Philippine senatorial elections

The Senate, when it existed, met at the Old Legislative Building from 1918 to 1941, from 1949 to 1973, and from 1987 to 1997.

The building that the Senate shares with the Government Service Insurance System since 1997.

Elections to the Senate of the Philippines is done via plurality-at-large voting; a voter can vote for up to twelve candidates, with the twelve candidates with the highest number of votes being elected. The 24-member Senate uses staggered elections, with only one-half of its members up for election at any given time, except for special elections, which are always held concurrently with regularly scheduled elections.^[1]

Manner of choosing candidates

With the advent of the nominal multi-party system in 1987, political parties have been able to muster enough candidates to fill their 12-person ticket. This means they have to join coalitions or alliances in order to present a full slate. If a slate is still not complete, guest candidates may be invited, even from rival slates. A guest candidate may not be compelled to join the campaign rallies of the slate that invited him/her. A party may even not include their entire ticket to a coalition slate, or assign their candidates to competing slates. A candidate may defect from one slate to another or be unaffiliated with any slate while the campaign is ongoing. The Commission on Elections uses the names of the political parties on the ballot.

In Third Republic elections under the nominal two-party system, the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party often presented complete 8-person tickets; a party may even exceed the 8-person slate due to perceived popularity.

Once elected, the parties involved in the different slates may form alliances with one another totally different from the alliances prior to the election.

Manner of election

1916 to 1935

Map of the senatorial districts.

From 1916 to 1934, the country was divided into 12 senatorial districts. Eleven of these districts elected two senators each. In 1916, each district elected two senators (plurality-at-large): one was to serve a six-year term, the other a three-year term. On each election thereafter, one seat per district was up (first past the post). The senators from the 12th district were appointed by the American governor-general for no fixed term.^[2]

In 1935, the electorate approved in a plebiscite a new constitution that abolished the Senate and instituted a unicameral National Assembly of the Philippines. The members of the Constitutional Convention originally wanted bicameralism but could not agree on how the senators shall be elected: via the senatorial districts or being nationally elected.^[3]

1941 to 1949

The electorate in 1940 approved in a plebiscite amendments to the constitution that restored the bicameral Congress of the Philippines, including the Senate. Elections for the Senate were held on every second Monday of November of every odd-numbered year; however, the old senatorial districts were not used anymore; instead, the 24-member Senate was to be elected on a nationwide at-large basis.^[3] As the first election in the new setup, the voters in the 1941 election voted for 24 senators. However, they were also given the option of writing the party's name on the ballot, wherein all of the candidates of the party would receive votes. With the 24 candidates with the most number of votes winning in the election, the ruling Nacionalista Party won all 24 seats in a landslide victory. The winners included Rafael Martinez, who replaced Norberto Romualdez, who died the day before the election; Martinez won because of voters who had selected the party, rather than specifying a particular candidate.^[4]

Due to World War II, Congress was not able to convene until June 1945. President Sergio Osmeña called for special sessions to convene the 1st Congress of the Commonwealth of the Philippines until elections could be organized. Originally, to observe the staggered terms, the eight candidates with the most votes were to serve for eight years, the next eight for four years, and still the next eight for two years. However, several members had died and others were disqualified because they were charged with collaboration with the Japanese, so the Senate conducted a lottery to determine which senators would serve until 1946 and which would serve until 1947.^[5] In the 1946 election, voters elected 16 senators; the first eight candidates with the highest amount of votes were to serve until 1951, the next eight were to serve until 1949.^[2]

1951 to 1971

The Senate chamber at the Old Congress building: Cipriano P. Primicias, Sr., far left, debates Quintín Paredes, far right. In the center are, from left to right, Justiniano Montano, Mariano Jesús Cuenco, Enrique B. Magalona, and Francisco Delgado. In the foreground is Edmundo Cea.

