As filing for candidacy wrapped up for the 2025 midterm elections, I was struck by one alarming trend: Every election cycle, fewer and fewer candidates run for office. That's right, the number of candidates on our ballots is dwindling, and has continually done so for the last four elections. The first report I could find on this issue harks back to 2013, with Rappler reporting the lowest number of candidates in recent history. The problem seems particularly pronounced in local elections. In 2016, about 545 candidates ran unopposed for positions ranging from vice mayor to Congress representatives.
With fewer candidates running, Filipinos are stuck with fewer choices. Elections become increasingly uncompetitive, reinforcing decades-old uninspired leadership, and perpetuating poor quality of service, lack of policy innovation, and unchecked power within the same revolving political names. If we are to achieve national progress, we need new faces in service. Many young people dream of a better Philippines, but few are engaged politically, and even fewer are considering careers in public office. Young Filipino progressives are tired of traditional politics, yet deep-seated barriers hold us back from seeking elections. To revive our politics, we need to inspire a new movement — one that deliberately and unflinchingly departs from the political norm.
'Traditional politicians' are so commonplace that Filipinos have coined a widely known term for them, trapo. Often characterized as dirty, power-hungry politicians, the common denominator among trapos is that most have held their posts for far too long. In fact, of the 545 uncontested candidates from 2016, most are reelectionists. The rest carry the same surname as incumbents, revealing political dynasties, where members of the same family exchange political posts to circumvent term limits.
While political dynasties are a massive problem, and traditional politics bring scores of issues, their existence presents one particularly critical barrier to new generations of leaders — a death of hope. Trapos appear too entrenched, their victory a seeming guarantee from years of unopposed candidacies. They want us to accept the norm, to think it impossible for newcomers to run and take their long-held posts. It is not impossible. Trapos only stay in power because they succeed in intimidating young, passionate people. We can break the cycle, but first we need to reject this self-fulfilling prophecy.
Breaking away from traditional politics also means breaking away from the same old political parties, almost all of which fall short in representing actual political ideals. Young progressives do not run because we do not see our ideals and priorities represented in the political parties we are expected to join. In the past two elections, liberal-leaning opposition tickets failed miserably. In 2022, only one of 12 senatorial candidates made office. Perhaps most indicative of Liberal Party's tanking reputation is former Vice President Leni Robredo's decision to run independently in the 2022 presidential elections, leaving the yellow-clad party that once brought her to the vice presidency. While many young, intelligent public servants eagerly joined former President Noynoy Aquino's administration, many have left since the presidency turned in 2016. As the Liberal Party failed to connect and engage the average Filipino in pressing social issues, political parties left and right have become empty tickets — a handful of candidates grouped together without any meaningful political agenda in common. It is no wonder, then, that few young people decide to forego alternative careers to join such hollow parties.
The solution is not to reform the Liberal Party. They are beyond repair. We need a new movement that authentically represents our progressive values and inspires new generations of public servants. Across the world, young progressives are organizing non-traditional movements. Key figures like United States' Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and our neighbor Thailand's Pita Limjaroenrat broke traditional politics, ran on a progressive agenda, and won national election to offices with national influence. We, too, can make that happen.
Logistically, there is of course the question of money and machinery. Many Filipinos believe, not without good reason, that succeeding in traditional Philippine politics requires lots of cash and network power. Political strategists reveal that 2019 campaigns for senatorial posts went upwards of Php 190 million on average. For presidential campaigns, the figure skyrockets to Php 5 billion. Even gubernatorial and mayoral candidacies run expensive as illegal vote buying remains rampant. While costs are high, aspiring candidates do not have to foot such bills alone. If there is anything the spirited Robredo campaign taught us, it's that there is power in numbers. Kakampinks raised Php 388 million, a good percentage coming from small donors. While unsuccessful, Robredo's campaign showed us that it is possible for Filipinos of humble backgrounds to vie for national office.
What we need, however, is to organize. I am inspired by recent youth movements like YouthLedPH and GoodGovPH that drive young people to engage in civic action and good governance. We must go even further. Absent entrenched power, organizing is how we build our campaign chest and machinery. We need young people to volunteer for campaigns, donate, and knock on doors. Ultimately, we need young progressives to run, and support others to run, too. That is how we take the reins and start running our country.