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Thursday, June 07, 2007
10 Philippine senatorial race winners proclaimed
MANILA -- Two former senators and three outgoing congressmen were among the top 10 Philippine senatorial race winners proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday night.
And of the 10, six are opposition candidates, a development likely to bring trouble to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's last three years in power.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
View here the list of local winners
The victory ensures the opposition's continuing dominance in the 24-seat Senate, a traditional opposition bastion that could block passage of key bills, including the annual government budget, and initiate corruption investigations.
The returning senators are Loren Legarda of the Genuine Opposition (GO) and Gregorio Honasan (Independent) while the three congressmen are Francis Escudero (GO), Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III (GO), and Alan Peter Cayetano (GO).
The rest of the senators-elect are Panfilo Lacson (GO), Manuel Villar Jr. (GO), Edgardo Angara of Team Unity (TU), Joker Arroyo (TU), and Francis Pangilinan (Independent).
Arroyo, for unknown reasons, was not able to attend the proclamation rites, which was held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City where the Comelec conducted the national canvassing of votes for senatorial candidates.
The 10 senators-elect will serve until June 30, 2013.
Most of the new and reelected senators from the opposition are rabid Arroyo critics, who have demanded her resignation over corruption allegations and accusations that she rigged the 2004 presidential elections with the help of loyal generals and an election commissioner.
"One of my purposes is to expose elections fraud," Cayetano said, adding he would work to strengthen democratic institutions he has said were threatened by Arroyo's "dictatorial" tendencies.
Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. said during the proclamation that he hoped the early partial proclamation would be a key to the country's unity.
Angara, an Arroyo backer, expressed the same hope, saying he was praying "that we would come as a working Senate, and not one perennially embroiled in speeches and in war of words."
Aside from the six opposition senators, two Arroyo allies and two independent candidates won Senate seats in the May 14 midterm elections.
Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra said the apparent domination of opposition candidates "has vindicated the commission from accusations that it will connive with the administration's Team Unity in a bid to rig the results of the mid-term elections."
"The people have spoken. Let us honor it, let's recognize their will," Borra said.
Abalos said the 11th and 12th winners would be proclaimed after they have counted the still uncanvassed 1.2 million votes from the provinces of Surigao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Maguindanao.
GO's Antonio Trillanes IV and Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III occupy the two remaining winning slots.
In the 13th place is TU senatorial bet and Bukidnon Representative Juan Miguel Zubiri who earlier insisted that he still has a fighting chance as he refused to concede to Pimentel.
Zubiri said he is still confident of victory because the remaining votes from the four Mindanao provinces will deliver him majority of the votes.
Citing survey results of Pulse Asia in Mindanao, Zubiri said he was number two in Mindanao. Zubiri and Pimentel are both Mindanao natives.
However, Zubiri said he has advantage over Pimentel because another son of Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. lost when he ran for a local post in Cagayan de Oro.
He also denied that he was involved in election fraud in his region. "There is no need for me to cheat to win in Mindanao," he said.
If Zubiri would get the 12th spot, he is the third TU candidate to make it to the Magic 12. The other administration bets are Angara and Arroyo.
Abalos has said the race for the 12th place remains tight as the controversial Maguindanao certificates of canvass (COC) "would surely play a substantial role" in the race.
Pimentel's camp had asked Comelec to exclude the Maguindanao COC, which gave a 12-0 sweep for the administration ticket, allegedly due to election irregularities. The election body on Wednesday night declared a failure of elections in the province. The Comelec is still studying when to hold special elections in Maguindanao.
The newly proclaimed senators vowed that the Senate will maintain its independence and will not be dictated on by anybody, especially the executive branch.
But the Arroyo government is confident that Malacañang and a possible opposition-led Senate would still work together and eventually pass priority bills and other important pieces of legislation.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said this is not the first time that the Senate would be led by the opposition and the situation is not strange especially under a democratic country.
Ermita added that he expects the incoming batch of senators, although majority of them are from the opposition, to be patriotic, responsible and matured lawmakers who have the people and the country's best interest at heart.
He said they do not expect the members of the incoming Senate to use the institution to destabilize the country even if there are possibilities that among the new senators are former rebel soldiers tagged in attempts to overthrow the Arroyo government.
"Rather than just acting in a manner too personal that just because they are dubbed as opposition, they will play their role to block whatever it is that may be initiated by the administration. I don't expect it to be anything like that. I don't think it would be too much of a problem as long as there is a meeting of the minds of what is it that is good for the greater majority of the people," he said.
Ermita said they also expect to have a more intelligent and mature working relationship in the Legislative Executive Development and Advisory Council (Ledac).
The Ledac, aside from the members of the executive branch, is composed of the Senate President, the House Speaker, and majority leaders and chairmen of certain committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Ermita said while many opposition senatorial bets won, the administration still have allies in the Senate who would be able stand up to their counterparts in the opposition when the need arises.
He said they are also open to possible new allies in the Senate who are wiling to join the administration.
"Everyone is welcome. Of course, if you're the national leadership, anyone who could be helpful in your administration, especially in the passage of legislation that's good for the greater majority, is welcome," he said.
Asked if they expect more Senate investigations in the next Congress, Ermita said they do not want to preempt the lawmakers stressing that it is also within their right and prerogative to conduct legislative inquiries whenever they think it is required.
He, however, admitted that Memorandum Circular (MC) 108, which pertains to the guidelines on the appearance of heads and officials of executive departments, would still be in effect.
"It's not the intention of the executive branch to fend off or prevent any such legislative inquiry because this is called for and this is legal as far as the Constitution is concerned, the mandate of both Houses of Congress to conduct legislative inquiry. The only thing that we invoke is to give a chance also for members of the executive being invited to be given the opportunity to prepare for it," he said.
Emrita said under MC 108, those invited to the legislative inquiries should be made aware of the nature of the inquiry and given ample time to prepare.
He said MC 108 does not mean to obstruct the senators or even those from the House from doing their job of conducting legislative inquiry, but merely asks for more respect, particularly of each other's mandate. (MSN/RP/JMR/Sunnex/With AP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Dumaguete. (June 7, 2007 issue)
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