2010 Philippine Senate election

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12 (of the 24) seats to the Senate
13 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party
Party	Liberal	Nacionalista	PMP
Seats won	4	3	2
Popular vote	97,187,269	80,719,737	51,960,970
Percentage	32.72%	27.18%	17.49%
	Fourth party	Fifth party
Party	Lakas–Kampi	NPC
Seats won	2	1
Popular vote	38,123,091	11,891,711
Percentage	12.83%	4.00%

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The 2010 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 30th election to the Senate of the Philippines. It was held on Monday, May 10, 2010, to elect 12 of the 24 seats in the Senate. The winners in this election joined the winners of the 2007 election to form the 15th Congress of the Philippines. The senators elected in 2007 will serve until June 30, 2013, while the senators elected in this election will serve up to June 30, 2016. The 2010 presidential election, elections to the House of Representatives as well as local elections occurred on the same date. The Philippines uses plurality-at-large voting for seats in the Senate: the twelve candidates with the highest number of votes wins the twelve seats up for election.

In the election, ten senators that had previously served in the Senate, six of them incumbents, were re-elected. The two neophytes, Bongbong Marcos and TG Guingona, had their fathers previously serve in the Senate. The first nine candidates that were leading in the canvassing of votes by the Commission on Elections were proclaimed winners on May 15, while the last three were proclaimed on May 18.^[1]

After the election, no party won a majority of seats, although the Liberal Party had the most seats with five, although with the election of Benigno Aquino III as president, the Liberals will have 4 members in the Senate. The independents have five, while the Nacionalista Party and Lakas–CMD have four each. It is expected that Manuel Villar of the Nacionalistas and Francis Pangilinan from the Liberals be the top contenders to be Senate President; incumbent Juan Ponce Enrile (PMP) originally said he would not seek the office, but with the inability of either of the frontrunners to garner the required thirteen votes, he has presented himself as a compromise candidate to avoid deadlock.

On the convening of the 15th Congress on July 25, Enrile was successfully reelected as Senate President by 17 senators, with 3 senators voting for his opponent, Alan Peter Cayetano of the Nacionalistas. Three more senators did not attend, and one seat was vacated by Benigno Aquino III who was elected President.^[2]

Philippine Senate elections are via pluraity block voting, with the entire country as an at-large "district". Each voter has 12 votes, and can vote for up to 12 candidates. Seats up were the seats last contested in 2004.

Three senators are voluntarily retiring from the Senate at the end of their current term (two ran for president, and another for vice president; all lost), while two other senators are term-limited by the Constitution of the Philippines after serving two consecutive terms.

1. Rodolfo Biazon (Liberal)

   Term-limited in 2010, ran for House representative from Muntinlupa's at-large district and won.

2. Dick Gordon (Bagumbayan–VNP)

   Ran for President ^[3] and lost. Ran for senator in 2013 and lost; ran again in 2016 and won.

3. Jamby Madrigal (Independent)

   Ran for President and lost.^[4] Ran for senator in 2013 and lost.

4. Nene Pimentel (PDP–Laban)

   Term-limited in 2010. Pimentel subsequently retired from politics.

5. Mar Roxas (Liberal)

   Ran for vice president ^[5] and lost. Ran for president in 2016 and lost; ran for senator in 2019 and still lost.

The candidates had varied campaign strategies, but the candidates from the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party relied on TV advertisements for exposure. Celebrities also endorsed candidates, notably Kris Aquino for Tito Sotto and Sharon Cuneta for Neric Acosta. As a callback to the successful "VOT FOR D CHAMMP" campaign slogan of the People Power Coalition during the 2001 election, the Liberals used the "SLAMAT LORRRD" acronym to easily convey their senatorial line-up.

On April 18, ABS-CBN held the Harapan (Face-Off) senatorial debates at La Consolacion College – Manila. Adel Tamano scored the highest rating amongst the candidates who participated, followed by Neric Acosta and Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, while Francisco Tatad rated poorly.^[6]

Actors Bong Revilla (born Ramon Revilla Jr.), who changed his legal name to his screen name "Bong Revilla" prior to the campaign period,^[7] and Jinggoy Estrada, together with Miriam Defensor Santiago consistently topped the poll surveys from Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia. On the other hand, while all incumbent senators who are running appeared safe to retain their seats, it appeared that no party will win a majority of the 12 seats being contested.

