Twelve Senate seats are currently being contested by 64 candidates that include neophytes, reelectionists and come-backing former senators in the upcoming May 9 elections. The 12 winners will complete the 24-member upper chamber of Congress.
Twelve incumbent senators — Senators Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, Ronald dela Rosa, Bong Go, Lito Lapid, Imee Marcos, Koko Pimentel, Grace Poe, Bong Revilla, Francis Tolentino, and Cynthia Villar will end their six-year terms in 2025.
The other 12, who were elected in 2016, include last-termers Senate President Vicente Sotto III, nho now runs for vice president, and Senators Ralph Recto and Franklin Drilon who are not eligible for reelection; they will conclude their second consecutive six-year term; Senators Panfilo Lacson, Manny Pacquiao, and Francis Pangilinan are eligible for reelection but but have opted to target higher positions. Lacson and Pacquiao are presidential candidates, while Pangilinan aspires for the vice presidency.
Currently running for reelection are Senators Joel Villanueva, Risa Hontiveros, Richard Gordon, Leila de Lima, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Miguel Zubiri.
Sen. Recto for his part eyes the Batangas 6th District congressional post while Drilon has decided to retire.
“I’m not running for any position, I have served enough, I think I have contributed. Let’s give others a chance,” Drilon said in a recent online forum.
Seven other former senators are staging their come-back attempts. They include Sorsogon Governor Francis Escudero, Antique Lone District Representative Loren Legarda, Taguig-Pateros Representative Allan Peter Cayetano, former Department of Information and Communications Secretary Gregorio Honasan, Antonio Trillanes and half-brothers Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito.