Representative Maan Teodoro and former mayor Del de Guzman were elected mayor and vice mayor respectively, defeating their opponents Representative Stella Quimbo and incumbent vice mayor Marion Andres. Teodoro's Team Marikina City under the National Unity Party retained a majority in the city council, but saw their seat share decline. Quimbo's Team Bagong Marikina under Lakas–CMD remained in the minority while gaining three seats. Outgoing mayor Marcelino Teodoro and former Representative Miro Quimbo were elected as the representatives for the first and second districts respectively, both being elected to a fourth nonconsecutive term.
The election was held during the suspension of the outgoing Teodoro administration. The campaign period was defined by fierce competition between the two coalitions. Major local issues throughout the contest included the local debt and support for the local shoe industry. Allegations of vote buying through the misuse of welfare programs were rife throughout the campaign, as well as the proliferation of disinformation.
In the 2022 elections, Marcelino Teodoro and Marion Andres were elected to the mayoralty and vice mayoralty respectively, both winning with wide margins against their closest opponents.[1] Their coalition, Team MarCy, attained outright control of the city council, winning 14 of the 16 elective seats in the legislature.[2] Nationally, a majority of the Marikina electorate voted for the UniTeam ticket of Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte for president and vice president, respectively.[3][4] In 2025, there were 315,980 voters registered in the city.[5]
Suspension of the administration
Councilors Rommel and Ronnie Acuña have served as acting mayor and vice mayor respectively, following Teodoro's suspension.
On May 15, 2024, a technical malversation complaint was filed against Teodoro and three other city officials before the Office of the Ombudsman. The complaint claimed that a 2024 budgetary ordinance passed by the Marikina City Council allocated ₱130 million in PhilHealth reimbursements to "IT equipment, repair and maintenance of infrastructure and/or donations," rather than the improvement the city's healthcare system, violating a provision of the Universal Health Care Act.[6] Teodoro's camp derided the complaint as a "mere product of misapprehension and misunderstanding of the facts."[6] Mayors for Good Governance, a group of local executives, deemed the complaints politically motivated and described Teodoro as transparent and accountable.[7]
On March 25, 2025, three days before the start of the campaign period, the Office of the Ombudsman issued a preventive suspension order against Teodoro, Andres, and their allies in the city council, in effect for six months, as a response to the complaint.[8][9] The constitutional body deemed that there was "strong evidence showing their guilt" which warranted the removal of the suspended officials from office, hence their granting of the suspension order.[10] In response, the Department of the Interior and Local Government appointed twin councilors Rommel and Ronnie Acuña as acting mayor and vice mayor, respectively, to ensure the continuity of government operations during the suspension.[11][12]
Teodoro's camp condemned the suspension as "a broader effort to derail" his coalition's campaign.[13][14] The Mayors for Good Governance urged the office to conduct a "just and transparent investigation" on the complaint against Teodoro.[15][16]
Coalitions
The filing of certificates of candidacy were conducted from October 1 to 8, 2024, from which local slates were formalized and announced.[17]
Team Bagong Marikina
Representative Stella Quimbo and her husband Miro, a former representative, ran for mayor and representative respectively under Team Bagong Marikina (lit.'Team New Marikina'; also stylized as Team Bagong Marik1na) which was affiliated with Lakas–CMD and was hence nominally part of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.[18][19] During the campaign, Quimbo's coalition endorsed Senator Koko Pimentel as their candidate for representative in the first district.[20]
Following the landslide victory of his Team MarCy coalition in 2022, Teodoro's administration has partnered with Senator Koko Pimentel and his wife, diplomat Kathryna, in implementing projects in the city, including a health caravan in April 2024.[23] After Teodoro filed to run in the first district for the elections to the House of Representatives, Pimentel followed suit, pitting the two together and rendering the partnership moot.[24]
In an October 2024 interview, amid the filing of the certificates of candidacies, the former Pimentel revealed that he and Teodoro had agreed that he would run for representative in the first district while Teodoro would run in the second after forming informal arrangements from December 2023 to February 2024.[24] In response, Teodoro clarified that Pimentel's camp left the alliance on July 28, leaving the administration without a candidate in the first district, hence his decision to contest the congressional seat there.[25]
The Marikina Freedom Park in Santa Elena, a perennial site of political events.