On December 15, 2009, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) released the approved list of candidates for the Senate elections.^[8] On January 14, 2010, the COMELEC approved four more candidates for the Senate, reaching a total of 61.

These are the candidates that were listed on the ballot, with order determined by surname. The tickets are as advertised by the coalition; these are unrecognized by the COMELEC but is extensively used by the media. The COMELEC does list the political parties of the candidates on the ballot. One has twelve votes for senator, with one vote for every candidate. A voter can distribute one's vote to any ticket as one seems fit. One can vote less than the twelve candidates from any ticket (open list), although the coalitions encourage voters to vote "12–0" (if applicable). A voter who had voted for more than twelve candidates will have his ballot spoiled, invalidating the rest of that voter's votes in the senate election.

A candidate may be included in more than one ticket; a party, if it has not enough candidates to complete a 12-candidate ticket, can invite guest candidates from other parties. These guest candidates can choose to acknowledge their inclusion in other tickets and are not bound to follow the policies of the tickets that adopted them.

Note: Tables only include confirmed candidates by the COMELEC.

The following are results of surveys taken after candidates were confirmed by the COMELEC.

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Candidates in the Top 12								Total
				Lakas- Kampi	Liberal	Nacionalista	NPC	PDP-Laban	PRP	PMP	Ind.
Election	May 10, 2010	—	—	2	3	2	1	0	1	2	1	12
SWS	May 2–3, 2010	2,400	±2%	2	3	2	1	0	1	2	1	12
Pulse Asia [9] [10]	Apr. 23–25, 2010	1,800	±2%	2	3	2	1	0	1	2	1	12
SWS [11]	Apr. 16–19, 2010	2,100	±2%	1	2	3	1	0	1	2	1	12
SWS [12]	Mar. 19–22, 2010	2,100	±2%	1	2	3	1	0	1	2	1	12
The Center[13]	Feb. 24–28, 2010	2,400	±2%	2	3	2	1	0	1	2	1	12
SWS [14]	Feb. 24–28, 2010	2,100	±2%	2	2	2	1	1	1	2	1	12
Pulse Asia [15]	Feb. 21–25, 2010	1,800	±2%	2	3	2	1	0	1	2	1	12
Pulse Asia [16]	Jan. 22–26, 2010	1,800	±2%	2	2	2	1	0	1	3	1	12
SWS [17]	Jan. 21–24, 2010	2,100	±2%	1	3	2	1	0	1	3	1	12
Pulse Asia [18]	Dec. 8–10, 2009	1,800	±2.0%	1	3	2	1	0	1	3	1	12
SWS [17]	Dec. 5–10, 2009	2,100	±2.2%	2	3	2	1	0	1	2	1	12

Incumbents, former senators, and candidates whose other family members that had Senate experience performed well. All six incumbents who ran held their seats, four former senators also won, and the two neophyte senators, Bongbong Marcos and TG Guingona had their fathers (Ferdinand Marcos and Teofisto Guingona Jr., respectively) previously served at the Senate.

Among the six winning incumbents, three had family members that previously served in the Senate: Bong Revilla (son of Ramon Revilla Sr.), Jinggoy Estrada (son of Joseph Estrada) and Pia Cayetano (daughter of Rene Cayetano; her brother, Alan Peter Cayetano, won in 2007). The other winning incumbents are Miriam Defensor Santiago, Lito Lapid, and Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile.

The four former winning senators also had a family member with Senate experience: Ralph Recto (grandson of Claro M. Recto), Tito Sotto (grandson of Vicente Sotto) and Sergio Osmeña III (grandson of Sergio Osmeña and son of Sergio Osmeña Jr.). The other returning senator is Franklin Drilon.

Only one former senator ran and lost: Francisco Tatad; candidates with no prior Senate experience but had family members that previously served in the Senate but lost are Ruffy Biazon (son of outgoing Senator Rodolfo Biazon), Sonia Roco (wife of Raul Roco), Adel Tamano (son of Mamintal Tamano) and Susan Ople (daughter of Blas Ople).

