Sotto, Lacson no-show as Comelec proclaims winning senators
The Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, on Thursday proclaimed the 12 winners in the senatorial races but only 10 senators-elect showed up.
Third and fourth placers reelectionist Vicente Sotto III and returning Senator Panfilo Lacson did not attend the proclamation at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
Their certificates of proclamation were received by poll lawyers Romulo Macalintal and former Comelec chief Sixto Brillantes Jr.
Senate President Franklin Drilon topped the senatorial races with 18,607,391 votes. He is followed by former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) director Joel Villanueva with 18,459,222 votes.
READ: Comelec to proclaim 12 senatorial winners today
The other candidates who made it to the top 12 were present in the proclamation: Richard Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, Francis Pangilinan, Ana Theresia Hontiveros, Sherwin Gatchalian, Ralph Recto and Leila de Lima.
The proclamation pushed through despite a temporary restraining order filed by 13th placer former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Francis Tolentino before the Supreme Court to suspend the proclamation of senators from the 10th to 12th places.
READ: SC asked to stop proclamation of 10th to12th Senate slots
Tolentino alleged that the transparency server script has compromised the results of the polls.
De Lima has a 1.3 million-vote lead over Tolentino.
The results of the senatorial races were based on 166 certificates of canvass. RAM/rga
