13th placer in race can’t replace Noynoy in Senate – Comelec
Six of the nine winning senators in the May 10, 2010 elections show off their certificates of proclamation after they were proclaimed Saturday by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Six of the nine winning senators in the May 10, 2010 elections show off their certificates of proclamation after they were proclaimed Saturday by the Commission on Elections (Comelec)
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Old and familiar faces – some on their second and last term, and others making a comeback – dominated this year’s senatorial race.
The top two slots were taken by best of buddies Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, who are also actors in the silver screen. The rest were reelectionists, former senators, and a newcomer.
Revilla garnered 18,218,514 votes, while Estrada received 17,722,162 votes from 115 out of 274 certificates of canvass (CoCs) from around the country as well as those from the overseas and local absentee voting tallied by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers.
They were officially proclaimed Saturday by the Comelec at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
Also proclaimed were Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, 16,066,001 votes; Franklin Drilon, 14,770,612 votes; Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, 14,695,263 votes; Sen. Pia Cayetano, 12,821,946 votes; Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., 12,372,118 votes; Ralph Recto, 11,640,679 votes; and Vicente Sotto III, 11,160,077 votes. Santiago, Drilon, and Marcos failed to attend the event.
Member of Marcos’s staff who refused to be identified told Manila Bulletin that the Ilocos congressman was unable to attend the proclamation ceremony because he was out of the country. His invitation from the Comelec came too late and he could no longer cancel his trip.
Drilon, Sotto, and Recto are returning to the Senate to serve a fresh new six-year term while Marcos is the only new face in the incoming 15th Congress.
They will join incumbent Senators Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo, Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Francis Pangilinan, Antonio Trillanes, Manuel Villar Jr., and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
“I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who reposed their trust on me. I would not be here if not for them. We will pursue the legislation we left in the Senate,” said Revilla in the vernacular.
The Comelec was able to proclaim the new senators in a week’s time, the quickest ever as a result of the first automated elections. Unlike in the past, it took the poll body nearly a month for the proclamation of winning candidates.
“I would like to believe that I was brought back to the Senate because of my good track record. I would like to thank the Filipino people for the vote of confidence. I vow to work on a platform of trust and good governance,” said Sen. Pia Cayetano in a separate interview.
Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said the Comelec, which sits as the National Board of Canvassers (NBoC), will proclaim the 10th,11th, and 12th winning senatorial candidate only if they have surely secured their lead over the 13th candidate.
Among the senatorial aspirants battling for the last three slots are Sergio Osmeña III, 10,996,061; Manuel “Lito” Lapid, 10,327,121; Teofisto Guingona III, 9,686,352.
Trailing at 13th place is Akbayan Party-List Rep. Risa Hontiveros Baraquel with 8,581,125 votes.
As this developed, there will be no replacement for the position that will be vacated by leading presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said, saying the 13th placer in the 2010 senatorial race will not be considered for the vacant post since the law only provides that 12 senators can be elected in every election.
“If it says 12 it means 12 only,” he said.
To recall, 13 senators were proclaimed by the Comelec in the 2001 elections with the last position considered as the replacement for then Senator Teofisto Guingona Jr., who was appointed by President Arroyo to be her Vice President.
But election lawyer Romulo Macalintal explained that Guingona’s case was different.
“That time, there was a vacancy at the time of the elections. Now, when we elected, there was no vacancy for that position... there’s no resolution to that effect. The resolution of the Comelec was only to elect 1 to 12 senators,” he said.
Macalintal said the Comelec cannot also hold a special election later just to fill up Aquino's slot, saying such an election should be held simultaneously with the regular elections.
“In case of vacancy in Senate, there should be special elections but the special elections should be held simultaneously with a regular election... We don’t have an upcoming regular election where a replacement senator could be elected,” he said. Aquino’s term as senator was to end in 2013.
Don’t let us down
Meanwhile, the Comelec has only one thing to say to the nine senators-elect that were proclaimed Saturday: Don’t let us down.
“You are our representatives. You are our champions. Do not let us down,” Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said in reading the proclamation.
“On behalf of the Commission en banc, I extend the most heartfelt congratulations, and in so doing, hand over the hopes and expectations of the Filipino people,” he added.
Melo, meantime, explained that the 10th up to the 12th ranking winning candidates for senator shall be proclaimed after the receipt and canvass of the remaining CoCs. (With a report from Gabby Mabutas)
May 15, 2010, 9:15pm
RAYMUND F. ANTONIO and LESLIE ANN AQUINO
Manila Bulliten
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