Five days after the country's first nationwide automated polls, the
Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday around 3:20 p.m.,
proclaimed nine of the 12 winners in the senatorial race.
The poll body – sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) –
announced that leading those joining the 15th Congress of the
Philippines is reelectionist Senator Ramon Bong Revilla (Lakas-Kampi).
Senator Jinggoy Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) will
also join him in the Senate for placing second among the senatorial
winners.
Also among the nine senatorial aspirants proclaimed winners were:
Defensor-Santiago, Miriam of the People's Reform Party (PRP); Drilon,
Franklin of the Liberal Party (LP); Enrile, Juan Ponce (PMP); Cayetano,
Pilar Juliana of Nacionalista Party (NP); Marcos, Ferdinand Jr. (NP);
Recto, Ralph (LP); and Sotto, Vicente III of the Nationalist People's
Coalition (NPC).
Of the newly-proclaimed senators, only Marcos is the first-timer.
Some will finish their terms on June 30 and others had been senators at
some points in their political careers.
They will join incumbents 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 in the 15th Congress.
Senator Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III's term expires in 2013,
but official and unofficial tallies show that he is likely to win the
presidency.
Twelve of the 24 senators are elected every three years. Each
senator is given a six-year term to ensure continuity of Senate
function.
On Thursday, Comelec Commissioner Gregrio Larrazabal said that they
would probably have to wait for all of the certificates of canvass to
come in before they could proclaim the rest of the senatorial and
party-list winners.
Expected to fill the last three of the 12 slots are Sergio Osmena
III (Independent), Manuel Lapid (Lakas-Kampi), and Teofisto Guingona III
(LP).
But consistently trailing the three in the 13th place is Akbayan
Rep. Ana Theresia “Risa" Hontiveros-Baraquel.
Behind Hontiveros are Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Biazon and Jose de
Venecia III who usually rank 14th and 15th, respectively.
Larrazabal said that the proclamation for this year's senatorial
race is still probably the fastest one in Philippine history.
In 2004, it took the Comelec two weeks before it could declare the
complete slate of new senators. In 2007, it took them two months to do
the same.
Meanwhile, a joint session of Congress, sitting as the NBOC, will
serve as the canvassing board for the position of president and vice
president. — GMANews.TV
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Subject: Comelec en banc proclaims 9 of 12 newly elected senators 
Sat May 15, 2010 3:28 am