MANILA, Philippines – As testament to the record speed of the automated election system, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed yesterday the first nine new senators just five days after the May 10 polls.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said it would continue with its count despite the partial proclamation.
Officially declared winners in the senatorial race were Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), Sen. Jinggoy Estrada (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino), Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino), Sen. Pia Cayetano (Nacionalista Party), Sen. Ralph Recto (Liberal Party), and Sen. Vicente Sotto III (Nationalist People’s Coalition).
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago (People’s Reform Party), Sen. Franklin Drilon (Liberal Party) and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (NP) were also proclaimed but did not show up.
A staff of Santiago said the senator was out of town, while Marcos had already gone back to Ilocos Norte. Drilon, for his part, said he was in a meeting during the proclamation because he had been notified only at 1 p.m.
The proclamation ceremony was held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City where the canvassing of the votes for senators and party-list groups was made.
Celebration
“After the Comelec’s long struggle to automate the country’s electoral system, and after the candidates’ equally difficult campaign to secure the mandate of the people, we are here today to celebrate the rewards of all our hard work and dedication,” Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said in his opening speech.
In previous elections, it took the Comelec almost a month to proclaim winning senators.
Melo noted for the poll body, “this proclamation ceremony is the cornerstone upon which we shall begin to rebuild public trust and confidence in the Commission.”
“For the senators-elect, this proclamation ceremony represents the clear vox populi, speaking with the transcendent authority of the vox dei: You are our representatives. You are our champions. Do not let us down,” he added.
As of 11 am yesterday, the Comelec had canvassed 96 certificates of canvass (COCs) from local votes and 19 from overseas absentee voting. So far, the poll body has already received 115 of the 274 COCs.
Based on canvassed COCs, Revilla was leading the senatorial race with 18,218,514 votes followed by Estrada with 17,722,162 votes, Defensor-Santiago (16,066,001), Drilon (14,770,612), Enrile (14,695,263), Cayetano (12,821,946), Marcos (12,372,118), Recto (11.640,679) and Sotto (11,160,077).
Old faces
Aside from Revilla, the other re-electionists are Cayetano, Defensor-Santiago and Enrile. Drilon, Recto and Sotto, on the other hand, are “returnees” while Marcos is a neophyte.
The 52-year-old Marcos served three terms as governor in Ilocos Norte, and was a congressman before his election to the Senate.
His mother, Imelda Marcos, won a seat in the House of Representatives, and his eldest sister, former Rep. Imee Marcos, was elected governor of Ilocos Norte.
Marcos had earlier told reporters he may seek to use the Senate to clear his father’s name and as a springboard to the presidency in the 2016 election.
“I would like to take this political career that I have embarked upon as far as it can go,” he said when he announced his senatorial bid late last year.
“The ultimate position is to be president,” Marcos said.
Leading the presidential race is Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, 50, whose mother and father opposed Ferdinand Marcos’ iron-fisted rule, campaigned largely on his family name and promised to follow the legacy of his parents, who are regarded as heroes in the country’s democratic struggle against the Marcos dictatorship.
It was only after his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, died of cancer last August that he decided to run, spurred by the massive outpouring of national grief for the leader who helped oust Marcos in 1986.
She inherited the mantle of her husband, Benigno Aquino Jr., an opposition senator gunned down by soldiers at the then Manila International Airport in
1983 upon his return from US exile to challenge Marcos. The airport has since been renamed after him.
No effect
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the agency decided to proceed with the proclamation of the nine senators because a continuation of the canvass would no longer affect their standing. The new senators will serve for six years.
“Even if we canvass the uncanvassed COCs, it will not materially affect the votes obtained by these senators,” Jimenez said.
Based on the last canvassed results, former senator Sergio Osmena III was in the 10th place with 10,996,061 votes while re-electionist Manuel Lapid was in the 11th slot with 13,327,121 votes. The 12th and last slot seems to be a tossup between former congressman Teofisto Guingona III with 9,686,352 votes and Akbayan party-list representative Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel with 8,581,125 votes.
In an ambush interview, Revilla pushed for unity under the leadership of president-apparent Aquino.
“Now, there should no longer be opposition and administration. We should unite, stop bickering, or nothing will happen to our country,” he added.
Cayetano said she would push harder for her advocacies on health and environment “to improve the country’s economy.”
Sotto said he would push for the creation of special drug courts to speed up the prosecution of drug related cases.
He also promised to put in place a free rehabilitation program for drug dependents.
“Our problem on narcotics is grave. Based on the statistics from the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, we have more than a hundred thousand drug cases filed and the regional trial courts are also clogged,” Sotto, a former chair of DDB, said.
“I thank them for trusting me again and I congratulate all the Filipinos for a successful election,” he said after his proclamation.
Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, for his part, clarified that whoever gets the 13th slot may not automatically replace the Senate seat to be vacated by Aquino.
“That can’t happen unless there is a prior announcement that we have to elect 13 senators (to fill in vacancies). I think it happened when then Sen. Teofisto Guingona was appointed vice president in 2001 (after the People Power 2),” Ferrer added. - With Evelyn Macairan, Aie Balagtas See