EVEN if the remaining nine Certificates of Canvass (COCs) are tallied Sunday, May 19, the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) said it could not proclaim the winners of the senatorial and party-list elections on the same day.

"We cannot do that yet because we have to set up the area, and also notify our winning senators properly," said Frances Arabe, assistant director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Education and Information Department.

Based on the tally as of Saturday, May 18, the NBOC had canvassed 158 out of the 167 COCs.

The 103 local and 55 overseas COCs were canvassed on Saturday.

The board was awaiting transmission Saturday of the COCs from Lanao del Sur, Isabela, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Persons Deprived of Liberty.

COCs from Nigeria, Washington DC, Tokyo, and Riyadh have not arrived as of Saturday.

The midterm National and Local Elections were held about a week ago, on May 13. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)