Campaign period for May 2025 polls begins

The official campaign period for the May 2025 midterm elections, covering 64 senatorial candidates and 155 party-list groups, commenced on February 11 and will run for 90 days until May 10.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia urged candidates to respect sleeping citizens by refraining from campaigning during unholy hours.

Campaigning will be suspended on April 17 (Maundy Thursday) and April 18 (Good Friday).

For local elections, the 45-day campaign period starts on March 28 and concludes on May 10.

Candidates are limited to 120 minutes of TV airtime and 180 minutes of radio airtime per station during the entire campaign period.

Spending limits are set at P3 per registered voter for candidates with political parties, P5 per registered voter for independent candidates, and P5 per registered voter for political parties and party-list groups.

A Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism report revealed that elective aspirants for 2025 have already spent P4 billion in TV and radio ads prior to the official campaign period, with Deputy Speaker Camille Villar and Senator Imee Marcos among the biggest spenders.

Premature campaigning has been allowed in the Philippines since a 2009 Supreme Court ruling, which stated that candidates are only subject to campaign regulations once the official campaign period begins.