Heidi Mendoza’s impressive run in the 2025 senatorial elections

If there’s a story worth studying and pondering in the just-concluded 2025 midterm elections—beyond Bam Aquino’s and Kiko Pangilinan’s second and fifth finish for senator, respectively, it’s Heidi Mendoza notching the 21st position as a first-time candidate.

A staunch champion of budget education and good governance, the former commissioner of the Commission on Audit received more than 8.7 million votes, a ranking higher than the popular TV host Willie Revillame.

In a postelection interview with journalist Christian Esguerra of Facts First on YouTube, Mendoza bravely divulged that she spent P2.5 million during the campaign—a measly amount compared to billions of pesos spent by other candidates. According to campaign strategist Alan German, a candidate must have half a billion pesos to win a national election.

Bereft of funds, Mendoza’s run proved one important message to the electorate and the Philippines: at the right time, a sincere, concrete message of transformation packaged with integrity, competence, and credentials can win votes.

I voted for her along with four other candidates.

While my heart ached when she didn’t win, her performance and drive gave me hope that there’s a better future for our country with leaders like her at the helm. I told myself that I should have campaigned for her even more and freely printed tarpaulins bearing her face as a form of support. On social media, I should have been more vocal regarding my position and understanding of her goals for the future. That may be, if I had the energy and dedication to all these things, I could have convinced more people to include her in their ballots.

The next three years will be colorful in a lot of ways—with the impeachment of the Vice President, the trial at the International Criminal Court of former president Rodrigo Duterte, and President Marcos’ subtle strategic maneuvering to avoid being a lame-duck chief executive. But I will always remember Mendoza. Her humility in accepting the results and willingness to listen to various sectors with greater intensity than before are commendable.

Should she run again—with a pen in my left hand—I will vote for her again. And yes, by then, I’ll be an active member of her campaign, not just a passerby Filipino millennial voter in history.