Presidential elections in the Philippines were held on May 10, 2010. The incumbent President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was ineligible to seek re-election as per the 1987 Constitution.

Incumbent Vice-President Noli de Castro was allowed to seek re-election, though he could have possibly sought the presidency. As he didn't offer himself in any manner of candidacy at the election, his successor was determined as the 13th Vice President of the Philippines. Although most presidential candidates have running mates, the president and vice president are elected separately, and the winning candidates may be of different political parties.

This election was also the first time that the Commission of Elections (COMELEC) implemented full automation of elections, pursuant to Republic Act 9369, "An Act Authorizing The Commission on Elections To Use An Automated Election System In The May 11, 1998 National or Local Elections and In Subsequent National And Local Electoral Exercises".

The results of the congressional canvassing showed that Senator Benigno Aquino III of the Liberal Party won by a plurality, although he had won with the highest percentage of votes since 1986, but not enough to have the largest margin of victory, even in elections held after 1986.

Meanwhile, in the election for the vice-presidency, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) defeated Senator Mar Roxas of the Liberal Party in the third-narrowest margin in the history of vice presidential elections. Aquino and Binay were proclaimed in a joint session of Congress on June 9, and took their oaths on June 30, 2010. Roxas filed an electoral protest to the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET; the Supreme Court) on July 10, 2010.

Electoral system The election is held every six years after 1992, on the second Monday of May. The incumbent president is term limited. The incumbent vice president may run for two consecutive terms. As Joseph Estrada, who was elected in 1998, was able to run in 2010, it is undetermined if the term limit is for life, or is only limited to the incumbent.

The plurality voting system is used to determine the winner: the candidate with the highest number of votes, whether or not one has a majority, wins the presidency. The vice presidential election is a separate election, is held on the same rules, and voters may split their ticket. Both winners will serve six-year terms commencing on the noon of June 30, 2010, and ending on the same day six years later.

The candidates are determined via political conventions of the different political parties. As most political parties in the Philippines are loosely structured, with most politicians switching parties from time to time, a person not nominated by a party may either run as an independent, get drafted by another party, or form their own party. The candidacy process is supervised by the Commission on Elections (usually referred by its abbreviation "COMELEC") which also regulates and holds the elections. It is not uncommon for the commission to disqualify certain candidates as "nuisance candidates" or those candidates who have no capacity to mount a nationwide campaign. This usually limits the candidates to a small number. The campaign will run for three months, beginning in early February 2010 and ending on the eve of the election.

The counting of votes is initially held in the individual voting precincts, which are all then tabulated for the different municipalities and cities, then to the provinces, and finally to Congress, which is the final canvasser of the votes. Election protests are handled by the Supreme Court, when it sits as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Timeline

The COMELEC-mandated election period for this election was from January 10 to June 9

2008

August 26 - Then-Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando announces bid for presidency. September 4 - Senator Manny Villar announces bid for presidency. November 11 - Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay announces bid for presidency. November 26 - Senator Mar Roxas is elected as party president of the Liberal Party and is nominated to be the standard-bearer.

2009

March 12 - Former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. announces bid for presidency. April 25 - Senator Richard Gordon announces bid for presidency. May 12 - Senator Panfilo Lacson announces bid for presidency. June 6 - Senator Lacson withdraws from presidential race. June 17 - Environmentalist Nicanor Perlas announces bid for presidency. July 14 - Senator Loren Legarda announces bid for presidency. July 31 - Senator Jamby Madrigal announces bid for presidency. August 1 - Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino dies from colorectal cancer. The country descends into a five-day period of mourning and grief for the late President. August 21 - Evangelist Eddie Villanueva announces bid for presidency. August 30 - Ang Kapatiran names Olongapo City councilor John Carlos de los Reyes as its standard-bearer. September 1 - Senator Roxas withdraws and supports fellow Senator Benigno Aquino III.; Jejomar Binay withdraws and supports Former President Joseph Estrada. September 4 - Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio and Isabela Governor Grace Padaca withdraws and supports Aquino. September 9 - Senator Benigno Aquino III announces bid for presidency. September 21 - Liberal completes tandem: Roxas accepts vice presidential offer of Aquino. September 26 - Ousted President Joseph Estrada announces bid for presidency October 23 - Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno withdraws vice presidential bid. October 24 - Legarda slides to vice president. October 28 - Amid pressures to run for president, Senator Francis Joseph G. Escudero leaves NPC November 13 - Lakas–Kampi completes tandem: TV personality Edu Manzano runs for vice president with Teodoro. November 16 - Nacionalista Party completes tandem: Villar picks Legarda for Vice President. November 19 - Lakas–Kampi National Convention nominates Teodoro and Manzano. November 23 - De los Reyes and Dominador Chipeco, Jr. (Ang Kapatiran) file certificates of candidacy for president and VP, respectively. November 24 - Senator Escudero withdraws from the presidential race November 26 - Supreme Court allows "early campaigning". November 28 - Aquino and Roxas (Liberal) file Certificates of Candidacy. November 29 - Nicanor Perlas (Independent) files certificate of candidacy for president. November 30 - Villar and Legarda (Nacionalista) and; Estrada and Binay (PMP).; Villanueva and Perfecto Yasay, Jr. (Bangon Pilipinas) file Certificates of Candidacy for Pres and VP, respectively file certificates of candidacy. Hermogenes Ebdane withdraws presidential bid December 1–2 Teodoro and Manzano (Lakas–Kampi) file Certificates of Candidacy for President and Vce President, respectively. file; Jamby Madrigal (Independent) files for president alone; Gordon and Fernando (Bagumbayan); Jose Sonza (KBL) files for vice president. December 2 - ANC Presidential Forum: Analysts and viewers say Aquino gave "strong performance" and sounded "credible" (42%). Teodoro close second (37%); flip-flops on Reproductive Health Bill position. Villar was absent. December 11 - Outgoing Vice President Noli De Castro endorses Roxas for vice president. December 15 - Commission on Elections releases list of 16 approved candidates for president and vice-president. December 21 - Perlas protests disqualification at COMELEC. December 28 - COMELEC hears appeal and petition of disqualified candidates. December 21–22 - Pulse Asia Dec 2009 polls: Aquino solidifies lead in(45%) and BW-SWS (46%) presidential surveys. Legarda (37%) and Roxas (39%) are statistically tied in first place for the Pulse Asia vice-presidency survey.

