MANILA, Philippines — Actor Robin Padilla and radio host Raffy Tulfo were among the prominent celebrities that came victorious at the 2022 national and local elections, with the two among the frontrunners in the senatorial race.
Padilla was the surprise top candidate among those running senatorial candidates with over 26 million votes based on unofficial-partial results, though the actor steadily rose among the survey ranks in the past months.
The actor ran under the senatorial slate of the ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) under the faction of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, and is the party's sole candidate currently in the Magic 12. At the last minute, Padilla was also included in the UniTeam slate of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Padilla's late father Roy was also an actor and politician, serving as governor of Camarines Norte under the ticket of former president Corazon Aquino and was a four-time mayor of Jose Panganiban in the province.
Related: Robin Padilla leads senatorial tally dominated by politicians
Tulfo was the perceived top candidate according to election surveys but unofficial-partial results see him in third position with 23 million votes, behind Padilla and former Sen. Loren Legarda.
The radio personality ran as an independent but was included on the senatorial slate of Sen. Manny Pacquiao. His son Ralph is running for congressman in the second district of Quezon City, his wife Jocelyn is seeking congressional reelection under ACT-CIS partylist (currently topping the partylist race) as its second nominee, and is brother Erwin — also a radio broadcaster — is the fourth nominee of ACT-CIS.
Beauty queens, young actors in the local races
A number of celebrities are winning their respective races at the local level, most notable among them is actor Arjo Atayde as he leads the race for the House seat of Quezon City's first district with twice as much votes as his nearest competitor, incumbent congressman Onyx Crisologo.
Fellow actor and "Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition Plus" winner Ejay Falcon is in front of a two-horse race for vice-governor of Oriental Mindoro, slimly leading over incumbent Antonio Perez Jr. Falcon is the running-mate of incumbent governor Bonz Dolor, who currently leads the gubernatorial race.
Former "Goin' Bulilit" star Nash Aguas looks set to become a councilor in the lone district of Cavite City as he is currently second in that race surrounded by his Lakas-CMD party-mates while Binibining Pilipinas-Globe 2019 Leren Mae Bautista is currently topping the councilor race for Los Baños, Laguna, followed by her Bigkis party-mates Marlo Alipon and Jonsi Siytiap.
Television actor and current representative of Manila's third district Yul Servo is poised to be the city's new vice-mayor, succeeding his running-mate Honey Lacuna who is expected to win the mayoralty.
Related: Celebs running for office is a comeback trend for 2022
Actress-politician Lucy Torres, meanwhile, appears to succeed her husband Richard as mayor of Ormoc City in Leyte (Richard is running for the congressional seat of Leyte's fourth district), while actor Javi Benitez is dominating the mayoral race of Victorias City in Negros Occidental.
Some personalities are also nominees in partylists like actress Karla Estrada, third nominee of Tingog which is a current frontrunner, and OWWA administrator Mocha Uson — the first nominee of Mothers for Change.
It remains to be seen how many seats will be alloted for triumphant partylists, meaning Uson's fellow nominee and former Binibining Pilipinas Globe Michele Gumabao will have to wait for the final official tally, as well as Miss Universe Philippines Organization national director Shamcey Supsup-Lee who is the first nominee of ARTE.
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