MANILA, Philippines – Regions and provinces delivered votes for many winning party-list groups in the 2016 elections.
Support from regional groups and from “bailiwicks” of nominees paved the way for many party lists to win 1 to 3 seats in the House of Representatives.
The party list is a system of proportional representation in the House of Representatives meant to better represent marginalized sectors, as well as groups without "well-defined constituencies." But a Supreme Court decision in 2013 loosened the requirements, and ruled that the party list is not solely for marginalized sectors.
According to the Constitution, 20% of the seats in the House of Representatives are allotted to the party list. A formula based from the SC's Banat vs. Comelec ruling will distribute the seat to winning groups.
As of 3:56 pm Saturday, May 14, current overall top placer Ako Bicol won by a landslide in all 6 provinces in the Bicol Region.
The group received 1,042,476 votes in Bicol, already 63.8% of the 1,635,218 votes it received overall, based on the partial, unofficial count of the Comelec transparency server, with over 96% of precincts reporting.
The same goes for Eastern Visayas, where 16th-ranked An Waray party list received 483,557 votes, or 82.7% of its total votes. It placed 1st in 4 of 6 provinces in the region: Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Northern Samar.
In 4 of 5 provinces in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Anak Mindanao (Amin) was in first place. It ranked 2nd in Sulu. It was also first in neighboring Lanao del Norte.
Getting 336,378 votes from ARMM or 54.1% of its overall votes, Amin is currently at number 12 in the unofficial count.
In Central Luzon, the country’s “rice granary”, the top vote-getter is Butil Farmers’ Party. Around 75% of its 391,854 total votes so far are from the region. It was in first place in Nueva Ecija and Pampanga, and in second place in Bulacan.
Then, in the Cordillera Administrative Region, the Ang National Coalition of Indigenous Peoples Action Na! (ANAC-IP) party list ranked first. While its votes sourced from CAR is just 18% – a bigger number of votes came from neighboring Cagayan Valley – it was number 1 in Apayao, Ifugao, and Mountain Province.
Below is a list of party-list winners per region, the number of votes received, the percentage of votes from that region, plus its current rank in the overall party-list race. All figures are as of 3:56 pm Saturday, May 14.
| Region | Top Party List | Votes in Region | % of Total Votes | Current Rank in Unofficial Tally |
| CAR | ANAC-IP | 54,312 | 18.02% | 35 |
| I | Abono | 603,733 | 83.80% | 10 |
| II | LPGMA | 262,434 | 57.32% | 23 |
| III | Butil | 293,704 | 74.95% | 28 |
| NCR | Gabriela | 347,802 | 25.95% | 2 |
| IV-A | AGAP | 427,402 | 72.67% | 14 |
| IV-B | Kalinga | 50,676 | 10.46% | 18 |
| V | Ako Bicol | 1,042,476 | 63.75% | 1 |
| VI | AAMBIS-OWA | 331,140 | 68.41% | 19 |
| NIR | Abang Lingkod | 342,198 | 75.34% | 24 |
| VII | 1PACMAN | 148,933 | 11.57% | 3 |
| VIII | An Waray | 483,557 | 82.73% | 16 |
| IX | KGB | 130,216 | 92.80% | 64 |
| X | ABAMIN | 172,243 | 84.12% | 56 |
| XI | PBA | 342,836 | 45.75% | 9 |
| XII | YACAP | 281,877 | 62.72% | 25 |
| CARAGA | PBA | 44,556 | 5.95% | 9 |
| ARMM | AMIN | 336,378 | 54.11% | 12 |
Meanwhile, in 9th place so far, is Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA), which topped in 4 of 5 provinces in Davao Region plus neighboring Surigao del Sur. It placed 2nd in Davao del Norte. PBA also topped in Caraga Region, but not by a landslide.
PBA’s second nominee is Jericho Jonas Nograles, brother of Davao City Representative Karlo Alexei Nograles and son of former House Speaker Prospero Nograles. Its first nominee is returning congressman Mark Aeron Sambar.
Newly-created Negros Island Region also went all out for the Abang Lingkod party list, which has reelectionist Representative Joseph Stephen Paduano and outgoing Negros Oriental Representative Manuel Iway as its first two nominees.
Provincial ‘bailiwicks’
Tenth-placer Abono got 83.8% of its overall total votes so far in Ilocos Region. Most of these votes were from Pangasinan and La Union, home provinces of its first two nominees, reelectionist Representative Conrado Estrella III and Vini Nola Ortega, respectively.
