The midterm election outcome provided unexpectedly strong backing for Duterte and boosted his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, ahead of her impeachment trial in the Senate in July.

Even though he is detained in The Hague, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was among candidates who vied for some 18,000 national and local seats in Monday’s midterm elections.

Commission on Elections Chairperson George Erwin Garcia (center) says voter turnout in the May 12 midterm elections was at 81.65 percent, the highest recorded in midterm elections, during a press briefing at the Tent City of the Manila Hotel on Thursday (May 15,