2025 polls: Dozens of party-list groups bank on celebrity pull, star power

Travel along the entire stretch of EDSA and you’ll witness huge billboards that will give you the impression that celebrities, all of a sudden, have become political.

As the party-list race becomes increasingly competitive every election cycle, more and more groups are enlisting celebrities — from online influencers to Philippine showbiz royalties — to improve their chances of securing a seat in Congress.

Rappler’s research found that over 40 party-list groups have tapped at least either an actual celebrity or a notable politician to be among the faces of their respective campaigns.

The A-list Filipino celebrities include Vice Ganda (Angkasangga), Coco Martin (FPJ Panday Bayanihan), Piolo Pascual (Ang Probinsiyano), Jericho Rosales (Ako Bicol), Maja Salvador (Solid North), Kim Chiu (Probinsiyano Ako), Joshua Garcia (CWS), and Toni Gonzaga (BBM).

Some online personalities with decent to huge followings have also agreed to endorse certain party-list groups, such as Ivana Alawi (Agap), Diwata (Vendors), Lincoln “Cong TV” Velasquez and Jayson “Boss Toyo” Luzadas (Solid North), Alex Gonzaga (Uswag Ilonggo), and Willie Ong (Heal PH and Anakalusugan).

Rappler’s tracker can be found below. (The first scrollable visualization lists celebrities in the entertainment industry and sports; the second visualization lists notable politicians tapped by party-list groups to promote their campaigns.)

But what’s with the strategy behind signing up celebrities?

All about awareness

Political strategist Alan German told Rappler that with 155 names on the party-list ballot, groups are using star power to quickly establish awareness, as “it will be so hard for a party-list group to stand on their own legs.”

He agrees that it’s more common now to have party-list groups than senatorial or presidential aspirants tapping celebrities because it is assumed that candidates running for higher office are celebrities on their own right, and have an awareness rating of at least in the 90% range.

“Endorsers will really uplift a candidate’s CARE attributes — charisma, attractiveness, relatability, and being extemporaneous. Barring the party-list group going all around the Philippines and trying to display this to the public, a celebrity will be able to do it by proxy,” German said.

“The celebrity has been watched by Filipinos for a long time — they can relate to them. The public sees them as attractive, charismatic in their appearances, and the party-list inherits those attributes,” he added.

German, however, also noted that the campaign strategy is a result of a system that can easily be taken advantage of.

The party list is a system of proportional representation introduced by the 1987 Constitution, designed to give underrepresented sectors a voice in Congress. Over time, political families have used it as a backdoor to the legislative.

Watchdog Kontra Daya’s research for the 2025 elections revealed that over half of the groups on the ballot do not represent the marginalized, and many are tied to political clans and big businesses.

“Perhaps the original intention of the party-list system has faded over time, turning it into a tool that is easily exploitable. You only need 2% of the vote — so with just 350,000 votes, you already become a congressman,” German explained.

‘Retail war’

“Business interest groups, traditional politicians, and political dynasties…brought in the budget needed to bring in superstars. That’s why the trend of using celebrity influencers has become very prevalent. It became very much more pronounced because many of the party-list groups running now have the resources, and it has really become a retail war,” German added.

Lawmakers, during their three-year term, can earn a cumulative government salary of around P10 million, excluding bonuses and allowances. In comparison, party-list groups tapping celebrities for their campaigns have to shell out perhaps more than that amount during an election season.

“Depending on the celebrity’s level, the starting rate is maybe around P5 million. A-list celebrities will probably charge [as much as] P30 million for the duration of a campaign,” German said.

“Nowadays, endorsement deals are structured in a way that requires them to make, for example, five [social media] mentions per month or three posts per month wearing a branded T-shirt, and so on,” he added. “This is a big boon because these celebrities have millions of followers who are actively engaging with them on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.”

Of course, having a celebrity on speed dial isn’t the only way to increase a party-list group’s chances of making it to the winning circle. There are other ways, like finding a bailiwick, according to German. That means forging alliances with local chief executives, who can deliver votes through constituents from their localities.

In 2022, Rappler’s research found that at least 20 party-list groups used this strategy, as they received 50% of their votes from just one region or province.

For the 2025 polls, the well-oiled party-list groups are employing both game plans, while others with inferior machineries could only pick one. Some have to be creative and make do with the few resources they have. Which strategy will pay off on election day? – Rappler.com