Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s grip on political power loosened following a disappointing result in the country’s midterm elections this week, in a vote pitting the president against his one-time ally (and current bête noire), Vice President Sara Duterte.
Marcos Jr.’s camp scored six of the 12 senate seats up for grabs in the election, which also featured gubernatorial, mayoral, and lower-house votes. The Philippine senate has 24 total seats.
Candidates aligned with Sara Duterte, the daughter of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte (who is awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court), secured four seats. And despite being detained at The Hague over alleged crimes against humanity, the senior Duterte was elected mayor of Davao, a southern city of 1.8 million people, in a landslide.
The senate vote was seen as a referendum on the leadership of Marcos Jr., who, since coming to power in 2022, has pushed hard to strengthen ties with Western powers such as the U.S.
Ottawa is looking to finalize a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with the Philippines, which would enable the countries’ militaries to operate and train together in Canadian and Philippine territory.
In 2024, Mary Ng, then international trade minister, led Canada’s largest-ever trade mission to the Philippines. The same month, the two countries announced exploratory discussions for a potential bilateral free trade agreement.