Electoral reform enacted in 1951 eliminated block voting, which had given voters the option of writing the party's name on the ballot. In the 1951 election, voters voted for eight senators for the first time and each voter had to write at most eight names for senator (writing the party's name would result in a spoiled vote). Noting that after the elimination of block voting, many people voted for a split ticket, political scientist David Wurfel has remarked that "The electoral reform of 1951 was thus one of the most important institutional changes in the postwar Philippines, making the life of the opposition easier."^[4]

In September 1973, President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and assumed legislative powers. In the 1973 plebiscite, the electorate approved a new constitution that abolished Congress and replaced it with a unicameral National Assembly, which would ultimately be the Batasang Pambansa (parliament).^[2]

1987 to present

The GSIS building: The Senate session hall.

Marcos was overthrown as a result of the 1986 People Power Revolution. The new president, Corazon Aquino, appointed a Constitutional Commission to write a new constitution. The electorate approved the constitution in 1987, restoring the bicameral Congress. Instead of electing 8 senators every two years, the new constitution provided that 12 senators would be elected every three years. As part of the transitory provisions, the voters elected 24 senators in the 1987 election, to serve until 1992. In the 1992 election, the voters still voted for 24 candidates, but the first 12 candidates with the most number of votes were to serve until 1998, while the next 12 were to serve only until 1995. Thereafter, 12 candidates are elected every second Monday of May every third year since 1995.^[6]

Summary

Election results by number of seats from 1916 to the present. Note that some senators may switch to another party mid-term.

Election results by total votes from 1946 to the present.

Elections	Elected	Seats per district	Districts	Total seats
1916	22	2	11	24
1919	11	1	11	24
1922	12	1	12	24
1925	12	1	12	24
1928	12	1	12	24
1931	12	1	12	24
1934	12	1	12	24
Senate abolished from 1935 to 1941. Senators elected in 1941 will not serve until 1945.
1941	24^1	24	1	24
1946	16^2	16	1	24
1947	8	8	1	24
1949	8	8	1	24
1951	9^3	9	1	24
1953	8	8	1	24
1955	9^4	9	1	24
1957	8	8	1	24
1959	8	8	1	24
1961	8	8	1	24
1963	8	8	1	24
1965	8	8	1	24
1967	8	8	1	24
1969	8	8	1	24
1971	8	8	1	24
Senate abolished from 1972 to 1987.
1987	24	24	1	24
1992	24^5	24	1	24
1995	12	12	1	24
1998	12	12	1	24
2001	13^6	13	1	24
2004	12	12	1	24
2007	12	12	1	24
2010	12	12	1	24
2013	12	12	1	24

^1 Out of the 24 senators-elect, the first eight candidates with the highest number of votes will serve for six years, the next eight for four years, and the next eight for two years. However, this was not followed due to the intervention of World War II.

^2 Out of the 16 senators-elect, the first eight candidates with the highest number of votes will serve for six years, and the next eight for four years.

^3 A special election for the seat vacated by Fernando Lopez who was elected vice president on 1949 was held.

^4 A special election for the seat vacated by Carlos P. Garcia who was elected vice president on 1953 was held.

^5 Out of the 24 senators-elect, the first twelve candidates with the highest number of votes will serve for six years, and the next twelve for three years.

^6 Teofisto Guingona, Jr. was appointed vice president on 2001; the thirteenth-placed candidate in the election will serve for Guingona's unexpired term of three years.^[7]

List of results

Senatorial districts era

Election	Nacionalista	Progresista	Democrata	Collectivista	Pro- Independencia	Consolidato	Independents	Total
1916	22	1					1	24
1919	21		1				2	24
1922	12		5	3			4	24
1925	5		8	3	6		2	24
1928	24		0	3				24
1931	6		4				2	12
1934	6		17				1	24

At-large era

Since the at-large era, a high-scoring winner can be seen as a strong contender for a future presidential or vice-presidential bid.^[1]

In this table, the "administration" ticket is the ticket supported by the sitting president. In 1992, Corazon Aquino who was nominally supporting the LDP, supported the presidential candidacy of Fidel V. Ramos of Lakas, making the "administration ticket" ambiguous.

