A total of 130 have filed certificates of candidacy for president in the May 2016 elections and 19 for vice president.
There are 172 who are vying for the 12 slots in the Senate.
The five reelectionist senators – Franklin Drilon, Ralph Recto, Teofisto Guingona III, Sergio Osmeña III, Vicente Sotto III- have an edge being familiar names and having an established nationwide machinery. Unless something terribly awful happens that would involve them in controversy before the elections, they are expected to be in the Magic 12.
There are four former senators who want to return to the Senate and they also enjoy an advantage in terms of name recall. They are Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Richard Gordon, Francis Pangilinan, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
With the nine slots almost taken up by re-electionist and former senators, it would be an uphill battle for the new aspirants for the Senate except probably for boxing idol Manny Pacquiao.
But even Pacquiao can’t be sure. Many applaud him as a boxer but he has nothing to be proud of as a legislator representing Saranggani province. He was an absentee congressman. He had also lost an election in 2007 although he bounced back in the succeeding elections and has established himself and members of his family, including his wife, Jinky, as a political force in the South Cotabato and Saranggani politics.
Of the new senatorial candidates, it’s former Justice Leila de Lima who fared well in last survey (September 2015) of Pulse Asia for the senatorial race.
INC is known to vote as a bloc. In 2001 elections, pollster Junie Laylo, then with Social Weather Stations, said “The INC’s vote strength is only about 1.2 million or 3% of the total electorate, but with a conversion rate of 68-84% that translates to about 800 thousand to 1 million votes for senatorial candidates endorsed by its leadership.”
That was in 2001. It can be presumed that the numbers have increased in the last 14 years.
“ As a solid voting bloc, INC votes can be very influential in helping borderline candidates for the Senate,” Laylo said.
But the recent controversy showed that the religious sect being a “solid voting bloc” is now in doubt.
De Lima just have to campaign very hard to overcome the INC’s lack of support. Election history has shown that there are candidates who have won without INC support.
There are a number of new and not-so-new senatorial aspirants who deserve to be in the Senate. I’d like to mention Neri Colmenares, Lorna Kapunan, Susan Ople, and Risa Hontiveros.
Also former Police Chief Ramon Montaño.
Despite the presence of clowns, we have a good list to choose from.
How did Lorna Kapunan come to be the attorney for Janet Napoles, do you know? Her platform is very non-specific:
From Inquirer: Kapunan said she will run on an agenda of “HOPE,” an acronym she coined for her platform—honest government, opportunity for all, peace and prosperity, and education and environment.
Whoopie doo! That’s what we need. Halo halo for every one.
In regards to Election..our Party lost very badly..but the country won a New Leader..A leader that at Four months old, the most powerful person in the world already predicted that will lead his people at the right time…(that was Nixon who also was recorded calling Trudeau an ahole, for which Trudeau had a very proper reply ” been called worse names by better men”)He is not as Intellectual as his Father..the oppositions main issue is that he is “not ready yet”… He did not make many promises other than to Tax the wealthy an extra 1 % to give to the poor for extra child benefits…But he can not just invoking the name of his Father at the time when the Nation is fragmented and divided even when the Govt Banned the Muslims women to wear their face coverings (wearing the NIQAB) During their citizen oath taking which the Court ruled to be in violation of their Religious rights…He emphatically told the voters that this is not the Canada his Father would want to be..UNITED AND MULTICULTURES and to accommodate differences and respect religious traditions of all nationalities..and the voters agreed with him…
Justin Trudeau and his Liberals won the Majority government from third position before dissolution…and will be the next Prime Minister..Prime Minister Harper already announced that he will be stepping down as Leader of the Conservatives giving way for the election of the new Leader of the Official Opposition…
If only elections in the Phl could be as smooth and inexpensive and peaceful, then there is no need for anyone to fight this unending battle with Corruption…
Congratulations, Vic. Canada is truly a model democratic country.
Thanks, Ellen…Just got a letter from our party President that there will be a review of what the party did wrong in the 2015 campaign and I will submit some of my own criticism…and one of them the use of scaremongering about these Threat of Terrorism to even Ban the use of coverings during the citizen oath taking that should not have been raised during the campaign…it was really a hard blow to our muslim brothers and sisters and disillusioned many of even the conservative supporters…Trudeau was on the records to be against any intolerance..And also taking away the citizenship of anyone convicted of terrorism even if born in the country if their parents are immigrants..that will also make a mockery of a Single Class of Citizenship.. That even if ruled unconstitutional by the court, the govt will invoke its power to override the court rulings…that will not happen now because the Electorate decides that it will not have to happen…
Its time for the Party to re-visit its past and go back to being a conservative in a democratic way..to respect the Court and the diversity of its people…