MANILA, Philippines – One of the closest allies of President Benigno Aquino III, Liberal Party stalwart Senator Franklin Drilon, topped the list of 12 new senators that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was set to proclaim on Thursday afternoon, May 19.
In second place is Joel Villanueva, who headed a government agency in charge of technical and vocational courses.
Other notable figures include boxing champ Manny Pacquiao and former Philhealth director Risa Hontiveros.
Pacquiao served for two terms as Sarangani congressman, and is entering national politics for the first time. (READ: Manny Pacquiao, the senator)
Meanwhile, third time’s the charm for Hontiveros, who already ran for senator but lost in 2010 and 2013.
Below is the list of the Philippines’ incoming senators based on the final, official tally released by the Comelec to the camp of candidate Leila de Lima on Thursday:
- Drilon, Franklin – 18,607,391 votes
- Villanueva, Joel – 18,459,222 votes
- Sotto, Vicente III – 17,200,371 votes
- Lacson, Panfilo – 16,926,152 votes
- Gordon, Richard – 16,719,322 votes
- Zubiri, Miguel – 16,119,165 votes
- Pacquiao, Manny – 16,050,546 votes
- Pangilinan, Francis – 15,955,949 votes
- Hontiveros, Risa – 15,915,213 votes
- Gatchalian, Sherwin – 14,953,768
- Recto, Ralph – 14,271,868
- De Lima, Leila – 14,144,070
The proclamation of the last 3 winning senators, however, remained in limbo until early Thursday afternoon.
This was after the 13th placer, Francis Tolentino, ran to the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the proclamation of the senators in the 10th to 12th slots in the winning circle.
Tolentino said the recent unauthorized change in an election-related hash code could have compromised the automated election system.
As of posting, some of the winners about to be proclaimed were delivering speeches at the Phillippine International Convention Center, where the Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, did the canvass.
Refresh this page for updates from the ongoing event.– Rappler.com