LIST: Get to know the Magic 12
MANILA, Philippines — Reelectionists, returning senators and newbies in the national politics composed the 12 senators who won the May 13 elections.
Following is a quick glimpse of the winning senators’ ranks and their background:
1. Cynthia Villar
Reelectionist Senator Cynthia Villar topped the senatorial race with 25,283,727 votes.
Villar first entered politics in 2001 when she ran as Las Piñas representative and served three terms or nine years.
She ranked 10th in the 2013 senatorial elections.
2. Grace Poe
Reelectionist Senator Grace Poe trailed behind Villar with 22,029,788 votes.
Poe topped the senatorial race when she first ran in 2013.
Prior to serving her first term in the Senate, Poe chaired the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) from 2010 to 2012.
She ran in the 2016 presidential elections, but lost to President Rodrigo Duterte.
3. Christopher “Bong” Go
Christopher “Bong” Go, who ran under Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), placed third with 20,657,702 votes.
He served as President Duterte’s Special Assistant to the President from June 2016 until October 2018.
It was Go’s first senatorial bid.
4. Pia Cayetano
Taguig Representative and House Deputy Speaker Pia Cayetano is making a Senate comeback after garnering 19,789,019 votes.
Cayetano was first elected as senator in 2004 and was reelected in 2010.
5. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa
Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is set to make his Senate debut after receiving 19,004,225 votes.
He served as Philippine National Police (PNP) chief who spearheaded President Duterte’s drug war from July 2016 to April 2018.
He then became the Director General of the Bureau of Corrections from April to October 2018.
6. Sonny Angara
Reelectionist Senator Sonny Angara finished sixth with 18,161,862 votes.
He first assumed office in the Senate in 2013.
7. Lito Lapid
Actor Lito Lapid clinched his Senate comeback after receiving 16,965,464 votes.
Lapid served as senator for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2010 and 2010 to 2016.
Prior to that, he served as Pampanga governor from 1995 to 2004.
8. Imee Marcos
Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos secured the eighth spot with 15,882,628.
Before serving as governor from 2010 to 2019, she was Ilocos Norte’s 2nd District representative from 1998 to 2007.
It was the first time for Marcos to run for senator while her brother Bongbong was elected as senator in 2010.
9. Francis Tolentino
PDP-Laban candidate Francis Tolentino is also set to make his Senate debut after making it in the ninth place with 15,510,026 votes.
He also ran in the 2016 senatorial elections but finished at 13th place behind Senator Leila de Lima.
Tolentino was chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) from 2010 to 2015.
In June 2017, he was appointed as President Duterte’s political adviser.
10. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III
Reelectionist Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III will retain his post after receiving 14,668,665 votes.
He first assumed office as senator in August 2011 after he won his election protest against Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri in the 2007 elections.
He was reelected as senator in 2013.
11. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.
Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. is successful in his bid for a Senate return after placing 11th with 14,524,445 votes.
He was elected as provincial governor of Cavite in 1998 and was also appointed as Videogram Regulatory Board, now Optical Media Board, in 2002.
He was first elected to the Senate in 2004, succeeding his father Ramon Revilla Sr.
12. Nancy Binay
Reelectionist Senator Nancy Binay completed the 12 senators after receiving 14,504,936 votes.
The daughter of former Vice President Jejomar Binay first became a senator in 2013.
The newly elected senators will join the new Senate when the 18th Congress opens in July. (Editor: Cenon B. Bibe Jr.)
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