The campaign period for local elections began on March 28, 2025, and ended on May 10.[26] The contest was highly competitive between the two major political factions in local politics—the National Unity Party-affiliated Teodoro camp and the Lakas–CMD-affiliated Quimbo camp.[27] With each faction led by couples, James Patrick Cruz of Rappler has described Marikina as being under a "conjugal leadership," regardless of the election's outcome.[27] During the campaign, the candidates and coalitions held motorcades in support of their candidacies.[19]
The election period has been defined as being more fiercely contested than past elections, owing to the legal battles that characterized its run.[28]
Organizations and unions including the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry have expressed disappointment for the "inaction" of past administrations in addressing the concerns stemming from the stagnant Marikina Shoe Industry, which, while ubiquitous, has been declining since trade liberalization in the late 20th century.[28][29] In contrast, the Marikina-based Philippine Footwear Federation Incorporated criticized media outlets for not reaching out to them in their articles discussing the shoe industry's contemporary performance.[30] The organization deemed their reports unbalanced against the incumbent local government, whose programs and assistance they deemed were central to an increase in their income and market reach.[30]
Messaging and themes
Team Bagong Marikina
Team Bagong Marikina's platform revolved around managing the city's debt, carrying out their vision of transforming Marikina into a "business-friendly" start-up city, and attending to the needs of the city's health centers.[31] The coalition aims to cut business taxes and secure adequate funding from the national government to alleviate the city's ₱3.6 billion outstanding debt and to fund local projects.[32] Moreover, the coalition expressed support for the Wawa Dam project as a means of flood control and attracting businesses and investments into the city.[33]
In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Stella criticized the incumbent administration for "blocking" the programs she pushed in her capacity as a representative and cited "political survival" as a motivation for seeking the mayoralty at the same time as her husband Miro's congressional bid, accusing the Teodoros of attempting to erase the couple from local politics.[34]
The Quimbo campaign was characterized by its media appearances in contrast to the Teodoros' preference for alliance-sanctioned events.[35] Stella cited misinformation as a top concern in the campaign, having been the subject of fake graphics that circulated on social media.[36][37] The Pimentel campaign in the first district has centered itself around the revival of the shoe industry, financing local initiatives that aim to boost the industry and opening public exhibitions of local products.[38][39][40][41]
Team Marikina City
Team Marikina City's platform sought to make the city "climate-resilient" and more business-friendly with "digitalization" and "ease of doing business" policies.[22] Supporters of the administration, including the Association of Clans in Marikina, have defended the Teodoros amid their legal battles, condemning their suspension as "dirty politics," regarding it as being politically motivated and slanderous.[42] Before the campaign period began, supporters of Marcelino Teodoro gathered at the Marikina Freedom Park for a protest and prayer vigil over the mayor's suspension.[43]
On May 12, the day of the election, a Manila resident was arrested for distributing falsified printout tabloids in Santo Niño that suggested that Marcelino Teodoro was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) with finality.[46] The man arrested claimed that he was promised a cash sum for distributing the material.[46] In response, COMELEC Chairman George Garcia warned of more misinformation surfacing on election day and cited the incident as such a case.[47] Stella Quimbo denied any involvement with the incident and asserted that she had no reason to oppose Teodoro in the first district.[48]
Politicization of welfare programs
Quimbo camp
"We find this alarming because we, public school teachers, are not poor or in crisis and do not fall under the usual DSWD guidelines for this kind of help."
"There is no adequate basis for the report, nor confirmed groups or truth. This is defamation, not legitimate journalism."
