Duterte allies win both houses of Philippines legislature in midterm polls

Allies of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte stormed to a landslide victory in midterm polls, final results showed Wednesday.

Loyalists won both houses of the legislature, shutting out all opposition candidates in the Senate, which had served as a buffer against Duterte’s most contentious plans, AFP said. The results open a path for Duterte to advance his project to rewrite the constitution.

With nine Duterte backers and three nominally unaligned politicians taking the 12 seats at stake in the 24-member Senate, only four oppositions members will remain.

Duterte allies also kept control of the lower House of Representatives.