The election of Benigno Aquino III as President of the Philippines in concurrent elections means that his Senate seat will be vacant until June 30, 2013.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Senate bloc	Majority bloc (16)																Minority bloc (7)
Before election	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡^	‡	‡
Election result	Not up							LP			LKS-KAM		PMP		NP	NPC	Ind	PRP	NP	Not up
After election	*	*	*	√	√	√	√	+	+	√	√	√	^
Senate bloc	Majority bloc (17)																	Minority bloc (3)

Key:

• ‡ Seats up
• + Gained by a party from another party
• √ Held by the incumbent
• * Held by the same party with a new senator
• ^ Vacancy

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
Bong Revilla	Lakas Kampi CMD [a] [b]			19,513,521	51.15
Jinggoy Estrada	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino			18,925,925	49.61
Miriam Defensor Santiago	Nacionalista Party [a]	People's Reform Party	17,344,742	45.47
Franklin Drilon	Liberal Party			15,871,117	41.60
Juan Ponce Enrile	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino			15,665,618	41.06
Pia Cayetano	Nacionalista Party			13,679,511	35.86
Bongbong Marcos	Nacionalista Party			13,169,634	34.52
Ralph Recto	Liberal Party			12,436,960	32.60
Tito Sotto	Nationalist People's Coalition			11,891,711	31.17
Serge Osmeña	Liberal Party [a]	Independent	11,656,668	30.56
Lito Lapid	Lakas Kampi CMD			11,025,805	28.90
TG Guingona	Liberal Party			10,277,352	26.94
Risa Hontiveros	Liberal Party			9,106,112	23.87
Ruffy Biazon	Liberal Party			8,626,514	22.61
Joey de Venecia	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino			8,375,043	21.95
Gilbert Remulla	Nacionalista Party			7,454,557	19.54
Danilo Lim	Liberal Party [a]	Independent	7,302,784	19.14
Sonia Roco	Liberal Party			6,774,010	17.76
Ariel Querubin	Nacionalista Party			6,547,925	17.16
Gwen Pimentel	Nacionalista Party	PDP–Laban	6,394,347	16.76
Nereus Acosta	Liberal Party			5,921,111	15.52
Alex Lacson	Liberal Party			5,242,594	13.74
Adel Tamano	Nacionalista Party			4,059,748	10.64
Lito Osmeña	PROMDI			3,980,370	10.43
Liza Maza	Nacionalista Party	Independent	3,855,800	10.11
Satur Ocampo	Nacionalista Party	Bayan Muna	3,539,345	9.28
Francisco Tatad	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino	Grand Alliance for Democracy	3,331,083	8.73
Ramon Mitra III	Nacionalista Party			2,744,090	7.19
Jun Lozada	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino			2,730,279	7.16
Rey Langit	Lakas Kampi CMD			2,694,213	7.06
Silvestre Bello III	Lakas Kampi CMD			2,468,276	6.47
Yasmin Lao	Liberal Party			2,081,895	5.46
Imelda Papin	Bangon Pilipinas			1,972,667	5.17
Susan Ople	Nacionalista Party			1,930,038	5.06
Martin Bautista	Liberal Party			1,890,152	4.95
Rodolfo Plaza	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino	Nationalist People's Coalition	1,517,905	3.98
JV Bautista	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino			1,415,117	3.71
Ramon Guico Jr.	Lakas Kampi CMD			1,264,982	3.32
Raul Lambino	Lakas Kampi CMD			1,156,294	3.03
Hector Villanueva	Kilusang Bagong Lipunan			979,708	2.57
Ramoncito Ocampo	Bangon Pilipinas			944,725	2.48
Kata Inocencio	Bangon Pilipinas			888,771	2.33
Jovito Palparan	Independent			825,208	2.16
Alex Tinsay	Bangon Pilipinas			728,339	1.91
Zafrullah Alonto	Bangon Pilipinas			712,628	1.87
Reginald Tamayo	Ang Kapatiran			680,211	1.78
Nanette Espinosa	Kilusang Bagong Lipunan			607,569	1.59
Regalado Maambong	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino	Kilusang Bagong Lipunan	545,967	1.43
Shariff Ibrahim Albani	Kilusang Bagong Lipunan			508,558	1.33
Rizalito David	Ang Kapatiran			504,259	1.32
Israel Virgines	Bangon Pilipinas			455,332	1.19
Zosimo Paredes	Bangon Pilipinas			437,439	1.15
Adrian Sison	Ang Kapatiran			418,055	1.10
Reynaldo Princesa	Independent			364,245	0.95
Jo Aurea Imbong	Ang Kapatiran			362,457	0.95
Henry Adz Nikabulin	Bangon Pilipinas			346,848	0.91
Henry Caunan	PDP–Laban			240,676	0.63
Manuel Valdehuesa Jr.	Ang Kapatiran			201,118	0.53
Hector Tarrazona	Ang Kapatiran			168,386	0.44
Ma. Gracia Riñoza-Plazo	Ang Kapatiran			151,755	0.40
Alma Lood	Kilusang Bagong Lipunan			128,045	0.34
Total					297,036,114	100.00
Total votes					38,149,371	–
Registered voters/turnout					51,317,073	74.34