Marikina Federation of Public School Teachers, in a subsequent statement
On April 25, alleged incidents of vote buying and abuse of state resources from the camp of Team Bagong Marikina prompted the COMELEC to issue a show-cause order against Stella and Miro Quimbo to clarify their actions on the matter.[49][50] In response, the Quimbos released a joint statement denying the claims and ensuring their compliance with the order.[51]
On April 30, a 20-year-old delivery rider died of cardiac arrest at a payout for a financial assistance program led by Stella at the Marikina Sports Center in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The event coordinators received criticism online for the event's conduct, alleging that the organizers prioritized damage control over proper emergency response.[52][53]
On May 3, GMA Integrated News reported that a group of public school teachers in the city urged the COMELEC and the Department of Education to investigate Stella's handling of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program of the DSWD in her district.[54] The teachers who requested anonymity from the site, fearing reprisal, stated that the distribution of aid under the program targeted teachers who do not satisfy the program's requirements and thus may be tantamount to vote buying.[55][56] The following day, the Marikina Federation of Public School Teachers distanced itself from the reported complaint and criticized the article for its use of anonymous sources, condemning the report as "irresponsible reporting".[57] The article itself was subsequently removed from the news site.[57] On May 7, a principal and a faculty president confirmed that the payout took place from April 21 to 23, both of which stated that they had verified the project after being persuaded that the project was "for their fellow teachers."[58]
Koko Pimentel has been criticized online for appearing at an orientation for the TUPAD program of the Department of Labor and Employment in Parang on the first day of the campaign period.[20]
Teodoro camp
On May 5, a member of a local media community, supported by eight signed affidavits, filed a complaint at the COMELEC alleging that Maan Teodoro engaged in vote buying during her campaign sorties.[59][60] The COMELEC subsequently issued a show cause order against Maan and Marcelino Teodoro on May 5 to clarify their actions on the matter.[61][62] Maan subsequently denied the allegations, deeming it politically motivated.[63] She expressed skepticism over the complaint's intentions, owing to how the claimant was a propagator of pro-Quimbo content on social media.[63][64][65]
Debates and forums
On January 15, 2025, Rappler announced that they will organize a public forum for candidates for the mayoralty, vice mayoralty, and Congress on February 9.[66]
Incumbent mayor Marcelino Teodoro is term-limited.
The incumbent mayor was Marcelino Teodoro, who had served since 2016 and was reelected in 2022 with 82.08% of the vote. Teodoro was term-limited and barred from seeking re-election. Teodoro is also preventively suspended from the position, with Rommel Acuña being appointed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government as acting mayor. Acuña sought re-election to the city council. This was the first election since 2010 in which an incumbent mayor is ineligible for re-election. Cristina Chi of the Philippine Star has assessed the mayoral race as a "high-stakes" battle.[67]
Media outlets, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Manila Bulletin, have speculated that Representative Maan Teodoro will run for mayor and head the administration ticket in 2025.[68][69] Teodoro formally filed her certificate of candidacy for the office on October 7, 2024.[70]
Representative Stella Quimbo expressed her interest in running for mayor early in the race.[71][72] Despite facing scrutiny with her support of the Maharlika Wealth Fund and defense of Vice President Sara Duterte's use of confidential funds during the 19th Congress, Quimbo stated that she will remain with the Liberal Party for the 2025 election.[72][73] Her retention in the party was affirmed by party officials amid calls to sanction Quimbo as a party member, citing its recognition of the "freedom of expression and dissent".[74] Quimbo's husband, Miro, confirmed her bid for the mayoralty on July 22, 2024, prior to the 2024 State of the Nation Address.[67] She would file her candidacy on October 9 as a member of Lakas–CMD.[67][75]
Former mayor Marides Fernando was in talks for a mayoral run; she ultimately declined to launch a bid for the mayoralty and subsequently endorsed Quimbo.[76][77]Independent candidate Luisa Fajardo, a lawyer specializing in tribal customary who advocated for federalism, sought the office, but was not included in the ballot.[78][79][80]
Teodoro narrowly defeated Quimbo. She won all barangays except for Tumana.[87][88] Quimbo failed to carry her home barangay of Concepcion Dos by a slim margin.[89]
GMA News called the mayoral race for Teodoro at 10:45 p.m. (PhST) on the night of the election, followed by ABS-CBN soon thereafter.[87][88]
The incumbent vice mayor was Marion Andres, who had served since 2019 and was reelected in 2022 with 69.94% of the vote. Andres previously held the office from 2001 to 2010 under the administration of Marides Fernando. As the running mate of Maan Teodoro, Andres ran for re-election to a third consecutive (sixth nonconsecutive) term.[22] Andres is preventively suspended from the position, with Ronnie Acuña being appointed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government as acting vice mayor. Acuña sought re-election to the city council.
