Eleven popular news, entertainment, and sports personalities could fill the 24-member Philippine Senate after the May 2025 elections — an unprecedented number in the history of Philippine politics.
Four celebrities who won in 2022 will serve three more years: actors Robin Padilla and Jinggoy Estrada, and news broadcasters Loren Legarda and Raffy Tulfo.
By the count of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), seven other celebrities could win Senate seats if pre-election surveys hold until election day next year.
News broadcasters Erwin and Ben Tulfo, who are brothers of Senator Tulfo, and former Senate President Vicente Sotto III are among the leaders in the newly released survey of Pulse Asia. More than 50% of the respondents said they want to see them in the Senate next year.
Four other celebrities are within the survey’s “Magic 12.” Returning senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao; reelectionists Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Lito Lapid Lapid; and TV host Willie Revillame.
If they all win, the media celebrities will make up nearly half of the 24-member legislative chamber.
Twenty-one of the 24 seats could also be filled by members of political families, with at least one other family member currently holding an elective position.
Among the media celebrities, all but one are part of such families.
PCIJ’s count only includes media celebrities inside the “Magic 12” of the Pulse Asia survey conducted from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3, 2024.
It does not include social media celebrity actor Philip Salvador and 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Bonifacio Bosita, who is a social media celebrity himself. They ranked from 19th to 24th in the same survey.
Meanwhile, the other candidates within the winning circle in next year’s elections are re-electionists Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Pia Cayetano, and Imee Marcos; returning senator Panfilo Lacson Sr. and first-time senatorial candidate, Makati Mayor Abigail Binay.
The candidates trailing the “Magic 12” are re-electionist Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa; Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar; former senators Francis Pangilinan, Gregorio Honasan, and Bam Aquino; and former Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos.
Some of them, like Villar and Abalos, have been spending significant amounts on advertising. They will seek to get ahead and dislodge their competition.
Celebrities win in name recall
Experts have always described the senatorial race as “a game of name recall.” “It is rooted within Philippine politics, especially in national contests like the senatorial elections,” political science professor Julio Teehankee told PCIJ.
When Filipinos troop to voting precincts on election day, they are not always able to vote for 12 senators. They only pick the names they can remember.
Jo-Ann Maglipon, veteran journalist editor and founding editor of PEP.ph, said it is not hard to see why voters are choosing actors.
“They have branding. They have reach,” she told PCIJ.
Padilla, a movie and TV star, topped the 2022 senatorial race with more than 26 million votes or about 40% of the total voter turnout that year.
Between someone with no name or a name known only to a few sectors, and someone the whole country knows, has been fighting goons and other villains, and has been a nice lover to a woman or has provided laughs for a country, who do you think they will vote for?
jo-ann maglipon, pep editor in chief
“Between someone with no name or a name known only to a few sectors, and someone the whole country knows, has been fighting goons and other villains, and has been a nice lover to a woman or has provided laughs for a country, who do you think they will vote for?” she said.
People will want to find candidates who can make their lives better, she said.
2022 WINNING SENATORS
| Winning Senator | Total votes |
| 1. Robin Padilla | 26,612,434 |
| 2. Loren Legarda | 24,264,969 |
| 3. Raffy Tulfo | 23,396,954 |
| 4. Sherwin Gatchalian | 20,602,655 |
| 5. Francis Escudero | 20,271,458 |
| 6. Mark Villar | 19,475,592 |
| 7. Alan Peter Cayetano | 19,295,314 |
| 8. Juan Miguel Zubiri | 18,734,336 |
| 9. Joel Villanueva | 18,486,034 |
| 10. JV Ejercito | 15,841,858 |
| 11. Risa Hontiveros | 15,420,807 |
| 12. Jinggoy Estrada | 15,108,625 |
Celebrity power is evident not only in the country’s senatorial elections but also in various local races. Among the biggest celebrities in the 2025 elections are Batangas gubernatorial candidate Vilma Santos, Leyte reelectionist Rep. Richard Gomez, Manila mayoral candidate Isko Moreno, and Quezon City reelectionist Rep. Arjo Atayde.
Actors understand poverty in many areas in the Philippines, said Maglipon. They are also able to build lasting connections with people through their exposure to communities where they shoot or interact.
