Fil-Am voters go for administration-backed candidates

CHICAGO – Filipino-American voters went mostly for administration-backed candidates in Monday’s national elections, indicating their support for the reforms initiated by President Aquino, according to the Philippine embassy.

The results of the official canvass of election returns from across the United States show administration candidates taking 10 of the 12 Senate seats.

Sen. Francis Escudero topped the Senate race in the US with 9,464 votes, followed by Alan Peter Cayetano with 9,174 votes; Grace Poe, 9,029; Loren Legarda, 8,696; Aquilino Pimentel III, 8,448; Bam Aquino, 8,267; Juan Edgardo Angara, 7,735;  Richard Gordon, 7,291; Ramon Magsaysay Jr., 7,187; Risa Hontiveros, 6,983;  Antonio Trillanes IV, 6,521; and Juan Miguel Zubiri, 4,908.

All are administration candidates except for Gordon and Zubiri.

“This is a vote of confidence for the President and the reforms he has undertaken since he assumed office in 2010,” Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. said in a statement shortly after the Special Board of Canvassers at the embassy concluded its canvass of election returns from the US mainland and Hawaii.

A total of 14,098 ballots were received from 93,229 registered Filipino-American voters in areas served by the embassy in Washington and the consulates general in Agana, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco during the absentee voting process from April 13 to May 13.

Among the party-list groups vying for seats in the House of Representatives, it was the OFW Family Club Inc. that garnered the most votes from the Filipino-American community with 1,470 votes, followed by the Coalition of Association of Senior Citizens in the Philippines, 743; Gabriela Women’s Party, 642; Citizens Battle Against Corruption, 609; Bayan Muna, 585; and Migrante Sectoral Party of Overseas Filipinos and their Families, 460.

Others in the list were You Against Corruption and Poverty, 404; Akbayan Citizens Action Party, 358; Pilipinos with Disabilities, 291; Ang Nars Inc., 262; Magdalo Para sa Pilipino, 231; Alyansa ng OFW Party, 231; Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action, Cooperation and Harmony Towards Education Reforms, 214; Agbiag! Timpuyog Ilocano Inc., 159; and Act Teachers Party-List, 143.

“I would like to thank all our kababayans for keeping their faith in the democratic process by participating in the midterm elections,” Cuisia said.

Although voter turnout was only 15 percent of registered voters, Cuisia said it was still considerably bigger than the 3,062 voters who turned up during the 2007 elections – or a 282 percent increase.

“The efforts exerted by our kababayans to cast their votes are truly encouraging and speak volumes of their commitment to the ideals of democracy wherever they are,” Cuisia said.

Cuisia also thanked Consuls General Marciano Paynor in San Francisco, Mario de Leon in New York, Hellen de la Vega in Los Angeles, Julius Torres in Honolulu, Leo Herrera-Lim in Chicago, and Bayani Mangibin in Agana and other Foreign Service staff for helping ensure the success of the elections.

The ambassador cited the efforts of Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the US to reach out and convince the Filipino-American community to register and participate in the elections.

“I salute the men and women of the foreign service for really going out of the way to ensure that our kababayans are able to exercise their right to vote,” Cuisia said.