Comelec prefers full, not partial, proclamation of Senate winners

Comelec Director Frances Arabe. (Photo by CONSUELO MARQUEZ / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) prefers to have a full proclamation of all 12 of the newly elected senators instead of a partial proclamation of just six.

Comelec Director Frances Arabe made this statement on Sunday after the legal counsel of senatorial candidate Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa urged the poll body to proclaim the top six winners of the senatorial race first.

According to lawyer Abdul Basar, the certificates of canvass (COCs) from four overseas voting and one local precinct would probably no longer affect the current ranking of senators.

READ: Proclaim top 6 senators, Dela Rosa’s lawyer urges Comelec

“It is possible. But the Commission en banc wants a 100 percent proclamation. We will try our best to canvass all the COCs so we can only have one event,” Arabe said in a press briefing.

According to Arabe, the proclamation could happen either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on the transmission of the remaining five COCs.

She also noted that the proclamation of the newly elected senators and party-list representatives will probably be done separately.

As of 7:20 p.m., only five COCs remained to be by the Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers.

(Editor: Alexander T. Magno)