WITH the votes from the United States (US) and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) yet to arrive, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced Monday, May 20, that the planned one-day proclamation may not be able to take place.
In an interview, Comelec-Education and Information Department Assistant Director Frances Arabe said the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) will not be able to proclaim both the winning senators and party-lists Tuesday, May 21.
"For tomorrow, the party-list is already out. It was moved to Wednesday in the evening. And if we are able to canvass by noon tomorrow, at 100 percent, we will proceed with the schedule of the senators," said Arabe.
She said this is because the Certificates of Canvass (COCs) for US and KSA are still in transit and are not expected to arrive at the Philippine International Convention Center Forum Tent until Tuesday morning, May 21.
"We need to wait for the KSA and USA. We were informed that the COCs for KSA and USA will arrive tomorrow," said Arabe.
The two COCs carry a total of 555,092 registered voters.
This means that a proclamation for winning senators only is tentatively set on Tuesday night, May 21.
On the other hand, winning party-lists may be proclaimed tentatively on Wednesday night, May 22.
"So the proclamation will be for two days already," said Arabe.
Earlier, the Comelec announced that the winning party-lists will be proclaimed in the morning with the winning senators set in the evening.
Based on the latest tally, still comprising the top 6 are:
* Senator Cynthia Villar (25,215,678)
* Senator Grace Poe (21,981,275)
* Former presidential aide Bong Go (20,579,811)
* Representative Pia Cayetano (19,719,629)
* Ex-police chief Bato dela Rosa (18,922,017)
* Senator Sonny Angara (18,110,367)
Former senator Lito Lapid (16,932,255); Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos (15,811,231); former presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino (15,446,517); Senator Koko Pimentel (14,617,686); former senator Bong Revilla (14,608,102); and Senator Nancy Binay (14,484,839) occupy the bottom half of the Magic 12.
Just outside looking in are Senator JV Ejercito (14,281,173) and Senator Bam Aquino (14,117,528).
The tally is based on the 165 out of the 167 COCs that have already been canvassed by the NBOC as of Monday night, May 20. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)