The 2025 midterm elections may have signaled a shift in the country’s political landscape.
For the first time in decades, the congressional seat in Las Piñas and the gubernatorial seat in Cebu will not be held by the familiar names of Villar and Garcia, respectively.
In Las Piñas, Mark Anthony Santos pulled off an upset, clinching the lone district seat in Congress by defeating Senator Cynthia Villar. The Las Piñas City Board of Canvassers proclaimed Santos the winner early Tuesday morning, May 13, with 109,220 votes—far ahead of Villar, who garnered 79,315 votes.
If that doesn’t sound convincing, consider this: the Villars have dominated Las Piñas since 1992. Manny Villar, the family patriarch, first served as Representative of Las Piñas-Muntinlupa from 1992 to 1998, and then as Representative of the redistricted Las Piñas from 1998 to 2001.
He passed the baton to his wife, Cynthia Villar, who held the seat from 2001 to 2010 before moving to the Senate.
Their son, Mark Villar, assumed the post from 2010 to 2016, followed by Camille Villar in 2019. Now, for the first time in over 20 years, the congressional post no longer belongs to the Villar dynasty.
Meanwhile, in Cebu, another political Goliath was toppled. Pam Baricuatro, a political neophyte, unseated Governor Gwen Garcia—a dominant force in Cebu politics.
Based on partial and unofficial results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Baricuatro led with 1,092,084 votes, while Garcia trailed with 749,782—a landslide by any measure.
Garcia has long been a fixture in Cebu politics, serving as governor from 2004 to 2013, and returning to the post in 2019.
According to Josue Raphael Cortez, a political analyst and professor at the School of Diplomacy and Governance at De La Salle–College of St. Benilde, the political shifts seen in the 2025 midterm elections reflect how voters have come to evaluate dynasties over the years.
“Now that they gradually see how dynasties can either serve as a force to better a certain locale or be the impetus for its stagnation and slow development, they’re beginning to focus their attention on other potential candidates,” Cortez told Manila Standard.
“Despite having political machinery that is undoubtedly more capable than their opponents’, the fact that people have grown tired of false promises and unfulfilled platforms is indicative of why these dynasties lost in the recent elections,” he said.
While Cortez believes it may be premature to conclude that this trend will carry into the 2028 national elections, he noted that the years leading up to it will be crucial for both incumbents and political newcomers.
“The way voters perceive candidates will depend on how they perform over the next three years. These shifts suggest that name recall is no longer the primary factor,” he explained.
“Voters are now more discerning and decisive about whom they support. Therefore, we can speculate that the developments and challenges in the next three years will be especially crucial for those new to politics but aiming for higher office in 2028,” Cortez added.