MANILA, Philippines -- Jailed military officers, Gen. Danilo Lim and Col. Ariel Querubin, failed to copy the historic feat of former Navy Lt. Antonio Trillanes IV in the 2007 senatorial elections because they were not "pogi" enough and they did not carry surnames long known in Philippine politics, said analysts.

Political analyst Ramon Casiple said the fight in the senatorial race this year was reduced to name recall as the nation focused more on who was going to succeed controversial President Macapagal-Arroyo after nine years in power.

"The conditions in 2007 were different," said Casiple in a phone interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sunday. "This year, the attention of the people was on the presidential candidates, the senatorial bets were not talked about so much," he said.

Trillanes' edge could also be his young age and "boyish" looks, which captured the votes of the youth, helping him "skyrocket" into the Magic 12 during the 2007 mid-term elections, said military historian Jose Antonio Custodio in a separate phone interview.

"His boyish looks, celebrity status and media exposure after the Oakwood mutiny endeared him to the public," said Custodio, also a professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

Lim and Querubin, whom he described as gruff and "barako" (tough), failed to capture the same market because of their age, added Custodio. Both were not allowed outside detention to campaign, limiting their exposure to the media.

Lim ran under the slate of Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III of the Liberal Party while Querubin joined the senatorial lineup of Sen. Manuel "Manny" Villar of the Nacionalist Party.

"If you think about it, Trillanes cannot match Lim and Querubin [in terms of their achievements in the military] but the one thing that Trillanes has going for him was that he was seen as a heroic young soldier," he said.

Trillanes was one of the leaders of the Oakwood Mutiny in July 2003 who called for the resignation of Ms Arroyo for failing to solve graft and corruption in the military organization.

Four years later, Trillanes won a seat in the Senate, garnering more than 11 million votes and making history as the country's first former military officer to be elected senator while detained on coup d'etat charges.

Lim, the first Filipino graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and Querubin, a bemedalled soldier, were also jailed for alleged involvement in plots to oust Ms Arroyo in February 2006.

But while the issue of the entire election this year was Ms Arroyo, Querubin and Lim failed to figure in the contention on the "national stage," Casiple pointed out.

Lim and Querubin fell below the Magic 12, ranking 17th and 19th place, respectively, with over six million votes, according to the latest tally of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.

The Commission on Elections on Saturday proclaimed nine senators, majority were comebacking veterans except for Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was the representative of Ilocos Norte before he won a seat in the Senate.

Among the nine elected senators were old-timers and whose names were familiar to voters: Ramon Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Franklin Drilon, Juan Ponce Enrile, Pia Cayetano, Ralph Recto, Vicente "Tito" Sotto III.

"Lim and Querubin's problem is that they are [popular] only to a certain extent... and not as senators," Casiple pointed out.

Their principals failing to raise their hands in campaign sorties and endorse them in television ads were among the factors that contributed to their loss, said Casiple.

Custodio also added that the entire campaign this year was focused on other issues generated by the mudslinging between Aquino and Villar that the "senatorial candidates, including Lim and Querubin, were lost within the jumble."

Voters simply went after names that were already familiar to them, he added.