The 2010 General Elections of the Philippines are scheduled to be held on May 10, in which a new president, vice president, 12 senators, 287 members of the House of Representatives as well as some 17,000 local officials will be elected by some 50 million voters.

As the upcoming elections will bring major changes to official posts throughout this southeast Asian country, the 2010 General Elections are attracting attention from both inside the Philippines and the international community.

Anti-corruption, elimination of poverty

Major presidential candidates include Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III from the Liberal Party, Manuel "Manny" Bamba Villar Jr. from the Nacionalista Party, ex-president Joseph "ERAP" Estrada from the Force of the Filipino Masses party, as well as other candidates from various political parties.

Born in 1960, Aquino III is the only son of the late senator Benigno Servillano "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. and late ex-president Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco Aquino. Graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1981, Aquino III was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998, and was elected to the Senate in 2007. Within the Liberal Party, Aquino III has been holding the Vice-Chairman position since March 2006.

Aquino III believes that corruption and poverty are the main reasons for the Filipino people to lack in trust with their government, and pledges that if elected, he will be committed to fighting corruption, eliminating poverty, promoting economy and employment, improving education and healthcare standards and so on.

Villar was born in 1949 to a government employee father and a seafood dealer mother. In his early years as a working student, he graduated from the University of the Philippines with a master of business administration degree. After graduation, he experienced several job changes, later becoming a housing tycoon.

Villar was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, later becoming Speaker there. He has been a senator since 2001 and served as Senate President from 2006 to 2008. Villar has been president for the Nacionalista Party since 2004.

He believes that extensively existing poverty and social injustice are the main problem the Philippines is faced with, and he pledged that once elected, he will be committed to eliminating poverty, cracking down on corruption, promoting social justice, realizing the economy's self-sufficiency through land reforms, developing local industry, containing environmental damages, improving basic social services such as education, healthcare, housing, etc.

Estrada was elected to the presidency in 1998, and was ousted in 2001 with corruption allegations. His post was assumed by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who became vice-president in 1998. Estrada was sentenced to life imprisonment for plunder in September 2007 but was pardoned by president Arroyo in October. In the 2004 General Elections, Arroyo was permitted to run for presidency and succeeded, and her presidential term ends on June 30, 2010.

Because Estrada's presidency from 1998 to 2004 was terminated in the middle, he was permitted to run for president again in the 2010 elections. In his opinion, the reason causing poverty and starvation in the Philippines is corruption. He pledges that if elected, he will be committed to cracking down on corruption, addressing secessionist problems in the south and creating safe social environment in order to realize stable growth of the economy, improving agricultural conditions, expanding investment in education, promoting employment, etc.

Under the Philippine Constitution, a presidential term lasts for 6 years and upon completion of that term, the president shall not be eligible for any reelection.