One of the most common sights that Filipinos see during the elections are celebrities attempting to transition from the entertainment industry to the country’s positions of power. The 2019 midterm elections saw several successful bids, as well as losses.
The winners
Senator Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla are both in the running to win seats at the Senate. Lapid is at 7th place while Revilla’s position is around the 10th-12th place as of press time.
In Manila, former Vice Mayor and action star Isko Moreno won against former President and Manila Mayor reelectionist Joseph “Erap” Estrada with a wide lead of 329,108 against Estrada’s 192,600.
Sons of Eat Bulaga’s Vic Sotto and Senator Tito Sotto also won in their bids. Vic’s son Vico won his Mayoral bid at Pasig City against Bobby Eusebio. Tito’s son, Gian was hailed as the new Quezon City vice mayor.
Celebrity couple Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres-Gomez are set to take their positions at Ormoc and Leyte respectively. Richard was reelected for his second term as Ormoc City mayor, while Lucy was reelected as the representative of Leyte’s 4th district.
Vilma Santos-Recto, one of the Philippines’ most prominent actresses who successfully managed to transition to politics, continues to enjoy the confidence of the public vote as she enjoys a huge lead for her bid as the 6th district representative of Batangas.
Unsuccessful bids
However, not all celebrities managed to win against their political adversaries.
At the national level, former action stars Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito both failed to make it within the ‘Magic 12’ and are at the 13th to 15th place. Their dad, Erap – lost against Moreno for what was supposed to be his 3rd term as the Mayor of Manila.
Former broadcast journalist Jiggy Manicad, and ‘Anak’ singer and composer Freddie Aguilar, also failed in their senatorial bids.
Roderick Paulate lost against the battle against Tito Sotto’s son, Gian for the seat of Quezon City’s vice mayor.
Celebrity host and former Optical Media Board chairman Edu Manzano failed his congressional bid at San Juan, losing to reelectionist Ronaldo Zamora.
