According to the Associated Press on the 13th, the preliminary vote counting results of the Philippines' 2025 midterm elections show that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was detained in the International Criminal Court of The Hague, Netherlands, has led the mayoral election in the hometown city of Davao by overwhelmingly, and other members of the Duterte family also performed well in this midterm election.

　　The official results will be announced within a week, but some informal counts conducted by the election watchdog show Duterte received more than 500,000 votes in Davao City, eight times the number of second-ranked opponents. Under Duterte's original Facebook account, supporters' congratulations were overwhelming.

  In March this year, Duterte was arrested at the Philippine airport and is currently in custody in The Hague. This has sparked protests from a large number of supporters, saying it was a kidnapping. Analysts previously said Duterte's arrest would only give him and his family a stronger support in Davao and elsewhere.

　　Earlier on the 12th, Duterte's daughter, Philippine Vice President Sarah, said when asked about her father's possible victory that a plan would be formulated for him to be sworn in as mayor.

  This is the scene of the first pretrial trial of the International Criminal Court filmed in The Hague, Netherlands on March 14, and former Philippine President Duterte attended the event via video link. Xinhua News Agency (Photo provided by the International Criminal Court)

  It is reported that the Duterte family performed well in this midterm election and exceeded expectations. Duterte's youngest son, current mayor of Davao City Sebastian, also leads the unofficial vote count in the Davao City deputy mayoral election. His eldest son, Paul, is seeking re-election for the House, and his two grandchildren are also leading the local elections. In addition, at least five candidates supported by the Duterte family led the race for 12 Senate seats.

  This progress is good news for Duterte's daughter Sarah. She will be impeached in the Senate in July this year on a series of charges including alleged abuse of public funds and conspiracy to assassinate current President Marcos.

　　Sarah is considered a strong contender for the 2028 presidential campaign. But if convicted by the Senate, she will lose her position and be disqualified from the public office. To be acquitted, she needs at least nine of the 24 senators to vote for her.

  Under Philippine law, candidates facing criminal charges, including those in detainees, can run for office unless they have been convicted and exhausted of all opportunities for appeal.

　　Voters voted at the polling station on May 12 in Quezon City, Philippines. Xinhua News Agency (photo taken by Umali)

  The Philippines held the 2025 midterm elections on the 12th, with nearly 70 million registered voters participating in the voting. According to the Philippine Election Commission, this election will re-elect all 317 seats in the House of Representatives and 12 of the 24 seats in the Senate. In addition, local administrative heads and local council members of various provinces and cities across the Philippines will also be re-elected.

  In order to maintain public order during the election, the Philippine police entered a "full alert" state on May 3 and deployed more than 160,000 police officers nationwide. (Reporter: Yang Yunqi; Comprehensive reference news report)

[Editor in charge: Zhang Ruochen and Xie Yan]