Del de Guzman, a former mayor and the running mate of Stella Quimbo, challenged Andres for the office.[67] De Guzman previously held the office from 1992 to 2001 under Bayani Fernando. Independent Annie Retes, a lawyer specializing in tribal customary law, also launched a bid for the office as the running mate of Luisa Fajardo.[78][79][80]
De Guzman narrowly defeated Andres, unseating him and marking his return to the office.[106] He won all barangays in the second district whereas Andres won all barangays in the first.
The city council is composed of 18 members, 16 of whom are elected through plurality block voting to serve three-year terms. The councilors represent the city's two councilor districts, which are coextensive with the congressional district. Eight members being elected per district. Team MarCy, elected under the United Nationalist Alliance banner in 2022, held overall control of the council until March 26, 2025, when all councilors under the alliance were suspended, allowing the Lakas–CMD-affiliated opposition to take control of the legislature with two seats.[9]
Overall results
Map of the districts and their corresponding seats.
Team Marikina City retained overall control of the council, winning 10 seats with 49.74% of the vote. Team Bagong Marikina, while remaining in the minority with five seats, gained three seats with 43.23% of the vote. All incumbent councilors defended their seats.
The first district is coextensive with the first congressional district. The incumbents were Rommel Acuña, Carl Africa, Jojo Banzon, Bodjie Bernardino, Cloyd Casimiro, Kate De Guzman, Samuel Ferriol, Manny Sarmiento, all of whom were elected in 2022 under Team MarCy. Among them, Bernadino and Sarmiento were term-limited and barred from seeking re-election. Acuña left the council intraterm on March 26, 2025, to serve as acting mayor.[11][12]
Banzon, Casimiro, and de Guzman sought re-election under Team Marikina City.[22] They were joined by newcomers Adams Bernardino, Hazel Golangco, Ginny Santos Pioquinto, Rosette Sarmiento, and Pat Sicat.[22] Africa and Ferriol sought re-election under Team Bagong Marikina, together with Acuña, who sought a return to the council after his interim mayoralty, and neophytes Medick Ferrer, Bruce Fortuno, Ces Reyes, Vic Tambuli Sambinano, and Jasper So.[19]
Team Marikina City won five of the eight seats whereas Team Bagong Marikina won three. All re-electionist councilors defended their seats, though Acuña, who served in the previous council, failed to win a seat, placing twelfth.
2025 Marikina City Council election in the 1st district
The second district is coextensive with the second congressional district. The incumbents were Ronnie Acuña, Marife Dayao, Levy De Guzman, Donn Favis, Bong Magtubo, Angelito Nuñez, Larry Punzalan, and Elvis Tolentino, all of whom were elected in 2022, with a majority of members affiliated with Team MarCy, and a minority—composed of Acuña and Magtubo—being affiliated with Team Performance. Among them, De Guzman and Favis were term-limited. Acuña left the council intraterm on March 26, 2025, to serve as acting vice mayor.[11][12]
Dayao, Nuñez, Punzalan, and Tolentino ran for re-election under Team Marikina City, being joined by newcomers Jaren Feliciano, Estelita Makiramdam, Michael Mojica and Bogs Reyes.[19] Magtubo sought re-election under Team Bagong Marikina together with Acuña, who sought a return to the council after his interim vice mayoralty, and neophytes Ziffred Ancheta, Vincent Calanoga, Miguel De Guzman, Yuri Edullan, Rizza Teope, and Indigo Valentin.[19]
Term-limited incumbents
Levy De Guzman
Donn Favis, running for representative in the second district[108]
The first district covers the barangays of Barangka, Calumpang, Industrial Valley Complex, Jesus de la Peña, Malanday, San Roque, Santa Elena, Santo Niño, and Tañong. The incumbent representative was Maan Teodoro, who had served since 2022 and was elected that year with 73.61% of the vote. Teodoro was eligible for re-election to a second term but did not re-election to run for mayor. Marcelino Teodoro, the outgoing mayor and husband of the incumbent representative, was slated to run for the seat under the National Unity Party, an affiliate of the national Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.[111][112][113]
