025, and 6 more until February 17. Of the 29 targeted victims, only five survived. (See: “Election-Related Killings receive scant media attention | CMFR“)

Thirteen more cases were counted from February 18 to April 10, 2025, with most cases in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Electoral violence is mostly experienced in local and provincial politics. The candidates in Metro Manila seem more shielded from its affliction. 

Documented Election-Related Killings and Attacks

From February 18 to April 10, 2025, CMFR has so far recorded the following election-related attacks and killings as reported in the news: 

• February 24, 2025: Omar Samama, Vice Mayor of Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, and a reelectionist, was shot and injured while delivering a speech at an event. He survived the attack.
  
• February 28, 2025: Habib Jamir, the campaign manager of mayoral candidate Rhomar Matolo in Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi, was shot and killed in Barangay Himba. 
  
• February 28, 2025: The convoy of Artemio Donato Jr., a mayoral candidate in Pidigan, Abra, was ambushed in Sitio Palicad, Barangay Poblacion, Pilar, Abra. The attack resulted in the deaths of Froilan Bueno, the barangay chairman of Quillat, Langiden town, and his cousin Kevin Bueno, who was driving the vehicle. Another passenger, Sonny Bisares, was injured. Donato was unharmed.
  
• March 12, 2025: Melchor Gatmen, a candidate for the Sangguniang Bayan in Pilar, Abra, was shot and killed while riding a motorcycle with a companion in Barangay Dintan. The companion was unharmed. 
  
• March 12, 2025: Ruben Gadil Balubar, former barangay captain of Lubong, Bangued, Abra, was shot near Serenity Resort in Barangay Agtangao, Bangued. He sustained a gunshot wound to the leg and survived the attack.
  
• March 21, 2025: Mark Anthony Go, a vice mayoral candidate, was ambushed in Barangay Sappac, Bangued, Abra.
  
• March 25, 2025: Juanito Limis Gammong, driver of mayoral candidate Lenin Benwaren, was shot and killed in Bangued. 
  
• March 26, 2025: Barangay Captain Dennis Billedo, municipal councilor candidate, was ambushed in Sitio Calumbitin, San Antonio, Bangued, Abra. He was injured but survived. 
  
• April 4, 2025: A grenade hurled at the home of Loreto Laureta, the barangay chairman of Bangbangar, Bangued, Abra. The grenade failed to detonate, resulting in no injuries or damage.
  
• April 6, 2025: Dhemaison Ugan Libeng, was killed in Gaddani, Tayum Town, Abra. Lenin Benwaren’s camp, a mayor candidate in Tineg, Abra, claimed that Libeng was one of his supporters. 
  
• April 7, 2025: Barangay chairperson Lou Claro and municipal councilor candidate Manzano Agdalpen Jr. were killed during a campaign rally in Barangay Nagtupacan, Lagangilang, Abra. The incident began when Agdalpen punched a man in the crowd. As tensions escalated, Agdalpen allegedly shot Claro—who tried to intervene—while an unidentified gunman fired back at Agdalpen, killing him.
  
• April 9, 2025: Barangay Chairman Binhar Alon Jawad and his companion were ambushed in Barangay Montay, Malabang, Lanao del Sur. Jawad died on the spot while his companion Norhan Sarip sustained wounds.
  
• April 10, 2025: Kerwin Espinosa, a mayoral candidate who is also a confessed drug lord in Eastern Visayas, was shot and wounded at a campaign event in Barangay Tinag-an in Albuera, Leyte.

Of the 13 cases, nine were in Abra. The Commission on Elections has placed three towns in Abra in the “orange” category – areas facing serious armed threats. Six other towns are classified in the “yellow” category, areas with a history of election violence. 

A March 31 editorial in The Philippine Star and news in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (March 14) and Rappler (April 7) pointed to the escalation of attacks in Abra, listing case after case in the said province. 

In Rappler, Chris Magno, an associate professor at Gannon University, highlighted the historical roots and the systemic factors that perpetuate election-related violence, discussing the role of warlords in its development, and their origins rooted in private militias that were formed after World War II. These continue to exert political influence in local politics, contributing to the cycle of violence and impunity. 

The cases of violence are reported differently by the media. The killings of election officers and high-profile political figures receive widespread national attention; attacks on local candidates and grassroots-level political figures are often underreported or relegated to regional news outlets. This fragmented coverage creates gaps in public awareness and diminishes the perceived scale of the issue. 

Some print and online media such as Rappler and Inquirer with correspondents from the Cordilleras were more consistent, tracking news reports, noting the rising count, and being quick in their news reports on the killings in Abra.

Violence gives rise to fear among voters. The ruthlessness of partisan competition must hinder citizens from choosing their leaders freely. And yet there seems little concern about its impact on elections in general.  

Electoral violence has not been subjected to as much study as other phenomena such as patronage, compadrazco politics, and political dynasties. But one could argue that the threat of violence is a reality that affects the quality of our elections. Surely it deserves more attention not just from reporters, but from Comelec, from political leaders, and from the academe.

Can we have genuinely free and fair elections with so much blood on the ballot?