THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, the 12 senators who won in the just concluded national elections.
The winning candidates are the following, with ranking based on votes gained:
1. Action star Robin Padilla - 26,612,434
2. Antique Representative Loren Legarda - 24,264,696
3. Broadcaster Raffy Tulfo - 23,396,954
4. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian - 20,602,655
5. Sorsogon Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero - 20,271,458
6. Former Public Works and Highways secretary Mark Villar - 19,475,592
7. Taguig City-Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano - 19,295,314
8. Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri - 18,734,336
9. Senator Joel Villanueva - 18,486,034
10. Former Senator JV Ejercito - 15,841,858
11. Senator Risa Hontiveros - 15,420,807
12. Former Senator Jinggoy Estrada - 15,108,625
Of the newly elected senators, three are newcomers -- Padilla, Tulfo and Villar, while Legarda, Escudero, Cayetano, Ejercito and Estrada are returning lawmakers.
In their respective speeches, the new senators-elect hailed the Comelec, as well as the teachers, members of the uniformed personnel and other election frontliners for the success of the 2022 national and local elections.
The Comelec said this years’ election has the highest voter turnout of 83 percent, “smoothest” and fastest transmission of votes, and lowest election-related violent incidents recorded, indicating the peacefulness and orderliness of the polls.
In his speech, topnotcher Padilla said his victory is a symbol of unity of all the religious groups, particularly Muslim and Catholic.
“Sa loob po ng matagal na panahon, halos umabot po ang 30 taon, wala pong Muslim na nagging senador na. Sa akin pong mga campaign sorties, rally, ako po ay nakiusap sa ating mga kababayan na sana mabigyan n’yo po ng pagkakataon ang inyo pong kapatid na muling magkaroon ng representasyon sa Senado at inyo pong binigyan ng pagkakataon ang inyong mga kapatid, ako po ay nagpapasalamat sa inyo,” he said.
Padilla urged his co-senators to give chance to the reform of the Constitution in order to address the country’s problems, especially on wages, education and labor.
Legarda, who is on her fourth term in the Senate, vowed to pursue a green, sustainable and resilient recovery of the country from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
She said among her top priorities while in service for six years is to address climate change.
Tulfo said he will work “double time” in helping those who are being abused, oppressed and being taken advantage of just like what he did over the past years through his radio program.
He said he will never let his supporters down and he will work in order to gain the trust of those who did not vote for him and to make them see that he is deserving of the post.
“I will make things happen for the Filipino people,” he said.
He said his priority will be labor, civil service and the overseas Filipino workers.
Gatchalian, who is in his second term in the Senate, vowed to give his full strength to uplift the quality of life and education of the Filipinos.
He said he believes that the country will be freed from poverty if the education sector is strengthened.
Gatchalian is reportedly vying for the Senate President position along with Senators Cynthia Villar and Zubiri.
Escudero said he hopes that the healing of the Filipinos, following the divided political views especially during the campaign season, will start sooner for the benefit of the country.
“Ano man ang dinalang kulay, sana sad ulo kulay nalang na sumasagisag sa bandila ng Pilipinas, sa dulo pare pareho tayo Pilipino,” he said.
Villar, frontliner in the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build program, which is for the development of public infrastructure, enjoined the Filipinos to unify in order for the country to gradually recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Villanueva, Zubiri and Cayetano also called for the unity among the Filipinos.
Ejercito, who tried but failed to secure a Senate seat in 2019, vowed to give the public an honest service.
Hontiveros, the only opposition senator candidate who won the race, said she considers her victory a miracle, as she thanked the people who continue to trust her.
She said she will fight for a society that is healthy and with fairness, as well as to come up with laws that will be beneficial to the people.
Estrada thanked the public for giving him the chance again to serve.
He vowed to create laws that will lead to provision of more jobs to the Filipino people.
In 2019, two years after he was released following bail over graft charges in relation to the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), Estrada tried but also failed, just like his brother, Ejercito, to get into the Senate again.
The 12 new senators will formally assume post on June 30, 2022. They will serve for six years or until 2028.
Meanwhile, the Comelec postponed the proclamation of winning partylist groups that was initially set on Thursday, May 19, pending the result of the May 24 special elections in Lanao del Sur.
The tally, including that of the senators, does not include yet votes from 1,991 Filipino voters in Shanghai, China, which failed to transmit the certificate of canvass and 685,643 voters in Lanao del Sur, where the transmission of certificate of canvass has been delayed due to the failure of elections in 14 barangays.
The proclamation of the winning partylist groups was moved to next week, after the special elections in Lanao province.
The ACT-CIS and 1-Rider party-list groups remained as the leading groups in the partylist race.
Under the partylist law, a group that gets at least two percent of the total number of votes cast in the partylist race will be entitled to at least one seat in the House of Representatives, while those who exceed the two percent threshold will be entitled to additional seats proportionate to the number of votes cast, but not more than three.
Those who do not meet the two percent requirement may still be able to secure a seat because the partylist law also requires that 20 percent of House members come from the partylist ranks. (SunStar Philippines)