• Key: Darker shade was a midterm election. Boldface denotes the party that won at least majority of the seats contested.

Election	Topnotcher	Party	Future election to higher office result	Result (Party/coalition totals)[8]
				Administration ticket	Primary opposition ticket	Others
1941	Claro M. Recto	Nacionalista	Lost 1957 presidential election	24 Nacionalistas
1946	Vicente Francisco	Nacionalista (Liberal wing)	Lost 1949 vice presidential election	7 Nacionalistas	8 Nacionalistas (Liberal wing)	1 Popular Front
1947	Lorenzo Tañada	Liberal	Lost 1957 vice presidential election	6 Liberals	2 Nacionalistas
1949	Quintin Paredes	Liberal		8 Liberals
1951	José P. Laurel	Nacionalista			9 Nacionalistas
1953	Fernando Lopez	Democratic	Won 1965 vice presidential election		5 Nacionalistas	2 Democrats 1 Citizens'
1955	Pacita Madrigal-Warns	Nacionalista		9 Nacionalistas
1957	Gil Puyat	Nacionalista		6 Nacionalistas	2 Liberals
1959	Ferdinand Marcos	Liberal	Won 1965 presidential election Won 1969 presidential election Won 1981 presidential election Victory at the 1986 presidential election disputed	5 Nacionalistas	2 Liberals	1 NCP
1961	Raul Manglapus	Progressive		2 Nacionalistas	4 Liberals	2 Progressives
1963	Gerardo Roxas	Liberal	Lost 1965 vice presidential election	4 Liberals	4 Nacionalistas
1965	Jovito Salonga	Liberal	Lost 1992 presidential election	2 Liberals	5 Nacionalistas	1 NCP
1967	Jose Roy	Nacionalista		6 Nacionalistas	1 Liberal	1 independent
1969	Arturo Tolentino	Nacionalista	Victory at the 1986 vice presidential election disputed	6 Nacionalistas	2 Liberals
1971	Jovito Salonga	Liberal	(see 1965)	2 Nacionalistas	6 Liberals
1987	Jovito Salonga	LABAN	(see 1965)	22 LABAN	2 GAD
1992	Vicente Sotto III	LDP		16 LDP	5 NPC	2 Lakas 1 Liberal/PDP-Laban
1995	Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo	LDP	Won 1998 vice presidential election Won 2004 presidential election	9 Lakas-Laban	3 NPC
1998	Loren Legarda	Lakas-NUCD-UMDP	Lost 2004 vice presidential election Lost 2010 vice presidential election	5 Lakas	7 LAMMP
2001	Noli de Castro	Independent	Won 2004 vice presidential election	8 PPC	5 Puwersa ng Masa	1 independent
2004	Mar Roxas	Liberal	Lost 2010 vice presidential election	7 K-4	5 KNP
2007	Loren Legarda	NPC	(see 1998)	2 Team Unity	8 GO	2 Independents
2010	Bong Revilla	Lakas-Kampi	TBD	2 Lakas-Kampi	3 Liberals	2 Nacionalistas 2 PMP 1 PRP 1 NPC 1 Independent
2013	Grace Poe	Independent	TBD	9 Team PNoy	3 UNA

