MANILA, Philippines – It is crunch time for candidates as the campaign period ends on Saturday, May 11. 

While opposition slate Otso Diretso heavily relies on volunteers, candidates of Hugpong ng Pagbabago and PDP-Laban enjoy the support of President Rodrigo Duterte. (READ: Duterte’s chosen one: Who will benefit from the President’s endorsement?)

Rappler traces the provinces where Duterte overwhelmingly won in 2016. Can these places deliver again for the President’s chosen candidates?  

Click the circle in the map below to see details per province.

Duterte won in at least 35 provinces in 2016, according to the tally sheets of the Certificates of Canvass for the presidential and vice presidential elections. 

He won in 22 out of the 27 Mindanao provinces. Duterte, however, only topped the list in 8 provinces in Luzon, and 5 in Visayas.

This means Duterte got 9,086,473 total votes in 2016 from the 35 provinces where he won – 54% of the total 16,601,997 votes he received from all over the Philippines.

What to expect

Midterm elections are often referred to as a referendum on the incumbents.

Political analyst Julio Teehankee said it is the period when “the electorate, the people, can actually register their support or opposition to an incumbent administration for voting for or against the administration slate.”

The administration often has the upper hand in the elections, he added.

For example, a Rappler analysis in 2016 found that voters in the then-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) voted for candidates from coalitions supporting the administration in 2004 to 2013.

But the supposed leverage of PDP-Laban, which Duterte chairs, is being dented by the President’s non-subscription to party politics. (READ: How Duterte’s political style is hurting PDP-Laban in 2019)

Results of the upcoming May 13 elections will show if these provinces’ support to Duterte in 2016 continues 3 years later and extends to the senatorial candidates backed by the President. – Rappler.com