Local elections were held in Marikina on May 12, 2025, as part of the 2025 Philippine general election. The electorate elected a mayor, a vice mayor, sixteen members of the Marikina City Council, and two district representatives to the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The officials elected assumed their respective offices on June 30, 2025, for a three-year term.
Representative Maan Teodoro and former mayor Del de Guzman were elected mayor and vice mayor respectively, defeating their opponents Representative Stella Quimbo and incumbent vice mayor Marion Andres. Teodoro's Team Marikina City under the National Unity Party retained a majority in the city council, but saw their seat share decline. Quimbo's Team Bagong Marikina under Lakas–CMD remained in the minority while gaining three seats. Outgoing mayor Marcelino Teodoro and former Representative Miro Quimbo were elected as the representatives for the first and second districts respectively, both being elected to a fourth nonconsecutive term.
The election was held during the suspension of the outgoing Teodoro administration. The campaign period was defined by fierce competition between the two coalitions. Major local issues throughout the contest included the local debt and support for the local shoe industry. Allegations of vote buying through the misuse of welfare programs were rife throughout the campaign, as well as the proliferation of disinformation.
Background
In the 2022 elections, Marcelino Teodoro and Marion Andres were elected to the mayoralty and vice mayoralty respectively, both winning with wide margins against their closest opponents. Their coalition, Team MarCy, attained outright control of the city council, winning 14 of the 16 elective seats in the legislature. Nationally, a majority of the Marikina electorate voted for the UniTeam ticket of Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte for president and vice president, respectively. In 2025, there were 315,980 voters registered in the city.
Suspension of the administration
On May 15, 2024, a technical malversation complaint was filed against Teodoro and three other city officials before the Office of the Ombudsman. The complaint claimed that a 2024 budgetary ordinance passed by the Marikina City Council allocated ₱130 million in PhilHealth reimbursements to "IT equipment, repair and maintenance of infrastructure and/or donations," rather than the improvement the city's healthcare system, violating a provision of the Universal Health Care Act. Teodoro's camp derided the complaint as a "mere product of misapprehension and misunderstanding of the facts." Mayors for Good Governance, a group of local executives, deemed the complaints politically motivated and described Teodoro as transparent and accountable.
On March 25, 2025, three days before the start of the campaign period, the Office of the Ombudsman issued a preventive suspension order against Teodoro, Andres, and their allies in the city council, in effect for six months, as a response to the complaint. The constitutional body deemed that there was "strong evidence showing their guilt" which warranted the removal of the suspended officials from office, hence their granting of the suspension order. In response, the Department of the Interior and Local Government appointed twin councilors Rommel and Ronnie Acuña as acting mayor and vice mayor, respectively, to ensure the continuity of government operations during the suspension.
Teodoro's camp condemned the suspension as "a broader effort to derail" his coalition's campaign. The Mayors for Good Governance urged the office to conduct a "just and transparent investigation" on the complaint against Teodoro.
Coalitions The filing of certificates of candidacy were conducted from October 1 to 8, 2024, from which local slates were formalized and announced.
Team Bagong Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo and her husband Miro, a former representative, ran for mayor and representative respectively under Team Bagong Marikina (; also stylized as Team Bagong Marik1na) which was affiliated with Lakas–CMD and was hence nominally part of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas. During the campaign, Quimbo's coalition endorsed Senator Koko Pimentel as their candidate for representative in the first district.
Team Marikina City Incumbent Mayor Marcelino Teodoro and his allies have been affiliated with the United Nationalist Alliance since 2022, following his ouster from the Nationalist People's Coalition after a verbal row with former mayor and former Representative Bayani Fernando over the aftermath of Typhoon Ulysses two years prior. With Teodoro term-limited, his wife Representative Maan led the administration ticket. The administration contested the election as Team Marikina City, being affiliated with the National Unity Party, and being nominally part of the wider Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.
Coalitions dissolved before the election Teodoro–Pimentel Following the landslide victory of his Team MarCy coalition in 2022, Teodoro's administration has partnered with Senator Koko Pimentel and his wife, diplomat Kathryna, in implementing projects in the city, including a health caravan in April 2024. After Teodoro filed to run in the first district for the elections to the House of Representatives, Pimentel followed suit, pitting the two together and rendering the partnership moot.
In an October 2024 interview, amid the filing of the certificates of candidacies, the former Pimentel revealed that he and Teodoro had agreed that he would run for representative in the first district while Teodoro would run in the second after forming informal arrangements from December 2023 to February 2024. In response, Teodoro clarified that Pimentel's camp left the alliance on July 28, leaving the administration without a candidate in the first district, hence his decision to contest the congressional seat there.
Tickets Candidates italicized indicate incumbents seeking re-election.
