Nine candidates from the administration coalition Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HnP) landed in the top 12 of the midterm polls, the latest partial results from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting showed.
Re-electionist Cynthia Villar came in first among the administration-backed bets. The other bets that made it into the list were former presidential assistant Bong Go, Taguig representative Pia Cayetano, former police chief and former corrections bureau chief Bato dela Rosa, fellow re-electionist Sonny Angara, Ilocos Norte governor Imee Marcos, former presidential adviser Francis Tolentino, former senator Bong Revilla, and former Senate President Kiko Pimentel.
Rounding out the list were second placer and re-electionist Grace Poe, who ran independent; seventh placer and former senator Lito Lapid, who ran under the Nationalist People’s Coalition; and last placer and re-electionist Nancy Binay, who ran under the United Nationalist Alliance
Meanwhile, none of the candidates under the opposition alliance Otso Diretso grabbed any of the Senate seats. Outgoing senator Bam Aquino, the leading candidate among the opposition bets, currently sits at 14th place.
More than 18,000 positions were up for grabs in the midterm elections, which include 12 senate seats and over 300 House of Representatives posts.
What it means now
The results of the senatorial elections have important implications on the potential passing of key initiatives in the Senate, as a majority win from administration allies ensures a stronger backing on President Rodrigo Duterte’s highly contested policy plans.
Previously, senators have conducted investigations into the ongoing war on drugs and impeded major initiatives such as the push for a federal form of government.
Eight of the incumbent senators whose term is not yet ending this 2019 have previously aligned themselves with the president, while only four senators comprise the minority bloc. These are senators Franklin Drilon, Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, and Francis Pangilinan. Senators Aquino and Antonio Trillanes both end their term this year.
Meanwhile, returnees Poe and Binay have expressed support for some of Duterte’s ongoing initiatives. With the inclusion of the nine HnP candidates, there is little in the way of opposition.
Word from the candidates
Candidates have shared their thoughts and plans after the election. Dela Rosa, who currently ranks fifth in the unofficial tally, admitted that he will need to take seminars on law making to better familiarize himself with the job. He also shared that he plans to take pointers from re-electionist senators Pimentel and JV Ejercito.
Go, who once claimed that he had no senatorial ambitions, said that he did not expect to win. The former special assistant to the president had previously enjoyed a strong showing in the Pulse Asia survey despite not being in the top 12 of the poll less than a year ago; he now ranks third in the partial count.
He expressed his gratitude to Duterte, noting that working for the head of state opened his eyes to the plight around him. “Hindi nagtatapos sa halalang ito ang ating pakikipag-ugnayan sa isa’t isa. Kung tutuusin, sa araw na ito magsisimula ang mas pinaigting na pagsiserbisyo natin sa sambayanang Pilipino,” Go stated.
(Our relationship with one another does not end with the elections. In fact, today marks the beginning of even stronger service to the Filipino people.)
Meanwhile, Binay conveyed her confidence about securing the 12th and final Senate seat in a media briefing. According to her, calculations made by people supporting her show that at worst, her margin over the next person, re-electionist Senator JV Ejercito, would be 200,000 votes.
From the farther seat in the ranks and upon finding himself at the 21st spot, DLSU College of Law Dean Chel Diokno conceded and took to social media to express his gratitude for his supporters. The human rights lawyer and son of former senator and human rights commission founder Jose “Pepe” Diokno was a strong contender and frequent topnotcher in college polls.
“There’s no need to be sorry for anything. We did our best and we did well,” he declared to his supporters.
Diokno also urged his supporters to not lose heart over his defeat, and instead “chelibrate” and start anew the next day in their mission to increase awareness.
“So really this is a time for us to celeberate, kailangan magchelebrate tayo ngayon para wala nang iyak-iyakan. Tama na iyan, dahil bukas na bukas magsisimula tayo ulit,” Diokno said.
(So really this is a time for us to celebrate, we need to chelibrate right now so that we can stop crying. No need to cry, because tomorrow we can start again.)
Former legislator and peace advocate Samira Gutoc, who likewise performed well on student surveys, has also conceded after placing 25th. Similar to Diokno, she was a lawyer who built her platform on equality and representation and staunchly opposed most administration initiatives.
Nonetheless, she expressed her immense gratitude for the opportunity. “It would’ve been an honor working for all of you. Thank you for giving me the chance,” she said.
Issues abound
This year’s elections were marred by technical glitches, despite being the fourth time the country has employed an automated system. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported that between 400 to 600 of its vote-counting machines (VCMs) encountered problems during the poll proceedings. By comparison, only 125 VCMs broke down in the 2016 elections.
A glitch had also found its way in the commission’s transparency server, setting back the unofficial tally sent to media organizations and political parties by seven hours. By then, votes collated from 79,569 precincts—accounting for 90.57 percent of all precincts—were suddenly fed into the system.
This was a significant leap from the 359 precincts or 0.4 percent of the total that was transmitted successfully after polls closed nationwide. The following morning the data dropped to less than half before technicians corrected the figure to its previous state.
Apart from technical issues, multiple cases of vote-buying were reported across the country. Duterte commented on this after casting his vote in Davao City, saying that the practice has been “an integral part of an election in the Philippines.”
‘Disappointed, angry, and frustrated’
Lasallians have also weighed in on the election results through social media, with a number of them expressing their frustration at the outcome of the vote. Trisha Justol (I, ISE-MGT), who voted in the recent elections, says she was “disappointed, angry, and frustrated” with the turnout, adding that the results encouraged her to better educate the youth on who to vote for.
Meanwhile, Erika Gruezo (I, ISJ-MKT) believes that the recent elections was a failure due to the multiple alleged anomalies that occurred. “The countless anomalies during the elections, shady ‘IT problems’, and reports nationwide of candidates showing up in their receipts even if they didn’t vote for them are obvious evidences that something was wrong…We were cheated,” she argues.
Diane Ang (II, BSA), on the other hand, points out that most Filipinos were unaware of candidates’ platforms, choosing instead to vote based on popularity.
For Anna Ignacio (I, BS-AEF), who admits that she was not able to vote, the elections can have an impact on interpersonal relationships, as clashing political views can sow division among friends and relatives.
“It has made me more aware of what I put out on social media and how to be a more vigilant and pro-active member in helping others. It taught me to be more open-minded and to not jump to conclusions,” she adds.
While the final list of winners have yet to be released, 97.69 percent or almost 47 million votes have already been transmitted through VCMs in the unofficial count as of press time. Meanwhile, Comelec has at present processed 129 out of 167 certificates of canvass in their official tally.