Ortega is the wife of outgoing Representative Emmanuel Ortega III, who won as governor of La Union. (READ: 2016 party-list nominees: Taking a 'shortcut' to Congress?)
Set to remain in Congress is the Agricultural Sector Alliance Center of the Philippines (Agap), which placed number one in Calabarzon region. Most of Agap’s votes came from Batangas, where its current representative Nicanor Briones lost his gubernatorial bid.
Agap’s first two nominees are Representative Rico Geron and Briones’ daughter Kathleen. Agap also placed first in neighboring Oriental Mindoro.
Placing first in Western Visayas is the Ang Asosasyon Sang Mangunguma Nga Bisaya Owa Mangunguma (AAMBIS-OWA) party list, getting nearly 70% of its votes from there. AAMBIS-OWA’s first nominee is reelectionist Representative Sharon Garin of the Garin political clan in Iloilo.
But AAMBIS-OWA placed first in only 3 provinces (Antique, Iloilo, and Guimaras), as it competed with other party lists that have nominees also hailing from the region. Ang Kasangga – with vice governor Gabrielle Calizo-Quimpo as 1st nominee – was top in Aklan. Meanwhile, Capiz went for Abyan Ilonggo, which has former Iloilo Representative Rolex Suplico as first nominee.
LPGMA likewise topped in Cagayan Valley region, but was first in only two provinces: Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya. Nonetheless, 57% of its total votes so far came from the region.
You Against Corruption and Poverty (YACAP) led in Soccsksargen, but placed first in only two provinces: South Cotabato and Sarangani. Cotabato handed the Trade Union Congress Party (TUCP) a landslide victory there, while Sultan Kudarat had the AMEPA OFW party list in first place in its provincial tally.
Others that can be considered "home provinces" of corresponding first-placer party-list groups and notable first nominees include:
| Province/City | Winning Party List | 1st Nominee | Notes |
| Ilocos Sur | ADDA | Grace Kristine Singson-Meehan | Daughter of Ilocos Sur Representative Eric Singson |
| Cagayan | Agbiag! | Michaelina Antonio | Wife of incumbent Representative Patricio Antonio |
| Las Piñas City | DIWA | Emmeline Aglipay-Villar | Reelectionist Representative and wife of Las Piñas Representative Mark Villar |
| Marinduque | MATA | Tricia Nicole Velasco-Catera | Daughter of its incumbent Representative Lorna Velasco |
| Eastern Samar | Umalab Ka | Javier Zacate | Former mayor, Sulat, Eastern Samar |
| Samar | Ako an Bisaya (AAB) | Rodolfo Tuazon | Former Samar representative |
Spread across regions
For some party lists, they were first in a particular region, but they did not win by a landslide there. The votes they received were also spread across nearby or multiple regions.
For instance, Gabriela, in second place overall so far, got most of its votes from the National Capital Region (NCR) – where it ranked first – and surrounding provinces.
The group ranked first in 9 of 16 Metro Manila cities and in Laguna province, while it was in 2nd place in 7 NCR cities, plus Rizal and Cavite. It placed 3rd in Pateros and Bulacan.
Metro Manila also gave a boost to Buhay party list, currently in 8th place in the partial, unofficial count. It ranked first in Manila, Parañaque City, and Pasay City, and 2nd in Pateros, plus the cities of Makati, Muntinlupa, and Taguig.
Buhay’s first two nominees are reelectionist congressman Mariano Michael Velarde – son of El Shaddai founder Mike Velarde – and former Manila mayor Jose “Lito” Atienza.
The same is the case for One Patriotic Coalition of Marginalized Nationals (1Pacman), which topped in Region VIII and also fared well in NCR, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon.
Lastly, Kalinga party list was first in Mimaropa region, but was not top in any of the 5 provinces in the area.
Not enough votes
Two party-list groups likewise got majority of its votes from a single region, but its overall votes might not be enough for them to earn a House seat.
Katipunan ng mga Guardians Brotherhood (KGB) got a whopping 92.8% of its total votes from the Zamboanga Peninsula, mostly from Zamboanga del Sur. KGB’s first nominee is Mario Cerilles Jr.
However, it currently ranks 64th in the party-list race, with only a total of 140,313 votes.
Meanwhile, Abante Mindanao (Abamin) led in the Northern Mindanao region, getting 172,243 votes or 84.1% of its overall vote count from there.
But as of this posting, it ranks only 56th in the polls, with 204,749 total votes. Abamin’s first nominee is Jocelyn Rodriguez, sister of Representative Maximo Rodriguez Jr, who then won as congressman of the 2nd district of Cagayan de Oro City. – Rappler.com