THE 12 senators-elect have been officially proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday, nine days after the national and local elections on May 9.
The proclamation was done according to rank. It was held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Forum Tent in Pasay City.
Neophyte and action star Robin Padilla topped the winning circle with a total of 26,612,434 votes followed by Loren Legarda with 24,264,969 votes; broadcaster Raffy Tulfo with 23,396,954 votes; Sherwin Garchalian, 20,602,034 votes; Francis “Chiz” Escudero, 20,271,458; and Mark Villar, 19,475,592 votes.
Allan Peter Cayetano, 19,295,314 votes; Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, 18,734,336; Joel Villanueva, 18,486,034; Jose Victor Ejercito 15,841,858; Risa Hontiveros, 15,420,807; and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, 15,108,625.
Of the new 12 senators, seven are from the Marcos-Duterte Unity Team, namely, Padilla, Legarda, Villar, Cayetano, Gatchalian, Estrada and Zubiri. Tulfo and Ejercito, though, ran as independents but are also expected to side with the new administration.
The Comelec en banc, composed of chairman Saidamen Pangarungan, and Commissioners George Garcia, Rey Bulay, Aimee Ferolino, Aimee Torrefranca-Neri, Marlon Casquejo, and Socorro Inting, took turns in presenting the certificates of proclamation to the senators starting from Estrada to Padilla.
In his speech, Pangarungan emphasized that the glory of the winning candidates was shared by the voters in Eleksyon 2022, which that had a record turnout of 83.11% and the lowest number of poll violence with 16 incidents.
Photo courtesy GMA Network
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