A presidential election in the Philippines is scheduled to be held on May 8, 2028, as part of a general election that will also determine the control of the Congress of the Philippines and numerous local positions in the country. This will be the 18th direct presidential election and 16th vice presidential election in the country since 1935, and will be the seventh sextennial presidential and vice presidential election since 1992.
Incumbent presidentBongbong Marcos is term-limited under the Constitution of the Philippines and is ineligible for re-election. Incumbent vice presidentSara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio is eligible for re-election to a second term. Therefore, this election will determine the 18th president and the 16th vice president, if Duterte decides to run for another position or is not re-elected. The president and vice president are elected separately, so the two winning candidates may come from different political parties.
During the Marcos presidency, relations between Marcos and Duterte worsened. Duterte left Lakas–CMD in May 2023 and later resigned from his cabinet in June 2024.[5] On February 5, 2025, the vice president was impeached in the House of Representatives, following Duterte's controversial use of confidential and intelligence funds and her assassination threat against Marcos and his family.[6][7] She became the first sitting vice president, and the fourth official in Philippine history, to be impeached.[8] If Duterte had been convicted, she was to be removed from office and be barred from holding any government position, including the presidency.[9]
For the 2025 midterm Senate election, Marcos formed the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas (Alyansa) electoral alliance,[10] while former president Duterte formed a separate slate of candidates under the DuterTen in support of the vice president.[11] The traditional opposition led by Hontiveros fielded two candidates under the KiBam ticket.[12] During the campaign period, former president Duterte was arrested on charges related to the Philippine drug war. In response, the president's sister, Imee Marcos, withdrew from Alyansa.[13] Six Alyansa candidates won seats, while three DuterTen candidates were elected.[14][15] Two winning candidates, Imee and Camille Villar (an Alyansa candidate), were guest candidates on the DuterTen slate.[16] Meanwhile, both candidates from the KiBam ticket secured victories, marking a significant gain for the opposition.[17][18] Duterte ally and incumbent senator Bong Go emerged as the top-ranking candidate in the Senate race.[19]
Following the election, the Senate minority sought to formally convene the Senate as an impeachment court on June 9; the court was officially convened the following day, June 10. Senators allied with Duterte attempted to dismiss the impeachment complaint, but the Senate ultimately voted to return the articles of impeachment to the House.[20] On July 25, Duterte's impeachment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the basis that the fourth impeachment case violated the one-year ban on the filing of multiple impeachment cases but maintained that it was not absolving the vice president.[21] While the House filed a motion for reconsideration, on August 6, the Senate voted to archive the articles of impeachment, with only senators Bam Aquino, Hontiveros, Pangilinan, and Tito Sotto voting against.[22]
Presidential elections in the Philippines are held every six years, after 1992, on the second Monday of May. Elections to the presidency and vice presidency use the first-past-the-post voting to determine the winner, with the candidate with the highest number of votes, whether or not one has a majority, winning the contested position.[23] The elections are held in parallel and voters may split their ticket. If two or more candidates are tied for either position, Congress shall vote from among them which shall be president or vice president, as the case may be.
Both winners will serve six-year terms commencing at noon on June 30, 2028, and ending on the same day, six years later.[23]
Eligibility
The Constitution of the Philippines limits the occupancy of the presidency and vice presidency to natural-born citizens aged 40 on the day of the election who are registered to vote, who have been a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election, and are able to read and write.[24] Incumbent presidents who have served a complete a six-year term are term-limited while their vice president may seek reelection for a second consecutive term.[24]
Candidates
For president
Expressed interest
The following individuals have been mentioned as potential presidential candidates in at least two reliable media sources in the last six months.
On February 7, 2025, Duterte announced in a press conference that she is "seriously considering" running for elected office in 2028 despite her ongoing impeachment, though she affirmed that she will assess her chances of being elected before making a major decision.[25] While she did not specify any position, she later confirmed that she would be seeking the presidency in such a case, motivated by discontent over the direction of the Marcos administration.[26]
At a press conference on May 21, 2025, Hontiveros stated her openness to a possible presidential run, although she emphasized that she remained "open to all possibilities."[28] She reiterated that her main priority is to unify and strengthen the opposition, and expressed confidence that a standard bearer for the liberal-progressive bloc, or a "third force," would emerge by 2028.[29]
Speculated by the media
The following individuals have been mentioned in media discussions as possible presidential candidates but have not publicly expressed interest in running
Josephus Jimenez of the The Freeman identified Marcos as a possible presidential candidate in 2028. She described Marcos as a more capable politician than her brother Bongbong, owing to her local and national networks as well as her ability to "strategize and to maneuver her political moves".[31]
In September 2024, Vice President Duterte stated in an ambush interview that there were ongoing discussions among members of the House of Representatives that aim to field Romualdez as a candidate for president in 2028, according to her Mindanao-based allies in the lower chamber.[32]
For vice president
Speculated by the media
Individuals below have been mentioned in media discussions as possible vice presidential candidates but have not publicly expressed interest in running.
According to former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, Duterte neither accepted or denied his suggestion of running for the vice presidency as her daughter's running mate after serving as mayor of Davao City to consolidate support from former allies.[33]
Jerrt Tundag of The Freeman acknowledged suggestions that Pimentel, who has served as Senate minority leader from 2022, should run as the running mate of Leni Robredo in 2028. He deemed such a scenario a uphill battle for both candidates, owing to their history of electoral defeats.[35]
In June 2025, Senator Robin Padilla endorsed Vice President Sara Duterte for President and Imee Marcos for Vice President fin 2028 and volunteered to become the campaign manager of the "Sara-Imee" tandem.[36][37]
Declined to run for either position
The following individuals have been mentioned as potential candidates but have publicly declined to run.
Social research institutions in the Philippines, including Social Weather Stations (SWS), Pulse Asia, OCTA Research, have conducted surveys for the 2028 Philippine presidential election as early as 2025. In each poll, bold indicates the leading candidate whereas italics indicate runner(s)-up within the margin of error.
1 2 Hartmann, Christoff; Hassall, Graham; Santos, Soliman M. Jr. (November 15, 2001). Nohlen, Dieter; Grotz, Florian; Hartmann, Christof (eds.). Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook, Volume II. Oxford University Press. p.187. ISBN0199249598.
1 2 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, art. 7, sec. 2
↑ Jimenez, Josephus (September 5, 2024). "Imee vs Sara vs Risa in 2028". The Freeman. Archived from the original on October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
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