Latest elections

2013

 Summary of the May 13, 2013 Philippine Senate election results

Rank	Candidate	Coalition	Party		Votes	%
1.	Grace Poe	Team PNoy		Independent	20,337,327
2.	Loren Legarda	Team PNoy		NPC	18,661,196
3.	Alan Cayetano	Team PNoy		Nacionalista	17,580,813
4.	Chiz Escudero	Team PNoy		Independent	17,502,358
5.	Nancy Binay	UNA		UNA	16,812,148
6.	Sonny Angara	Team PNoy		LDP	16,005,564
7.	Bam Aquino	Team PNoy		Liberal	15,534,465
8.	Koko Pimentel	Team PNoy		PDP-Laban	14,725,114
9.	Antonio Trillanes	Team PNoy		Nacionalista	14,127,722
10.	Cynthia Villar	Team PNoy		Nacionalista	13,822,854
11.	JV Ejecito Estrada	UNA		UNA	13,684,736
12.	Gringo Honasan	UNA		UNA	13,211,424
13.	Dick Gordon	UNA		UNA	12,501,991
14.	Migz Zubiri	UNA		UNA	11,821,134
15.	Jack Enrile	UNA		NPC	11,543,024
16.	Ramon Magsaysay, Jr.	Team PNoy		Liberal	11,356,739
17.	Risa Hontiveros	Team PNoy		Akbayan	10,944,843
18.	Edward Hagedorn	Not affiliated		Independent	8,412,840
19.	Eddie Villanueva	Not affiliated		Bangon Pilipinas	6,932,985
20.	Jamby Madrigal	Team PNoy		Liberal	6,787,744
21.	Mitos Magsaysay	UNA		UNA	5,620,429
22.	Teodoro Casiño	Makabayan		Makabayan	4,295,151
23.	Ernesto Maceda	UNA		UNA	3,453,121
24.	Tingting Cojuangco	UNA		UNA	3,152,939
25.	Samson Alcantara	Not affiliated		Social Justice Society	1,240,104
26.	John Carlos de los Reyes	Not affiliated		Ang Kapatiran	1,238,280
27.	Greco Belgica	Not affiliated		DPP	1,128,924
28.	Ricardo Penson	Not affiliated		Independent	1,040,293
29.	Ramon Montaño	Not affiliated		Independent	1,040,131
30.	Rizalito David	Not affiliated		Ang Kapatiran	1,035,971
31.	Christian Señeres	Not affiliated		DPP	706,198
32.	Marwil Llasos	Not affiliated		Ang Kapatiran	701,390
33.	Baldomero Falcone	Not affiliated		DPP	665,845
Total turnout					40,144,207	75.77%
Total votes					297,625,797	N/A
Registered voters, including overseas voters					52,982,173	100.00%

