Comelec to proclaim 12 winning senators

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), is looking to proclaim all 12 winning senators in the May 2022 polls.

Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said they are not inclined to make a partial proclamation but to announce the 12 winning senatorial candidates.

“In the past, there have been instances that there are partial proclamations. But recently, in the last two elections, there have been complete proclamation,” he said in an interview Wednesday at the sidelines of the canvassing by the NBOC at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Forum Tent in Pasay City.

“For these elections, hopefully, we will also have complete proclamation. It’s better to make complete proclamation, with no one left behind,” Garcia added.

Garcia said it is also very likely that they can proclaim 12 new winning senators earlier than those who were elected in the party-list polls.

“Proclamation of party-lists usually comes two or three days after the proclamation of senators. So, we will just continue canvassing the votes for party-lists while the senators may already be proclaimed,” he said.

On the other hand, acting Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said they cannot conduct partial or full proclamation of winners in the party-list polls since the computation for seat allocation requires the total votes cast.

“The party-list is dependent on the total number of party-list votes. We will still have to make the computation. It’s a matter of completing the party-list votes before we can compute for the 63 allocated seats for party-lists,” he said in a press briefing.

On Tuesday, Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo said it is possible to proclaim the winning candidates for senators within the week.