Written by Carlo Alfonso S. Sales and Louise Alexandra Dia
“My father was shot dead right in front of my eyes.”
These are the harrowing words of the daughter of re-electionist Rizal, Cagayan Mayor Joel Ruma, who was gunned down during a campaign sortie on April 23, 2025. Calling for justice, she described how gunshots continued for 20 minutes straight after the first shot—a brutal determination to kill that underscores the violence of the 2025 local and midterm elections—a battle for the ballot, with a bullet.
Ruma’s murder is the 30th validated election-related incident (ERI) ahead of the May 12, 2025 polls. Despite the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) reports of fewer candidate killings this season, the trauma from these acts remains. It highlights a political climate where violence is used for power, and every election has a human cost.
The Suffering for the Suffrage
The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported 22 violent ERIs, mostly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which is preparing for its first regular election since the appointment of the parliament in its inaugural session in 2019. Lieutenant Colonel Joppy Ventura, spokesperson for the BARMM police, reported 162 shooting incidents in BARMM from January to April.
Despite a 18.4% drop in crime from January to March, watchdog Climate Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) warned that “police data is misleading and downplays the alarming situation as shooting incidents are increasing.” Conflict Alert data shows an increase in conflict and deaths since 2021, especially during campaign period.
Illusions of Safety
The government has taken active steps to address election-related violence through various agencies and instrumentalities. Since March 24, the PNP has been on heightened alert, implementing COMELEC checkpoints and strictly enforcing a gun ban. Despite this, killings continue.
“Rule of law that becomes weaker the farther one gets from Manila also means that regional powerbrokers can act with effective impunity,” said Cleve Arguelles, CEO of WR Numero Research. Violence is highest in the far north and south, where local elites have their own armed groups and patronage networks.
Barangay-level elections, though seemingly less significant, are also often marred by violence due to their importance for political mobilization. Fierce rivalries between political dynasties and the proliferation of private armed groups maintained by powerful local figures also continue to fuel election-related violence.
Do Votes or Violence Decide?
Undoubtedly, ERIs threaten candidates and voters, creating a chilling effect on the right to suffrage and undermining democracy. Those resorting to violence to secure positions prejudice the democratic process.
Abraham Lincoln described democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Yet, how can the majority rule prevail if ink stains on our forefingers are followed by blood stains on the streets?
This is a call for the government to strengthen the enforcement of election-related laws, and for voters to denounce any form of violence to attain the free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections mandated under Art. IX of the 1987 Constitution.
THE BARRISTER 