2010

Election period

January 10 - Social Weather Stations December 2009 Survey (Zamora commissioned): Villar (33%) cuts Aquino (44%) lead. January 14 - Perlas reinstated by COMELEC. Relatively unknown Vetellano Acosta (KBL) is also reinstated as a candidate. January 14 - GMA Network Vice-Presidential Forum. January 20 - Estrada is allowed to run after the COMELEC threw out all three disqualification cases against him. January 29 - De La Salle University and ANC 2010 Presidential Youth Forum Youth 2010: Audience members say Aquino, Gordon, Teodoro "made a favorable impression". Madrigal attends for the first time. Estrada absent. February 8 - The Inquirer 1st Edition Presidential Debate with all candidates attending except Acosta and Estrada, with the latter citing "bias" against him. February 9 - Official election campaign starts February 9 - Campaign kickoff rallies occur at Antipolo (Lakas–Kampi), Calamba (Nacionalista), Imus (Bagumbayan), Olongapo (Ang Kapatiran), Quiapo (PMP), Rizal Park (Bangon Pilipinas), and Tarlac (Liberal). March 4 - COMELEC disqualifies Vetellano Acosta. His name, however, would remain in the ballot although votes that would be cast for him will be considered invalid. March 21 - ABS-CBN and ANC Vice-Presidential Debate: Analysts and viewers say that Roxas is seen as "most credible candidate" (54%) with Binay, Fernando tie in second (13%) and Yasay (11%); Legarda fared poorly (4%). Absent was Chipeco and Manzano whose absence drew comments on social-networking sites. Analysts point out also not "to belittle" the underdogs and praised Binay, Yasay and Sonza. March 28 - A number of Lakas–Kampi stalwarts leave party to support Villar. The Liberals says these defections are "completing the Villarroyo [Villar-Arroyo] puzzle". Malacañang downplays defections and denies alliance with Villar. March 30 - Teodoro resigns as Lakas–Kampi Chairman to focus on campaign. This fuels further speculation that President Arroyo is dropping her financial support for her party in exchange of new support in Villar due to "winnability". Sarangani Governor and party president Miguel Dominguez and secretary-general Francis Manglapus follows in less than 24 hours. Malacañang denies speculations that the resignations have something to do with rumors that Pres. Arroyo has decided to support another presidential candidate. April 6 - Pulse Asia March 2010 survey: Villar (25%) falls 4 points as Aquino (37%) widens lead. According to Pulse Asia, this was mainly due to the Villarroyo issue. This came at the heels of talks that Villar is the "secret candidate" of Pres. Arroyo, a charge that he denies. April 10 – May 10 – Overseas absentee voting continuing until May 10 (Election day). Two polling precincts encountered technical problems in Hong Kong, raising concerns on the automation system. April 28–30 – Local absentee voting for government officials, teachers performing election duties outside of their precincts, members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) starts. April 29 – COMELEC rejects proposals of a parallel manual count aside from the official tabulation. First Week of May - Smartmatic-TIM recalls the Compact Flash Cards (CFC) of all Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) Machines due to the machines not counting the votes correctly due to the spacing of the ballot. These were found out after testing. By Election Day, 99% of all CF Cards were already delivered. The remaining 1% was due to some inaccessible precincts. May 2 – Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader pastor Apollo Quiboloy finally endorses Gilbert Teodoro for president. and Mar Roxas for vice president May 3 - Manila Standard Today Presidential Survey: Aquino leads with Estrada overtaking Villar. May 5 - Iglesia ni Cristo endorses the tandem of Benigno Aquino III and Mar Roxas (Liberal). Voting as a block, the INC has an estimated command votes of 5 to 8 million. May 8 – The Supreme Court junks petitions to postpone the elections due to the technical difficulties found with the issue of the CF Cards May 10 — Election Day