The successful conduct of the 2025 midterm elections marks a significant stride in the Commission on Elections’ continuing quest toward gaining a higher level of public trust and ensuring credible, efficient, and inclusive democratic exercises. Amid a backdrop of previous operational shortcomings and enduring systemic flaws, this year’s electoral process demonstrated notable improvements—especially in transparency, efficiency, and the resolve to curb abuses.

One of the most visible indicators of Comelec’s improved performance was the remarkably swift canvassing and proclamation of most winning candidates—completed within a week of election day. This efficiency, powered by enhancements to the automated election system, stands in stark contrast to delays and disputes that marred previous elections. Nine years after the Philippines first used automated elections nationwide in 2016, the system now reflects better calibration, more robust contingency plans, and smoother voter experience. This allowed for faster transmission of results and strengthened public confidence in the outcomes.

Equally commendable is Comelec’s decision to hold in abeyance the proclamations of candidates with pending disqualification cases, signaling its intent to uphold electoral integrity without fear or favor. This breaks from the past, when questionable candidacies often sailed through procedural loopholes, and is a welcome show of institutional maturity. The commitment to resolve such cases promptly must now be matched by concrete timelines and transparency in adjudication.

Comelec also took a firmer stance this year against campaign finance abuses. Profligate spending, vote buying, and circumvention of donation limits have long plagued Philippine elections, often skewing results in favor of the wealthy and well-connected. While the problem persists, Comelec’s intensified monitoring, online reporting portals, and active partnerships with civil society watchdogs indicate a more proactive approach. Still, enforcement remains uneven, and further institutional support and legislative backing are needed to truly hold violators accountable.

The 2025 polls also laid bare lingering weaknesses in our electoral architecture. Political dynasties continue to dominate the landscape—often fielding multiple family members across local and national races. This underscores the urgent need for legislation to give teeth to the 1987 Constitution’s anti-dynasty provision, which remains unenforced nearly four decades after its ratification. Congress must finally enact an enabling law that defines and restricts dynastic control of public office, if we are to meaningfully broaden political participation.

Looking forward, Comelec must sustain its gains while pushing for deeper reforms. These include expanding voter education, enhancing accessibility for persons with disabilities and senior citizens, and modernizing campaign regulations to address digital disinformation and deepfakes—challenges that loom ever larger in our connected age.

The 2025 elections were not without flaws, but they represent progress. In a democracy often beset by cynicism, the Comelec’s performance this year — under the leadership of Chairman George Erwin Garcia — has offered a measure of reassurance: that institutions can evolve, that transparency is possible, and that the will of the people can be both respected and efficiently expressed.

The task now is to build on this momentum—not only to prepare for the next presidential election in 2028, but to keep faith with the constitutional promise of a just, representative, and accountable political order. That is a mandate worth protecting.