2010

 Summary of the May 10, 2010 Philippine Senate election results

Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%
1.	Bong Revilla		Lakas-Kampi	19,513,521	51.15%
2.	Jinggoy Estrada		PMP	18,925,925	49.61%
3.	Miriam Defensor Santiago		PRP	17,344,742	45.47%
4.	Franklin Drilon		Liberal	15,871,117	41.60%
5.	Juan Ponce Enrile		PMP	15,665,618	41.06%
6.	Pia Cayetano		Nacionalista	13,679,511	35.86%
7.	Bongbong Marcos		Nacionalista	13,169,634	34.52%
8.	Ralph Recto		Liberal	12,436,960	32.60%
9.	Tito Sotto		NPC	11,891,711	31.17%
10.	Sergio Osmeña III		Independent	11,656,668	30.56%
11.	Lito Lapid		Lakas-Kampi	11,025,805	28.90%
12.	TG Guingona		Liberal	10,277,352	26.94%
13.	Risa Hontiveros		Liberal	9,106,112	23.87%
14.	Ruffy Biazon		Liberal	8,626,514	22.61%
15.	Joey de Venecia		PMP	8,375,043	21.95%
16.	Gilbert Remulla		Nacionalista	7,454,557	19.54%
17.	Danilo Lim		Independent	7,302,784	19.14%
18.	Sonia Roco		Liberal	6,774,010	17.76%
19.	Ariel Querubin		Nacionalista	6,547,925	17.16%
20.	Gwen Pimentel		PDP-Laban	6,394,347	16.76%
21.	Nereus Acosta		Liberal	5,921,111	15.52%
22.	Alexander Lacson		Liberal	5,242,594	13.74%
23.	Adel Tamano		Nacionalista	4,059,748	10.64%
24.	Emilio Mario Osmeña		PROMDI	3,980,370	10.43%
25.	Liza Maza		Independent	3,855,800	10.11%
26.	Satur Ocampo		Bayan Muna	3,539,345	9.28%
27.	Francisco Tatad		GAD	3,331,083	8.73%
28.	Ramon Mitra III		Nacionalista	2,744,090	7.19%
29.	Apolinario Lozada		PMP	2,730,279	7.16%
30.	Rey Langit		Lakas-Kampi	2,694,213	7.06%
31.	Silvestre Bello III		Lakas-Kampi	2,468,276	6.47%
32.	Yasmin Lao		Liberal	2,081,895	5.46%
33.	Imelda Papin		Bangon Pilipinas	1,972,667	5.17%
34.	Susan Ople		Nacionalista	1,930,038	5.06%
35.	Martin Bautista		Liberal	1,890,152	4.95%
36.	Rodolfo Plaza		NPC	1,517,905	3.98%
37.	JV Larion Bautista		PMP	1,415,117	3.71%
38.	Ramon Guico		Lakas-Kampi	1,264,982	3.32%
39.	Raul Lambino		Lakas-Kampi	1,156,294	3.03%
40.	Hector Villanueva		KBL	979,708	2.57%
41.	Ramoncito Ocampo		Bangon Pilipinas	944,725	2.48%
42.	Kata Inocencio		Bangon Pilipinas	888,771	2.33%
43.	Jovito Palparan, Jr.		Independent	825,208	2.16%
44.	Alex Tinsay		Bangon Pilipinas	728,339	1.91%
45.	Zafrullah Alonto		Bangon Pilipinas	712,628	1.87%
46.	Reginald Tamayo		Ang Kapatiran	680,211	1.78%
47.	Nanette Espinosa		KBL	607,569	1.59%
48.	Regalado Maambong		KBL	545,967	1.43%
49.	Shariff Ibrahim Albani		KBL	508,558	1.33%
50.	Rizalito David		Ang Kapatiran	504,259	1.32%
51.	Israel Virgines		Bangon Pilipinas	455,332	1.19%
52.	Zosimo Paredes		Bangon Pilipinas	437,439	1.15%
53.	Adrian Sison		Ang Kapatiran	418,055	1.10%
54.	Reynaldo Princesa		Independent	364,245	0.95%
55.	Jo Aurea Imbong		Ang Kapatiran	362,457	0.95%
56.	Adz Nikabulin		Bangon Pilipinas	346,848	0.91%
57.	Henry Caunan		PDP-Laban	240,676	0.63%
58.	Manuel Valdehuesa, Jr.		Ang Kapatiran	201,118	0.53%
59.	Hector Tarrazona		Ang Kapatiran	168,386	0.44%
60.	Ma. Gracia Riñoza-Plazo		Ang Kapatiran	151,755	0.40%
61.	Alma Lood		KBL	128,045	0.34%
Total turnout				38,149,371	74.34%
Total votes				297,036,114	N/A
Registered voters				51,317,073	100.00%

References

1. John Gray Geer, ed. (2004). Public opinion and polling around the world: a historical encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO, Inc. p. 690. ISBN 1-57607-911-2.
2. "History of the Senate". Official website of the Senate. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
3. Quezon, Manuel III (2009-06-15). "Reviewing the prewar plebiscites". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
4. Quezon, Manuel III (2006-11-20). "Block voting". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
5. Quezon, Manuel III (2008-04-10). "Senate the victim of a design flaw". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
6. R., Lazo (2009). Philippine governance and the 1987 constitution. Rex Bookstore, Inc. ISBN 978-971-23-4546-3.
7. Araneta, Sandy (2001-07-24). "It’s final: Honasan is No. 13". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
8. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz, Christof Hartmann, eds. (2001). Elections in Asia and the Pacific: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific. Oxford University Press. pp. 223–224. ISBN 978-0-19-924959-6.