“These stars, when they go on location, they see how people live. They see what they lack. They see what they can help out with, because they go to barrios, to Payatas, to marketplaces where actual people live. Now, they get exposed,” Maglipon said.
But Maglipon scoffs at actors who run not because they want to serve but because they were recruited by “bigger names” to run for elective protests to protect the “personal interests” of their patrons.
Reel vs real
Jinggoy Estrada was the other actor to win in 2022. He ranked 12th, the so-called cliffhanger, despite a string of corruption controversies hounding him.
He was convicted of bribery in the so-called “pork barrel” scam, one of the biggest corruption cases in the country. The verdict was reversed in August this year on his appeal.
Revilla, who will seek reelection next year, continued to leverage his movie character as the swashbuckling hero who fights for the poor.
Revilla’s ads for the 2025 elections declare that he is also a man of action in real life.
“Aksyon sa tunay na buhay,” one of his billboards reads.
In reality, Revilla was also linked to the multi-billion peso “pork barrel” scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Napoles, who was convicted of money laundering.
Revilla was charged with, but was acquitted of plunder charges. He has not complied with the court order to return P124 million in the scam.
Despite these controversies, polls show 43.5% of voters will want Revilla back in the Senate.
Maglipon said a celebrity’s long-established on-screen image can outweigh controversies or questionable behavior.
“It is the latter-day images of the plunderer or maybe inappropriate language are no match to the image long-established in the film,” Maglipon said.
Three Tulfos in the Senate
In the next 20th Congress, the Senate is poised to have three members coming from one family.
News broadcasters Erwin and Ben Tulfo could join their brother Raffy in the chamber.
In the 2022 elections topped by Padilla, Raffy ranked third with more than 23 million votes.
The November 2024 Pulse Asia pre-election surveys show that 62.2% and 52.7% of survey respondents want Ben and Erwin, respectively, in the Senate.
The Tulfo brothers, according to Maglipon, draw their strength from the weak government.
They are known for their vigilante investigative journalism on-air, which has reached its peak with the masses brimming with disappointment and longing for justice from the government.
“If the government were stronger, if there were more avenues for people to bring their complaints to, to share their worries with, to find solutions for the things that they need help with, then there would be no venue, no big alchemy for somebody who is using the microphone and castigating some official who didn’t do his job, etcetera,” Maglipon said.
“He can play the big guy because the government is so weak.” The Tulfos are the perfect epitome of aspiring politicians with “bleeding hearts” who claim they want to help the Filipino people.
Fellow news broadcaster Legarda placed second in the 2022 polls with more than 24 million votes.
Social media
Getting their name out there, getting people to know they’re running in the elections. That’s the first level that influencers have already skipped.
lente executive director rona ann caritos
The Tulfos are not only widely followed news broadcasters, said Rona Ann Caritos, executive director of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente). She said the brothers’ power also comes from their popularity on social media.
The Tulfos have it all – branding, reach, name recall, and even the dynastic power.
“Influencers have a bigger advantage. Those who are famous on different platforms whether or not they have resources have a bigger advantage just because people know them,” Caritos said.
“That’s the first step. Getting their name out there, getting people to know they’re running in the elections. That’s the first level that influencers have already skipped,” she added.
At least two other social media celebrities are running for a Senate seat next year: Willie Ong and 1-Rider party list group Rep. Bonifacio Bosita.
Obese dynasty
If you exceed four or five [family members in politics], that’s already obese. Sobrang taba na. It’s not good for the health of democracy.
Julio teehankee, political analyst
All eyes will be on the Tulfo political clan in next year’s elections. There could be seven Tulfos in Congress next year if they all win in the polls.
Four other family members are seeking seats in the House of Representatives. The incumbent senator’s wife, ACT-CIS party-list group Rep. Jocelyn Tulfo, and their son, Quezon City Rep. Ralph Tulfo Jr., are seeking reelection.
Senator Tulfo’s sister Wanda Teo is also running as the first nominee of Ang Turismo party-list group, while her son Robert Tulfo Teo is the third nominee.
Yet the aspiring neophyte brothers do not believe they are building a dynasty.
In a press conference after filing their certificates of candidacy (COCs) on Oct. 5, Ben claimed there is no dynasty when there are no family members at the local or district level.
