The Commission on Elections logo superimposed on the picture of its headquarters in Manila. INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has deferred the proclamation of winning party-list groups until the holding of the special elections in 12 barangays in Tubaran, Lanao del Sur, on May 24.
But it will push through with the proclamation of the 12 winning senatorial candidates on May 18, after determining that the special polls would no longer affect the results of the senatorial race.
Out of the total 173 certificates of canvass (COCs), only the one from Lanao del Sur with 685,643 registered voters has not been transmitted to the Comelec sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC).
The Lanao COC is missing the results from the municipalities of Tubaran, Butig and Binidayan where 14 barangays with a combined 8,295 registered voters suffered a failure of elections.
Waiting for Lanao del Sur
“The untransmitted results [from Lanao del Sur] will no longer affect the 12 senatorial candidates … but will greatly affect the determination of winning party-list groups and the number of seats,” the Comelec supervisory committee reported to the NBOC on Monday.
The NBOC chaired by Comelec Chair Saidamen Pangarungan, on the other hand, approved the committee’s recommendation to wait for the Lanao del Sur COC before determining the party-list winners.
Based on the final report, the 12 winning senators were Robin Padilla with 26,612,434 votes; Loren Legarda, 24,264,969; Raffy Tulfo, 23,396,954; Sherwin Gatchalian, 20,602,655; Chiz Escudero, 20,271,458; Mark Villar, 19,475,592; Alan Cayetano, 19,295,315; Juan Miguel Zubiri, 18,734,336; Joel Villanueva, 18,486,034; JV Ejercito, 15,841,858; Risa Hontiveros, 15,420,807 and Jinggoy Estrada, 15,108,625.
83.11% voter turnout
The latest canvass report also showed that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the May 9 elections posted an 83.11 percent voter turnout, breaking the previous record of 81.95 percent in the 2016 polls.
Meanwhile, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said that winning candidates could legally take their oath of office before they assume their post at noon on June 30.
“Many winning congressmen and senators once they are proclaimed take their oath immediately before a notary public or judge or barangay captain,” he said.
Presumptive vice president Sara Duterte earlier said she would take her oath of office on June 19 in Davao City where she was the incumbent mayor.
During and a week after the May 9 elections, no poll-related incident involving journalists has been reported, according to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security and the Philippine National Police.
Local and international media groups, however, earlier raised concerns over cases of online attacks and harassment reported by some of their members from supporters of political candidates, including Red-tagging by state forces.
Although some journalists reported incidents of red-tagging, threats, harassment, stabbing and shootings between Feb. 14 and May 16, the police said these “did not reflect motives in relation to their duties during the election period.”
—WITH A REPORT FROM DEXTER CABALZA
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