Administration coalition +Team Marikina CityPosition# Candidate Party Mayor2.Maan Teodoro Vice mayor1. Marion Andres Representative(1st district)2.Marcelino Teodoro Representative(2nd district)3. Donn Favis Councilor(1st district)5. Jojo Banzon 6.Adams Bernadino 7. Cloyd Casimiro 8. Kate de Guzman 13.Hazel Golangco 16.Ginny Santos Pioquinto 19.Rossette Sarmiento 20.Pat Sicat Councilor(2nd district)4. Marife Dayao 7.Jaren Feliciano 14.Estelita Makiramdam 16.Michael Mojica 17. Angel Nuñez 19. Larry Punzalan 21. Ruben Reyes 29. Elvis Tolentino
Opposition coalition +Team Bagong MarikinaPosition# Candidate Party Mayor1.Stella Quimbo Vice mayor2.Del de Guzman Representative(1st district)1. Koko Pimentel Representative(2nd district)4. Miro Quimbo Councilor(1st district)1. Rommel Acuña 2. Carl Africa 10. Medick Ferrer 11. Sam Ferriol 12. Bruce Fortuno 17. Ces Reyes 18. Vic "Tambuli" Sabiniano 21. Jasper So Councilor(2nd district)1. Ronnie Acuña 2. Ziffred Ancheta 3. Vincent Calanoga 5. Miguel De Guzman 6. Yuri Edullan 13. Bong Magtubo 27. Rizza Teope 30. Indigo Valentin
Other candidates
+ Kilos PagbabagoPosition# Candidate Party Representative(1st district)1. Koko Pimentel Councilor(1st district)15. Imee Mascariña
+Candidates not in ticketsPosition#CandidateParty Vice mayor3. Annie Retes Representative(2nd district)1. Mauro Arce 2. Jose Jaime Enage Councilor(1st district)3. Jahn Alejaga 4. Rosie Aquino 9. Benedicto dela Cruz 14. Tope Ilagan Councilor(2nd district)8. Ed Gillera 9. Ram Haveria Jr. 10. Jimsen Jison 11. Beny Madrigal 12. Marvie Madrigal 15. Rene Mira 18. Jep Ordoñez 20. Jenilyn Retes 22. Susan Romero 24. Dindo Rosales 24. Josephine Sandiego 25. Patricia Senerata 26. Nico Shahin Moghaddam 28. Greg Teves 31. George Villanueva 32. Cris Vitangcol
Campaign
The campaign period for local elections began on March 28, 2025, and ended on May 10. The contest was highly competitive between the two major political factions in local politics—the National Unity Party-affiliated Teodoro camp and the Lakas–CMD-affiliated Quimbo camp. With each faction led by couples, James Patrick Cruz of Rappler has described Marikina as being under a "conjugal leadership," regardless of the election's outcome. During the campaign, the candidates and coalitions held motorcades in support of their candidacies.
The election period has been defined as being more fiercely contested than past elections, owing to the legal battles that characterized its run.
Campaign issues
Support for the local shoe industry
Organizations and unions including the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry have expressed disappointment for the "inaction" of past administrations in addressing the concerns stemming from the stagnant Marikina Shoe Industry, which, while ubiquitous, has been declining since trade liberalization in the late 20th century. In contrast, the Marikina-based Philippine Footwear Federation Incorporated criticized media outlets for not reaching out to them in their articles discussing the shoe industry's contemporary performance. The organization deemed their reports unbalanced against the incumbent local government, whose programs and assistance they deemed were central to an increase in their income and market reach.
Messaging and themes
Team Bagong Marikina Team Bagong Marikina's platform revolved around managing the city's debt, carrying out their vision of transforming Marikina into a "business-friendly" start-up city, and attending to the needs of the city's health centers. The coalition aims to cut business taxes and secure adequate funding from the national government to alleviate the city's ₱3.6 billion outstanding debt and to fund local projects. Moreover, the coalition expressed support for the Wawa Dam project as a means of flood control and attracting businesses and investments into the city.
In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Stella criticized the incumbent administration for "blocking" the programs she pushed in her capacity as a representative and cited "political survival" as a motivation for seeking the mayoralty at the same time as her husband Miro's congressional bid, accusing the Teodoros of attempting to erase the couple from local politics.
The Quimbo campaign was characterized by its media appearances in contrast to the Teodoros' preference for alliance-sanctioned events. Stella cited misinformation as a top concern in the campaign, having been the subject of fake graphics that circulated on social media. The Pimentel campaign in the first district has centered itself around the revival of the shoe industry, financing local initiatives that aim to boost the industry and opening public exhibitions of local products.
Team Marikina City Team Marikina City's platform sought to make the city "climate-resilient" and more business-friendly with "digitalization" and "ease of doing business" policies. Supporters of the administration, including the Association of Clans in Marikina, have defended the Teodoros amid their legal battles, condemning their suspension as "dirty politics," regarding it as being politically motivated and slanderous. Before the campaign period began, supporters of Marcelino Teodoro gathered at the Marikina Freedom Park for a protest and prayer vigil over the mayor's suspension.
Election-related concerns
Allegations of corruption Former Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo has urged Ombudsman Samuel Martires to investigate the wealth of the Quimbos, citing "unexplained wealth" reflected by luxury goods often worn by Stella. Former Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Felipe Medalla, who subsequently endorsed Quimbo in the mayoral race, defended her, attributing her wealth to her consulting income from her academic career and deemed such allegations as sexist.
Disinformation