Padilla, Legarda, Tulfo lead Senate race

Actor Robin Padilla. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Actor Robin Padilla and veteran lawmaker Loren Legarda were the early leaders in the senatorial race, according to the partial and unofficial tally based on the Commission on Elections’ transparency server.

As of 11:02 p.m. on Monday, Padilla was ahead of the pack with 20,802,410 votes, followed closely by Legarda with 19,616,490 votes.

In third place was radio broadcaster Raffy Tulfo with 18,881,373 votes with incumbent Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian (16,752,676 votes) and Sorsogon Gov. Chiz Escudero (16,591,112 votes) not far off.

In sixth and seventh places were former Cabinet members of President Rodrigo Duterte: former Public Works Secretary Mark Villar (15,611,484 votes) and former Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (15,552,067 votes).

They were followed by incumbent Senators Joel Villanueva (15,127,648 votes) and Miguel Zubiri (15,025,283 votes).

In 10th place was JV Ejercito, who’s trying to make a political comeback, with 12,774,654 votes. Behind him were incumbent Sen. Risa Hontiveros (12,684787 votes) and his estranged half-brother Jinggoy Estrada (11,997,065 votes).

Former Vice President Jejomar Binay was in 13th place with 10,646,292 votes after trailing behind Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista early in the count.

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