“Wasted” votes?
This was the comment of some Filipinos after learning that physician Willie Ong still earned millions of votes, based on partial and unofficial count, despite withdrawing from the 2025 midterm elections.
According to information aggregated from Comelec data as of 2:21 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, Ong is in the 27th spot with over seven million or 7,264,998 votes so far.
While it is far from the coveted Top 12 spots, some Pinoys couldn’t help but feel dismayed at how many votes he has, arguing that it could’ve been given to other aspirants who they feel were more deserving.
Ong had already withdrawn from the senatorial race last February, months before the election.
He also announced his withdrawal on Facebook, saying that he would focus on his health.
Liza, Ong’s wife, said that he decided to back out to complete his cancer treatment, adding he “doesn’t want the public to be short-changed.”
The physician-vlogger was diagnosed with sarcoma cancer, a rare form of cancer that develops in the bones and soft tissues.
Despite Ong’s withdrawal, his name continued to appear on ballots given to voters on May 12.
Comelec Commissioner Ernesto Maceda Jr previously said the physician’s name “will remain in the ballot” when the latter’s wife had filed the withdrawal. The ballots had already been printed prior to Ong’s exit.
This had caused Ong to garner votes in the polls, disappointing some Pinoys who thought it could be given to those with actual intentions to serve.
“Nag-withdraw na si Doc Willie Ong for senatorial dibaaa? Gooshhh. Sayang ‘yung votes niya. Sana na-count na lang sa iba,” a Facebook user wrote, sharing a screengrab of a partial and unofficial count from a news website.
Another user blamed the Comelec for including the physician’s name in the ballot despite the withdrawal.
“Mali rin ng Comelec eh, bakit sinama pa sa listahan si Dr. Willie Ong, eh umalis na ‘yan, edi sana ‘yung [five] Million votes niya, napunta pa sa mas deserving sa boto. ANO NA, COMELEC!” the user exclaimed.
“Nag-withdraw sa senate race si Willie Ong nung February, pero hindi na natanggal sa official ballots ang pangalan niya kasi na-print na ng COMELEC ang mga balota. Pero ayan, may 7+ million votes pa rin. This says a lot about the voters in the Philippines talaga, no?” said another Pinoy.
Nagwithdraw sa senate race si Willie Ong nung February pero hindi na natanggal sa official ballots ang pangalan nya kasi na-print na ng COMELEC ang mga balota. Pero ayan, may 7+ million votes pa rin. This says a lot about the voters in the Philippines talaga no? pic.twitter.com/2rkys1azsz
— Nhil (@nhiliscoming) May 12, 2025
“Why was Willie Ong even [on] the ballot, didn’t he pull out of the race? Some votes were wasted on him, tsk,” said another user.
Ong withdrew in February. A month later, it was reported that the Comelec had completed printing the ballots for the 2025 elections.
Comelec Chair George Garcia said that the printing took 48 days.
Reports said the printing started on January 6, but restraining orders by the Supreme Court that month, which ordered Comelec to include names of candidates earlier declared as “nuisance” or disqualified, forced it to stop printing for two weeks.
It resumed printing on January 27.
