A senatorial election was held in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

on November 13, 1951. The election was known as a midterm election as the date when elected candidates take office falls halfway through

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino enter ...

's four-year term.

Summary

As the Hukbalahap insurgency raged in Central Luzon, Filipinos trooped to the polling booths for the 1951 midterm elections—a referendum on President Quirino, who had won the presidency in his own right two years prior. Despite the political remarriage of the two factions of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, the Quirinistas and Avelinistas, the Quirino administration was still far from popular and had gained notoriety for its inability to rein in corruption and its ineffectual attempts to police lawlessness in the countryside. The Nacionalistas took advantage of the situation and mounted an active campaign to wrest back the Senate from the LP. Led by former President

Jose P. Laurel José Paciano Laurel y García (; March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and judge, who served as the president of the Japanese-occupied Second Philippine Republic, a puppet state during World War II, from 1943 ...

, Quirino’s chief adversary in the 1949 presidential polls, the NP swept all eight Senate seats in contention, the first total victory of the opposition in the Senate. So strong was the rejection of the Quirino administration in 1951 that even LP top honcho, Senate President Mariano Jesus Cuenco, lost his seat. Laurel received the highest number of votes, which was seen as his political rehabilitation and which made him the first and only president, thus far, to have served in the Senate after his presidency. Felisberto Verano, also a Nacionalista, won the special elections held on the same day to fill the Senate seat vacated by

Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Fernando Lopez Fernando Hofileña Lopez Sr. (April 13, 1904May 26, 1993) was a Filipino statesman. A member of the influential Lopez family of Iloilo, he served as Vice President of the Philippines, vice president of the Philippines for three terms – u ...

. Block voting, established in 1941, was abolished in 1951 with Republic Act No. 599. This would later lead to more fragmented results in most national elections.

Retiring incumbents

Liberal Party

Melecio Arranz Melecio Arranz (May 23, 1888 – April 24, 1966) was a Filipino politician, born in Alcala, Cagayan. Early life and career He obtained his degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Santo Tomas. His government s ...

# Jose Avelino # Vicente J. Francisco # Ramon Torres

Mid-term vacancies

, (Liberal, took office as vice president December 30, 1949) #

Vicente Sotto Vicente Yap Sotto (born Vicente Sotto y Yap; April 18, 1877 – May 28, 1950) was a Filipino playwright, journalist, and politician who served as a Senator from 1946 to 1950. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1922 to 1925, rep ...

, (Popular Front, died July 16, 1950) #

Tomas Confesor Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomas (surname), a French and Croatian surna ...

(Nacionalista, died June 5, 1951)

Results

The

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ce ...

won all eight seats contested in the general election, and the seat contested in the special election. Former Senate President

Mariano Jesús Cuenco Mariano Jesús Diosomito Cuenco (January 16, 1888 – February 25, 1964) was a Filipino Cebuano people, Cebuano politician and writer. He was the 4th President of the Senate of the Philippines. Early life Cuenco was born in Carmen, Cebu, Carme ...

was the sole incumbent defeated, while

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...

successfully defended his seat. Six winners are neophyte Nacionalista senators:

Manuel Briones Manuel Cabahug Briones (January 1, 1893 – September 29, 1957) was Filipino Visayan lawyer, judge, and politician from Cebu, Philippines. He was the first Supreme Court Associate Justice from Cebu, and he was a former Associate Justice of the Co ...

Francisco Afan Delgado Francisco Afan Delgado (January 25, 1886 – October 27, 1964) was a Filipino diplomat who served as a Resident Commissioner from the Philippine Islands from 1935 to 1936. Early life He was born in Bulacan Province, in then Captaincy Genera ...

Jose Locsin Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

Cipriano Primicias Sr. Cipriano Purugganan Primicias Sr. (September 14, 1901 – September 20, 1965) was a Filipino politician, who was best known for his service as a Senator of the Philippines. He was born in 1901 at Alcala, in the northern Philippine province of ...

Gil Puyat Gil Juco Puyat Sr. (September 1, 1907 – March 23, 1980) was a Filipino politician and businessman who served as a Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name c ...

and

Jose Zulueta Jose is the English language, English transliteration of the Hebrew language, Hebrew and Aramaic language, Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods ...

. Nacionalista

returned to the Senate after serving from 1925 to 1931. Key: * ‡ Seats up * + Gained by a party from another party * √ Held by the incumbent * * Held by the same party with a new senator *^ Vacancy

Per candidate

Per party

The seat vacated by

Vicente Yap Sotto Vicente Yap Sotto (born Vicente Sotto y Yap; April 18, 1877 – May 28, 1950) was a Filipino playwright, journalist, and politician who served as a Senator from 1946 to 1950. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1922 to 1925, rep ...

(Popular Front), who died in 1950, was one of the seats up for election. This also includes the result of the concurrent special election for the seat vacated by Vice President

in 1949.

Special election

To serve the unexpired term of

until December 30, 1953.

References

External links

Official website of the Commission on Elections
{{Special Elections to the Philippine Congress

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

Senate election