Teehankee, who called the Tulfo candidacies a “reunion” of their broadcast show, said Ben’s assumption is “based on a wrong definition of political dynasties.”
“Political dynasties refer to the concentration, consolidation, or perpetuation of political power in persons related to one another…It doesn’t matter if you’re district-based or you’re in the Senate or if you’re representing a party or organization,” Teehankee said.
“If you exceed four or five [family members in politics], that’s already obese. Sobrang taba na. It’s not good for the health of democracy,” Teehankee said.
All but one of the 11 media celebrities belong to a family. Revilla and Pacquiao head “obese” dynasites in Cavite and in Sarangani and neighboring General Santos, respectively.
Lapid is the leader of his political dynasty in Pampanga, while the relatives of Sotto and Estrada occupy elected positions in multiple provinces.
Legarda married into the Leviste political dynasty of Batangas. Her son Leandro Leviste is now running for a House seat in the province’s 1st District.
Meanwhile, Senator Padilla is the brother of Camarines Norte Gov. Ricaforte Padilla.
Meanwhile, Willie Revillame is not known to be a member of political family.
Celebrities build their own dynasties
Former President Joseph Estrada was the first to leverage his popularity in elections after the fall of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the restoration of democracy following the 1986 “People Power.”
Four decades later, the Estrada political clan would grow into one of the country’s biggest dynasties. Two of his sons are sitting senators: Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. JV Ejercito. Other family members occupy seats in San Juan City in Metro Manila and in Laguna province south of the country capital.
Estrada joined the Senate after the 1987 elections and would rub elbows with well-respected senators Jovito Salonga, Wigberto Tañada, Rene Saguisag, and Leticia Ramos-Shahani, among others.
He would become one of the 12 senators who voted to throw out the US bases.
As Estrada got elected as vice president in 1992 and president in 1998, more celebrities followed him in national politics. Ramon Revilla Sr., Vicente Sotto III, and Freddie Webb won seats in the Senate in 1992.
By the 12th Congress in 2001, the Senate would have five or six celebrities of the total 24 members. They were news broadcasters Noli de Castro and Legarda, TV and movie stars Revilla Sr. and Sotto, basketball legend Robert Jaworski, and popular lawyer Renato Cayetano.
Six was the highest number of seats the celebrities have secured so far. In the current 19th Congress, there are also six celebrities in the 24-man chamber.
PCIJ research showed that 11 celebrities are joining the race. This is thrice the usual number of celebrities in the senatorial race, with 2010 having four actors and one newscaster; 2013 with one newscaster; 2016 with three actors, an athlete, and a newscaster; 2019 with three actors, one social media influencer, and one singer; and 2022 with two actors and three newscasters.
Declining trust on politicians
When those who are knowledgeable or expected to be knowledgeable do such a bad job, somebody is bound to say, hey, maybe it’s better to have bleeding hearts who are not efficient in making money and getting ahead and making a career.
jo-ann maglipon, veteran journalist and PEP editor in chief
Ultimately, the rise of media celebrities also reflects voters’ increasing dissatisfaction with politicians.
“When those who are knowledgeable or expected to be knowledgeable do such a bad job, somebody is bound to say, ‘hey, maybe it’s better to have bleeding hearts who are not efficient in making money and getting ahead and making a career’,” said Maglipon.
Maglipon echoed a 2016 research in the Philippine Political Science Journal that suggests that celebrities are a “viable alternative” for Filipino voters who seem to have declining trust in traditional politicians.
More than half of the senators are hounded by corruption controversies, based on PCIJ’s research.
The same research also said that the “power of celebrity over the public” proposes that it is based on emotion, irrationality, and sentiment, a result not of individual achievement but of a “construction of a public personality.”
Voters don’t have choices, said Teehankee.
“They have no choice. Our voters are actually smart. They vote because they receive help. Whoever can help them, they will vote for. But this is not a reflection of their weak decision-making. They just don’t have a choice,” he said.
“There’s a high demand among voters for good politics, good governance, and issue-based politics. The problem is, there’s a limited supply of such kind of politicians due to cartel, oligopoly, monopoly of dynasties,” he said. — PCIJ.org.