INCUMBENT Malabon Mayor Jeannie Sandoval and "comebacking" congressman Ricky Sandoval — the husband-and-wife tandem — are likely to win the city's top elective posts, following an endorsement from an influential religious group, and their wide lead in the latest surveys.

The Malabon couple, in a statement emailed to The Manila Times, expressed their gratitude to the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) for its endorsement of their candidacies in the May 12, 2025, midterm elections.

"This is a great honor for us for its trust and support, and it only shows that the INC sees progress and development in the city for barely three years under my stewardship and it (INC) knows that more programs and infrastructures would be established with the re-election of my husband as representative at the House of the Representatives," the city's first female mayor said.

According to the April 21-30, 2025, independent, non-commissioned survey conducted by the RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc. (RPMD) involving face-to-face interviews with 2,500 randomly selected voters, the incumbent mayor received 70 percent voter preference against her rival, incumbent Rep. Jaye Lacson-Noel's 26 percent.

For the congressional race, Ricky Sandoval obtained 52.3 percent voter support, according to RPMD's "Boses ng Bayan" survey, which was conducted in the same period.

Lacson-Noel's husband, ex-An Waray party-list representative Bem Noel, was in fourth or last place at 6.7 percent while former mayor Antolin Oreta and incumbent Vice Mayor Bernard dela Cruz got 23.6 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively.

Ricky Sandoval was also known as the Father of Malabon Cityhood for authoring a bill that became Republic Act 9019 that converted the town into a highly urbanized city in 2001.

Among the flagship programs of the lady mayor is the Malabon Ahon Blue Card, launched in 2022, which has been providing quarterly aid to over 91,000 families in the city.

She also led the distribution of Certificates of Eligibility for Land Allocation to more than 700 families, granting them security over the land where their homes are located.

The city government is likewise constructing two mid-rise socialized housing projects in Barangay Tinajeros and Barangay Potrero, which will soon offer safer and more dignified housing for Malabueños.

Ricky Sandoval, meanwhile, initiated the construction of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Hospital, which would soon provide improved health care services.

He also helped establish the Malabon City National Science and Mathematics High School and the Maritime High School within Santiangco Syjuco Integrated School when he was the city's representative.

The other candidates under Sandovals' "Team Kakampi" have also obtained the endorsement of the INC, the couple's statement indicates.