MANILA, Philippines — It was with silent shock and a touch of disbelief that the Philippines, after four rounds of secret balloting from 10 pm on June 3 to 1 am on June 4, lost to Kyrgyzstan in its bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
The Philippines is a founding member of the United Nations (UN), its participation in the international body has been consistent and outsized, and it has long been a staunch believer in multilateralism and the rules-based order that many continue to champion, even when it has been a victim of rule-breaking and the lack of order in its maritime domain.
The Philippines would have been a “typical” choice in the secret ballots.
In 2003, or the last time the Philippines sought and won a seat in the UN SC, it garnered 178 votes out of the 182 votes and 7 abstentions cast in secret that day. The world in which the United Nations, the United States – where the UN General Assembly is headquartered – and the Philippines exist in 2026 is anything but typical.
With each round of voting, the votes dwindled — from the initial shock that was 85, to 81 in the second round, a dramatic drop to 68 in the third round, and an even more dramatic 48 — as Kyrgyzstan finally cinched its first seat in the council with 142 votes.