Senator Koko Pimentel, whom briefly entered in an alliance with the local administration, challenged Teodoro for the seat.[114][115] Pimentel filed his certificate of candidacy for representative on October 6, 2024. He has panned Teodoro for having "no word of honor" and attributed the city's per capita debt to his administration.[116][117][118] Pimentel has made the revitalization of the local shoe industry and solving the city's flood issues as core messages of his campaign.[116]
Pimentel and three others filed a petition before the first division of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to disqualify Teodoro from the contest, citing Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code, which establishes material misrepresentation as a ground for disqualification.[119] On December 11, 2024, the COMELEC granted the petition, thereby cancelling Teodoro's candidacy.[120] Teodoro's camp criticized the ruling as an act of "political maneuvering" and filed a motion of reconsideration.[121] Teodoro's name remained on the ballot as the COMELEC en banc failed to rule on the case before the election.[122][123] Following Teodoro's suspension as mayor along with his allies, Pimentel urged the COMELEC to expedite the processing of his case.[124]
The second district covers the barangays of Concepcion Uno, Concepcion Dos, Fortune, Marikina Heights, Parang, Nangka, and Tumana. The incumbent representative was Stella Quimbo, who had served since 2019 and was reelected in 2022 with 82.70% of the vote. Quimbo was eligible for a third term but did not seek re-election to run for mayor.[68]
Miro Quimbo, the husband of the incumbent and a former representative who held the seat from 2010 to 2019, ran for the seat under Lakas–CMD, being affiliated with the wider Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.[68] Councilor Donn Favis, who previously ran for the seat in 2010, contested the seat as a member of the National Unity Party.[108] Perennial candidate Mauro Arce, who ran in 2019 and 2022, and Jose Jaime Enage, the chairman of advocate group Baybayin Buhayin, also sought the seat.[125][126]
The Teatro Marikina, (pictured in 2023) where the winners were proclaimed by the City Board of Canvassers.
A total of 258,446 voters participated in the election, marking a voter turnout of 81.80%.[106] The City Board of Canvassers proclaimed the winners of the election on May 13 at the Teatro Marikina.[128]
Reactions
Upon being formally proclaimed mayor-elect, Maan Teodoro called for unity among her constituents and declared the "continuous growth of Marikina" as the priority of her incoming administration.[129] Iya Gozum of Rappler described her victory as a continuation of the outgoing Teodoro administration.[130]
Stella Quimbo conceded to Teodoro on May 13 and expressed her acceptance of the result.[131]
Media analysis
The results were among the closest in Metro Manila. Dominique Nicole Flores of The Philippine Star contrasted the local vote margins with the lopsided victories elsewhere in the region.[129] Media outlets attributed the results to Quimbo's alleged involvement in the suspension of the administration, which led to a collapse in support from her traditional electoral strongholds of Parang, Fortune, and Marikina Heights.[132] Reports of vote buying were also instrumental in the result, which was accompanied by a widespread phenomenon where voters receive "ayuda" (lit.'financial assistance') from one candidate and subsequently vote for their opponent.[132]
Legal action
On May 12, 2025, the COMELEC suspended Representative-elect Marcelino Teodoro's proclamation as the winner of the congressional race in the first district, owing to his pending disqualification case.[133] The poll body's decision on the case will determine whether or not Teodoro will be seated as a member of the 20th Congress on June 30, 2025.[134][135]
Upon the suspension of his opponent's proclamation, Koko Pimentel urged the COMELEC to further expedite Teodoro's case, deeming his successful congressional run as being "constitutionally defective" and asserting that election results do not override constitutional requirements.[136][137][138]
The COMELEC en banc reversed the first division's decision on June 25 and lifted the suspension order on Teodoro, deeming the petitioners' evidence insufficient in proving material misrepresentation.[139]
Notes
↑ Suspended since March 25, 2025. Rommel Acuña serves as acting mayor.
↑ Suspended since March 25, 2025. Ronnie Acuña serves as acting vice mayor.
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