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats
Liberal Party	Liberal Party	78,227,817	26.34	3
	Independent	18,959,452	6.38	1
	Total		97,187,269	32.72	4
Nacionalista Party	Nacionalista Party	49,585,503	16.69	2
	People's Reform Party	17,344,742	5.84	1
	PDP–Laban	6,394,347	2.15	0
	Bayan Muna	3,539,345	1.19	0
	Independent	3,855,800	1.30	0
	Total		80,719,737	27.18	3
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino	47,111,982	15.86	2
	Grand Alliance for Democracy	3,331,083	1.12	0
	Nationalist People's Coalition	1,517,905	0.51	0
	Total		51,960,970	17.49	2
Lakas Kampi CMD			38,123,091	12.83	2
Nationalist People's Coalition			11,891,711	4.00	1
Bangon Pilipinas	Bangon Pilipinas	6,486,749	2.18	0
	Independent	364,245	0.12	0
	Total		6,850,994	2.31	0
PROMDI			3,980,370	1.34	0
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan			2,769,847	0.93	0
Ang Kapatiran			2,486,241	0.84	0
PDP–Laban			240,676	0.08	0
Independent			825,208	0.28	0
Total				297,036,114	100.00	12
Total votes				38,149,371	–
Registered voters/turnout				51,317,073	74.34

Vote share LP   32.72% NP   25.88% PMP   17.49% Lakas-Kampi   12.83% NPC   4.00% Others   7.08%

Senate seats LP   33.33% NP   25.00% PMP   16.67% Lakas-Kampi   16.67% NPC   8.33% Others   0%

With the election of Benigno Aquino III as president, there were only 23 seats in the Senate's chamber for the 15th Congress of the Philippines. There were calls to let the 13th placed candidate, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, to be proclaimed in lieu of Aquino leaving the Senate but neither her campaign nor the Liberal Party petitioned the commission on the matter. Aquino's vacated seat won't be contested in a special election as special elections for Senate vacancies can only be scheduled on the next scheduled election; that seat would be up for the 2013 election.

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Up	Before	Won	After	+/−
Liberal Party	78,227,817	26.34	+15.60	2	4	3	4	0
Nacionalista Party	49,585,503	16.69	+6.59	1	3	2	4	+1
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino	47,111,982	15.86	New	2	2	2	2	0
Lakas Kampi CMD	38,123,091	12.83	New	2	4	2	4	0
People's Reform Party	17,344,742	5.84	New	1	1	1	1	0
Nationalist People's Coalition	13,409,616	4.51	−14.00	0	1	1	2	+1
PDP–Laban	6,635,023	2.23	−1.83	1	1	0	0	−1
Bangon Pilipinas	6,486,749	2.18	New	0	0	0	0	0
PROMDI	3,980,370	1.34	New	0	0	0	0	0
Bayan Muna	3,539,345	1.19	New	0	0	0	0	0
Grand Alliance for Democracy/Gabaybayan	3,331,083	1.12	New	0	0	0	0	0
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan	2,769,847	0.93	+0.02	0	0	0	0	0
Ang Kapatiran	2,486,241	0.84	+0.14	0	0	0	0	0
Independent	24,004,705	8.08	+0.78	1	5	1	5	0
Bagumbayan–VNP	1	1	0	0	−1
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino	0	1	0	1	0
Vacancy		1	1	0	1	0
Total		297,036,114	100.00	–	12	24	12	24	0
Total votes		38,149,371	–
Registered voters/turnout		51,317,073	74.34

Vote share LP   26.34% NP   16.69% PMP   15.86% Lakas-Kampi   12.83% PRP   5.84% NPC   4.51% Independent   8.08% Others   9.85%

Senate seats LP   25.00% NP   16.67% PMP   16.67% Lakas-Kampi   16.67% PRP   8.33% NPC   8.33% Independent   8.33% Others   0.00%

Several organizations released unofficial tallies when the commission's first preliminary tally was yet to be released.

With the lineup for the 15th Congress becoming apparent, senator-elect Miriam Defensor-Santiago (PRP) commented that her ally Manuel Villar has the numbers to retake the Senate Presidency. Villar resigned from the senate presidency just prior to the election period and Juan Ponce Enrile (PMP) became the new senate president.^[21] Jockeying for the position then began with Francis Pangilinan (Liberal) announcing his intention to be senate president, citing the need for a "friendly" Senate for the Benigno Aquino III administration. The Liberals still have to agree on a candidate, as Ponce Enrile earlier said that he will not seek the post.^[22]

The Liberals apparently narrowed down their candidates to former Senate President Franklin Drilon and Pangilinan, with Villar as the Nacionalista bloc's candidate.^[23] Independent senator Francis Escudero remarked that some senators are conducting exploratory talks on who they will field for the post of Senate President.^[24]

In July 2010, the Liberal Party announced that Pangilinan will be the candidate for the Senate presidency. Pangilinan will lead in seeking alliances with other senators and said that he will not seek an alliance with the Nacionalista Party.^[25]

Perceived voting blocs in the Senate:^[24]

Nacionalista bloc (7)	Liberal bloc (10)	"Angara bloc" (6)	Vacancy (1)
Manuel Villar Alan Peter Cayetano Pia Cayetano Miriam Defensor Santiago (PRP) Bongbong Marcos Loren Legarda (NPC) Joker Arroyo (Lakas Kampi)	Francis Pangilinan Franklin Drilon TG Guingona Ralph Recto Francis Escudero (Independent) Jinggoy Estrada (PMP) Juan Ponce Enrile (PMP) Sergio Osmeña III (Independent)[26] Panfilo Lacson (Independent, whereabouts unknown)* Antonio Trillanes IV (Independent; detained)*	Edgardo Angara (LDP) Bong Revilla (Lakas Kampi) Migz Zubiri (Lakas Kampi) Gregorio Honasan (Independent) Lito Lapid (Lakas Kampi) Tito Sotto (NPC)	Benigno Aquino III (Liberal; Elected president)
Votes needed to win: 13
*It is unknown if ever Trillanes and Lacson can be able to attend the Senate session in order to vote for Pangilinan.[27]

On July 23, previous Senate President Enrile announced that he was approached by Drilon, Recto (both Liberals) and Escudero (independent) on July 20 informing him that they will support him once he agrees to be included in the race. Enrile agreed, with the conditions that he will not actively campaign, nor enter with a "bargaining effort with anyone." Sotto (NPC) remarked that retaining Enrile emerged as a viable compromise to prevent an impasse on the opening of Congress.^[28]

Recognizing that he can't secure the required 13 votes to win the Senate Presidency, Pangilinan has withdrawn his bid on July 25. The Liberals will now support Enrile for the Senate Presidency.^[29]

With Loren Legarda nominating Enrile, he won the Senate Presidency with a vote of 17–3, defeated Alan Peter Cayetano, who was nominated by Joker Arroyo with 4 absent senators: Cayetano became the Minority Floor Leader instead.^[2]

All incumbents who defended their seats won.

• Official website of the Commission on Elections
• Official website of National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL)
• Official website of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV)

• Philippines 2010 Election Results – Main Site
• Philippines 2010 Election Results – Alternate Site
• PPCRV Map Viewer – PPCRV Encoded Site
• PPCRV Map Viewer ^{[permanent dead link ‍]} – PPCRV Site
• NAMFREL – 2010 PARALLEL COUNT – NAMFREL Site
• HALALAN 2010: Latest Comelec official results – ABS-CBN Site
• ELEKSYON 2010: National Election Results Tally – GMA Site
• ELEKSYON 2010: Regional Election Results Tally – GMA Site
• Auto-Vote 2010: Senatorial Election Results – Hatol ng Bayan Site
• The Vote 2010 Election Results Tally – Bombo Radyo Site

• Halalan 2010 – Election coverage by ABS-CBN
• Eleksyon 2010 – Election coverage by GMA Network
• Hatol ng Bayan (Auto-Vote 2010) – Election coverage by NBN-4, RPN-9 and IBC-13