President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the remark of former President Rodrigo Duterte to have some incumbent senators killed is a sign of desperation from political parties in the May 2025 midterm elections.

"You know we sometimes see from other (political) parties, that they are surprise and they appear to be afraid of you when they see our (senatorial) lineup of the Alyansa (Para sa Bagong Pilipinas) so they say a lot of things," Marcos said in Filipino during a rally in Davao Del Norte last Saturday.

Last Thursday, Duterte said in a political rally at Club Filipino to have 15 incumbent senators killed so more vacancies will be available in the Senate for nine senatorial candidates of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan that he endorsed.

"We just heard a day ago, they have no hope--they probably have no hope so they will just kill 15 senators," Marcos said.

Recent pre-election surveys show at least eight administration candidates leading with re-electionist Senators Bong Go and Ronald Dela Rosa in the Magic 12.

Members of the House of Representatives majority bloc have called on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the reported "threat" from Duterte. DMS