Team PNoy grabs lead

MANILA, Philippines - The administration’s Team PNoy took an early lead last night in the official count of  the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

As of 10:30 p.m., Grace Llamanzares Poe was leading the top 15 with 9,891,318 votes, followed by Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano, Nancy Binay, Sonny Angara, Bam Aquino, Koko Pimentel, Antonio Trillanes, JV Ejercito, Cynthia Villar, Gringo Honasan, Richard Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri and Ramon Magsaysay Jr.

Binay, Ejercito, Honasan, Zubiri and Gordon belong to the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). The rest belong to Team PNoy.

The Comelec said it might proclaim the first nine winners of the senatorial race by tomorrow night.

Following Magsaysay in the partial tally are Risa Hontiveros, Jack Enrile, Ed Hagedorn, Eddie Villanueva, Jamby Madrigal, Mitos Magsaysay, Teddy Casiño, Ernesto Maceda, Margarita Cojuangco, JC de los Reyes, Greco Belgica, Samson Alcantara, Ricardo Penson, Lito David, Ramon Montaño, Marwil Llasos, Christian Seneres and Bal Falcone.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. told a press conference yesterday that the Comelec, convening as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), might not be able to proclaim the 12 winning senators if the results are close among those at the tail-end of the race.

“It’s very possible that if there will be close voting among those on the 11th, 12th and 13th slots, the proclamation will be delayed. But we will try to proclaim as many as we can,” Brillantes said.

Thirty-three candidates are aspiring for 12 slots that will be vacant at the Senate in June.

In the 2010 elections, the NBOC proclaimed the first nine senators five days after the elections.

The NBOC was set to convene last night to prepare to receive election results from polling precincts nationwide. Ballot counting at the polling precincts was to start after the voting period closed at 7 p.m.

Brillantes said the winners in the local elections, particularly the mayors, vice mayors and councilors, are likely to be proclaimed from 12 to 24 hours after the close of polling precinct.

It will take around 36 hours to proclaim the winners for congressmen and provincial positions, he said.

A total of 44,448 candidates are vying for 18,054 posts, excluding representatives of party-list groups.

Congressional race sweep

Meanwhile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. expressed hope yesterday that pro-administration candidates would sweep the congressional race to ensure that the Aquino administration’s socio-economic reform efforts would continue.

He said Congress plays a crucial role in implementing socio-economic and political reforms and “a weak hold” on the Senate and the House of Representatives would only result in more politicking that would distract the nation from the task at hand, which is to continue reforms, ensure growth, and promote stability in the country.

“We need to help the President continue his strong and moral leadership in the last three years of his term,” Belmonte said.

Meanwhile, Team PNoy senatorial candidate Juan Edgardo Angara said he and his supporters would remain vigilant until the last vote is counted.

He said even if the official 90-day campaign period has ended, he will not rest and closely monitor developments in the elections.

After voting at the Suklayin Elementary School in Barangay Suklayin, Baler, Aurora along with his father, Sen. Edgardo Angara, he headed back to Manila.

Friendly Senate

A “friendly” Senate looms if a majority of the candidates of the administration coalition Team PNoy are elected.

“The alignments are going to be clear once the winning bets are known.  The administration is keen to have a friendly Senate in June, unlike in the current Congress where the administration had to slug it out to pass some key measures,” a source told The STAR.

The Senate presidency will depend on the number of senators allied with either the Liberal Party (LP) coalition or the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) who will be elected. 

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is assured of the support of Senators Vicente Sotto and Jinggoy Estrada. The so-called Enrile bloc will retain a loyal member if Sen. Gregorio Honasan is re-elected.

The victory of UNA candidates, particularly Enrile’s son, Jack, and Jinggoy’s brother JV Ejercito or former senators Richard Gordon, Migz Zubiri or Nancy Binay, will bolster the possibility of retaining Enrile as Senate president.

The victory of senatorial bets allied with the LP, including Senators Francis Escudero, Loren Legarda, Alan Peter Cayetano and neophytes Grace Poe, Bam Aquino and Cynthia Villar, will be critical for the administration to get a hold of the Senate presidency.

Possible contenders include LP campaign manager Sen. Franklin Drilon and Cayetano, who is said to be keen on topping the senatorial elections.

Sources said the support of the Nacionalista Party bloc headed by outgoing Sen. Manny Villar is the game changer in the Senate presidency race. Apart from the Villars, the Cayetano siblings, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Sen. Bongbong Marcos are with the NP bloc.

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. of Lakas-CMD is allied with NP in Cavite.

Under the salary standardization law, the new batch of senators will get a P90,000 monthly salary and P200-million Priority Development Assistance Fund, commonly known as pork barrel, every year. – Sheila Crisostomo, Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez