2013 Philippine Senate election

The 2013 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 31st election to the Senate of the Philippines. It was held on Monday, May 13, 2013 to elect 12 of the 24 seats in the Senate. Together with those elected in 2010, the candidates elected in this election shall comprise the 16th Congress. The senators elected in 2010 will serve until June 30, 2016, while the senators elected in this election will serve up to June 30, 2019. The elections to the House of Representatives as well as local elections occurred on the same date. The Philippines use plurality-at-large voting for seats in the Senate: the twelve candidates with the highest number of votes win the twelve seats up for election. The Senate seat vacated by President Benigno Aquino III in 2010 was among the twelve seats to be put for election.

While the Philippines is a multi-party democracy since 1987, parties have not been able to complete a 12-candidate slate. This means parties have to form coalitions in order to complete a slate, this lessens the number of slates the voters have to choose for. In this election, the two coalitions that completed 12-candidate slates are Team PNoy led by the President Benigno Aquino III's Liberal Party, and the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of former president Joseph Estrada's Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and Vice President Jejomar Binay's Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan; the two slates used to share three common candidates, until they were dropped by UNA.

Team PNoy banked on Aquino's popularity and was leading 9−3 in the surveys, with Loren Legarda emerged topping the Senate election for a record-tying third time. However, on the final weeks of the campaign, Legarda was accused of hiding assets abroad, a charge she vehemently denied. On election night, former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairperson Grace Poe, daughter of defeated 2004 presidential candidate Fernando Poe, Jr., emerged as the frontrunner. Poe, Legarda, and four others were proclaimed on May 16, and further proclamations were held until May 18. Team PNoy did win nine seats against UNA's three, with both coalitions winning at the expense of retiring or term-limited senators who were not members of either coalition. Team PNoy campaign manager and senator Franklin Drilon was elected Senate President upon the convening of the 16th Congress of the Philippines on late July, after emerging as the frontrunner in the Senate Presidency, at the expense of incumbent Juan Ponce Enrile of UNA.

Electoral system

Philippine senatorial elections are done via the plurality-at-large voting system: the entire country is one at-large "district", where a voter can vote up to twelve people (one vote per candidate), with the twelve candidates with the highest number of votes deemed being elected. Senators who are currently serving their second consecutive term are term limited, although they may run again in 2016. Only half of the seats are up in every senatorial election.

Each party has a slate of as many candidates as it can muster, although they do not usually exceed a 12-person ticket. If a party cannot complete a full ticket, they may invite "guest candidates" to complete the ticket. They may even come other slates, and these guest candidates may not participate in electoral rallies by their adoptive party(ies), or may not cooperate at the Senate if elected. A coalition of different parties may be formed in cases where no party has the ability to complete a full ticket; a party may not include their entire slate on a coalition ticket. Independents may become guest candidates and be included in coalitions.

While the Philippines is a multi-party system, parties tend to group themselves into two major coalitions in midterm elections (Lakas-Laban vs NPC in 1995, PPC vs Puwersa ng Masa in 2001); sometimes a third, but weaker, coalition is formed. This is opposed to senatorial elections in presidential election years where most presidential candidates also have senatorial slates. This results in an election where voters can choose between two major political forces.

Winning candidates are proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) sitting as the National Board of Canvassers. Candidates are proclaimed senators-elect if the thirteenth place candidate no longer has a mathematical chance of surpassing that candidate. Post-proclamation disputes are handled by the Senate Electoral Tribunal, a body composed of six senators and three justices from the Supreme Court.

Thirteenth Senate seat

On December 12, 2011, incumbent Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago was elected as a Judge of the International Criminal Court. As a result, she was expected to vacate her Senate seat after the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, which ended on May 29, 2012, a year before the 2013 election.

Once Santiago vacates her Senate seat, an additional senator would be elected in the upcoming election to serve the remaining three years of her unexpired term. However, the likelihood of a thirteenth Senator being elected became low though since Santiago has already stated that she will not quit her seat.

Background

As the 2010 Senate election was held concurrently with the presidential election, most of the presidential candidates also put up their respective senatorial slates. These slates shared several candidates, although most of the shared candidates only campaigned with one slate. The presidential election was won by Liberal Party's Benigno Aquino III, defeating Joseph Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino. Meanwhile, the vice presidential election was won by Estrada's running mate, Jejomar Binay of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino—Lakas ng Bayan.

The Senate election resulted in a chamber where no party had more than four seats. Outgoing Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile of PMP emerged as a compromise candidate in the election for Senate President when Liberal Party candidate Franklin Drilon could not muster the majority of votes in the Senate against defeated presidential candidate Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party. In the Senate Presidential election, Enrile defeated Alan Peter Cayetano, a Nacionalista. Aside from Cayetano and Enrile voting for each other, only Cayetano's sister Pilar Juliana "Pia" Cayetano and Ceferino "Joker" Arroyo voted against Enrile; the three then constituted the Senate's minority bloc. Thus, most of the competing political forces in the 2010 election were united within the Senate for most of the 15th Congress.

Coalitions

United Nationalist Alliance

The Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and PDP—Laban parties signed a coalition agreement on April 4, 2012 for the 2013 elections, forming the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). The two parties were former partners in the United Opposition in the 2007 election, and Estrada and Binay were running mates during the 2010 presidential election. PDP—Laban president Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III has stated that UNA's senatorial slate was more than twelve members and was in the process of trimming down; he had also expressed reservations on the inclusion of Juan Miguel Zubiri, of whom he had won an election protest after the 2007 election.

On May 3, 2012, Zubiri took an oath as a member of PMP. Estrada and Binay were optimistic that Pimentel and Zubiri will be able to reconcile their differences prior to the start of the campaign. Seven days later, UNA announced its first five senatorial candidates: incumbent senators Koko Pimentel and Gregorio Honasan, Cagayan Representative Jack Enrile, San Juan Representative JV Ejercito, and 2010 senatorial candidate Joey de Venecia. On June 11, 2012, UNA formally included Zubiri in its line-up, together with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay.

On June 28, 2012, Pimentel officially declined his spot in the UNA line-up, citing Zubiri's continued inclusion. A week later, the commission accredited UNA as a political coalition, although it may face opposition from the use of the "UNA" acronym from the United Negros Alliance, a local political party from Negros Occidental.

The UNA announced in August that former senators Richard J. Gordon and Ernesto Maceda were a part of their ticket, and that Senator Loren Legarda would be one of the last three candidates yet to be named in their ticket. UNA spokesperson JV Bautista also said that Pimentel had taken a leave of absence as PDP—Laban president, and that PDP—Laban would not issue Pimentel's certificate of nomination as the latter was running under the Liberal Party ticket. However, Pimentel denied taking leave of absence from the PDP—Laban presidency.

On the first day of filing of certificates of candidacies, UNA' senatorial nominees filed theirs at the Commission on Elections national offices at Intramuros. Joey de Venecia withdrew from the election as he cited his business endeavors as reasons for his withdrawal; speculation was rife when Lorenzo Tañada III was one of the persons considered to fill in de Venecia's slot in the ticket, but Binay disclosed that Tañada was not in their choices "any more." On October 4, UNA announced that Binay's daughter Nancy was their 12th nominee.

After perennial non-attendance of the three common candidates shared with Team PNoy, UNA announced on February 21 that they dropped the three from the ticket. UNA secretary-general Toby Tiangco cited Team PNoy's campaign manager Franklin Drilon's refusal to allow the three to participate in their campaign.

Team PNoy

The Liberal Party was open on creating coalitions or alliances with other parties for the 2013 election, as long as the politicians have the same principles as them. Secretary of Budget and Management Florencio Abad said on April 7, 2012 that it was too early to make conclusions. Two days later, the Liberals revealed 14 names of possible candidates on their ticket; these include candidates that were being considered on the UNA ticket. This meant there may be common names on both tickets.

In April 2012, the Nacionalista Party was choosing between UNA and the LP tickets, with party secretary-general Alan Peter Cayetano saying that it was too early to decide on such matters. The verdict in the impeachment of Renato Corona would affect their decision.

On May 17, 2012, Aquino revealed the party's four senatorial bets: Aurora Representative Sonny Angara, TESDA Chairman Joel Villanueva, and 2010 senatorial candidates Risa Hontiveros and Ruffy Biazon. All four, however, were still considering their options to run for the Senate. On June 28, 2012, party vice chairman Senator Franklin Drilon announced the candidacy of former Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr.

Senator Francis Escudero, who formerly campaigned for the Nationalist People's Coalition's presidential nomination in 2010 before resigning from the party and withdrawing from the race abruptly, said he believed that the NPC and the Liberals "are in coalition with one another."

It was announced on July 5, 2012, that the ruling Liberal Party (LP), NPC and Nacionalista Party would most likely field a common senatorial ticket in the May 2013 elections. A meeting between Aquino and Villar agreed to coalesce for the 2013 elections, and details, such as local candidates, will be dealt upon on further meetings. Drilon cautioned though that the agreement was "not yet sealed" as the distribution of slots in the ticket will also be a factor. The Nacionalistas had already endorsed four candidates: Senators Antonio Trillanes and Alan Peter Cayetano, and Representatives Robert Ace Barbers and Cynthia Villar.

However, NPC official and Senator Tito Sotto in September said that the three-party coalition might not be pursued as the determination of candidates at the local level remain as stumbling blocks in the formation of the coalition; NPC has more local officials than LP and NP. Meanwhile, Representative Mark Villar, a Nacionalista, said that they will stay put with their coalition agreement with LP, and that most issues have already been resolved.

Bam Aquino, the president's cousin, and former Senator Jamby Madrigal, a defeated presidential candidate in 2010, were sworn in as Liberal Party members. On October 1, President Aquino announced the administration coalition's nominees in a speech at Club Filipino. The ruling coalition, aside from the LP, NP and NPC, included the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino and Akbayan.

The three candidates common with both coalitions, namely Francis Escudero, Grace Poe and Loren Legarda went with the ruling party's proclamation rally. The three candidates were given instructions by the party leaders not to appear in the sorties of the rival coalition.

Abaya also announced that Senator Franklin Drilon will serve as their campaign manager. However, Loren Legarda, when asked with whom she will campaign with, said "I will campaign with the Filipino people."

Makabayan coalition

In June 2012, Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño announced his senatorial candidacy, and stated that his progressive Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Patriotic Coalition of the People) was "in touch" with the leaders of the United Nationalist Alliance to join their slate, and that joining the Liberal-led ticket would be difficult as he has significant political differences with President Aquino. He was also amenable on rejoining the Nacionalista Party ticket which included candidates from the Makabayan coalition in the 2010 election, or running on his own. UNA spokesperson Toby Tiangco said that he was unaware of any talks between UNA and Makabayan. However, on September, Casiño announced that he not joining either ticket, saying that the coalition reached a consensus on the matter to prevent him from being beholden from other politicians.

On November 8, Makabayan announced the adoption of five guest candidates: Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Koko Pimentel, Cynthia Villar and Grace Poe. The six candidates of Makabayan would pursue a progressive agenda. On April 28, 2013, Makabayan further adopted the candidacies of Alan Peter Cayetano and Jamby Madrigal to add to their progressive senatorial slate. A week later, Ramon Magsaysay Jr. received Makabayan's endorsement on May 5.

Other coalitions, parties and independents

The other parties' tickets which were allowed by the commission to run were Ang Kapatiran, the Bangon Pilipinas Party, the Democratic Party of the Philippines, the Social Justice Society and several independents. Independents Edward Hagedorn and Ramon Montaño, and Ang Kapatiran candidates were included in the first batch of approved candidacies, while the candidates of the Democratic Party, of the Social Justice Society, and independent Ricardo Penson were approved on the second batch.

The Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines, headed by Cagayan de Oro representative Rufus Rodriguez did not name candidates for the election; they instead endorsed Francis Escudero, Koko Pimentel and Bam Aquino, all candidates of Team PNoy.

The People's Champ Movement, headed by Sarangani representative and Filipino boxing athlete Manny Pacquiao endorsed the entire United Nationalist Alliance ticket and endorsed the candidacies of Bangon Pilipinas Party senatorial candidate Eddie Villanueva and Team PNoy senatorial candidate Bam Aquino for the general election.

Lakas–CMD, the former ruling party which did not named candidates under their banner, endorsed the candidacies of Nancy Binay and Dick Gordon of UNA, Eddie Villanueva of Bangon Pilipinas, and Cynthia Villar from Team PNoy, Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez announced on mid-April. This completed the list which earlier included JV Ejercito, Jack Enrile, Gregorio Honasan and Mitos Magsaysay from UNA, and Sonny Angara and Grace Poe from Team PNoy. Since there are only ten names, the party instructed local officials to endorse two from Tingting Cojuangco, Ernesto Maceda and Juan Miguel Zubiri of UNA, and Loren Legarda from Team PNoy, to complete their preferred 12-candidate slate.

Summary

Term-limited incumbents

The following are barred from running since they are on their second consecutive six-year term:
#Edgardo Angara ( LDP) is retiring from politics.
#Joker Arroyo ( Lakas) is retiring from politics.
#Panfilo Lacson (Independent) was appointed as Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery, with Cabinet rank, in December 2013. Lacson ran for senator in 2016 and won.
#Francis Pangilinan (Liberal) was appointed Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization, with Cabinet rank, in May 2014. Pangilinan ran for senator in 2016 and won.
#Manny Villar ( Nacionalista) is retiring from politics.
Only one of the term-limited incumbents who were supposed to be appointed to the Cabinet were given government posts as of January 2014. Panfilo Lacson was appointed in December 2013 as the "rehabilitation czar" to coordinate reconstruction efforts after the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). In May 2014, Francis Pangilinan was named Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization.

Candidates

After the period of registering for candidacy has lapsed, the Commission on Elections approved on October 12 the candidacies of 27 people without benefit of a hearing. Most of these come from the Ang Kapatiran, the Liberal Party-led coalition, and the United Nationalist Alliance. On October 26, the commission added five more nominees to the list, mostly from the Democratic Party of the Philippines and the Social Justice Society. Chairman Sixto Brillantes said that the list would not be added with any more names and that it would be final. However, Brillantes announced on December 4 that the candidacy of Israel Virgines of the Bangon Pilipinas Party has been accepted. He submitted his candidacy past the 5:00 p.m. deadline on October 5 due to traffic and was originally disallowed from running but was reconsidered by the commission as he had previously run in the previous Senate elections.

The lists below reflect UNA's removal of their three guest candidates from their slate effective February 21.

Administration coalition

Dominant opposition coalition

Others

*Guest candidates

Opinion polls

Opinion polling (locally known as "surveys") is carried out by two major polling firms: Social Weather Stations (SWS), and Pulse Asia, with a handful of minor polling firms. A typical poll asks a voter to name up to twelve persons one would vote for in the Senate election. Then, the results are presented with the candidates ranked in descending order of voting preferences. From these, one can find out which candidates may likely win, and which ticket would have the most winners.

The first figure denotes the number of candidates from the party or coalition that made it to the top 12 in each survey; the figures inside the parenthesis are other candidates that made it within the margin of error of the 12th placed candidate. The figure of the party or coalition (except independents) that outright wins a majority of seats contested (7, if 12 seats are contested) is ''italicized'', while the party or coalition that outright wins a majority of seats in the Senate (13) is boldfaced. Guest candidates are counted as if they are regular candidates of their respective slates.

These are the polls administered after October 5, 2012, the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacies. When UNA removed their three guest candidates on February 21, surveys that were conducted on or after that date would no longer include those three within UNA's statistics, while those before that date included them.

Campaign

While the candidates were legally allowed starting campaigning only on the 90th day before the election (February 12, 2013 for this election), the Supreme Court ruled in ''Lanot vs. COMELEC'' that the ban premature campaigning is unconstitutional as it infringes on a candidate's freedom of expression. This has led to some candidates to campaign even before the start of the campaign period.

Before the campaign period

Even before the start of the campaign period, candidates had begun releasing infomercials without explicitly stating that voters should vote for them; instead these were called "advocacy ads". The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) is the first among the coalitions to air TV advertisements for their entire senatorial slate when ABS-CBN and GMA aired one of their advertisements on January 7, 2012. UNA's TV commercial featured minimal exposure to the candidates they share with the Liberal Party (LP)-led coalition, only showing them on the last frame. UNA also started having provincial sorties the next day, on January 8. President Aquino, in a provincial sortie in Mandaue, criticized UNA's early campaigning, saying that UNA "have to prove more than our own candidates." UNA secretary-general Toby Tiangco answered that the Liberals have been airing political ads and holding provincial sorties way before UNA did, pointing out that Aquino's criticism was done at the LP's own provincial sortie. Tiangco also said the UNA candidates were faring better against the LP's. On mid-January, LP officials started working on their coalition's TV advertisement, and were looking for ways to include Aquino in the ad.

On January 21, Secretary of Transportation of Communications Joseph Emilio Abaya said in a press conference at Malacañang Palace that Aquino himself reminded candidates from their coalition about campaign guidelines on appearing with UNA rallies. Abaya said a falling out with Aquino may be a bad enough penalty for candidates who will join UNA's rallies. Former president Joseph Estrada decried arrangement, saying that it is a virtual "ban" on common candidates. He further said that the ruling coalition is running scared, saying that "They know that the results of the 2013 elections would reflect their chances in 2016." Representative Ben Evardone has challenged the UNA to clarify if they are "fully supportive of President Aquino or has taken the role of the so-called united opposition that stands in the way of his ''daang matuwid'' (straight path) reform agenda". Tiangco left it to the three common candidates on joining UNA sorties despite the consequences that will be imposed by the LP.

The commission apologized to Teodoro Casiño when the final draft of the ballot listed him as an "independent" when he is nominated by Makabayan. Chairman Sixto Brillantes expressed regret as the commission may not have the time to edit the ballot before they are printed, and noted that the counting of his votes would not be affected. Casiño said that the error is unacceptable, and that there should not be mistakes in the practice of electoral rights.

The Liberal-led coalition renamed itself as "Team Pinoy", a play on words on "'' pinoy''", an informal term used to denote the Filipino people (compare to "canuck"), and "PNoy", the administration's preferred reference to President Aquino, who has a "Noynoy" nickname. Angara said that "we decided to use ‘Pinoy’ to send the message that this campaign is for all Filipinos." The coalition released its first TV advertisement the next day, with the "Team PNoy" spelling. Unlike UNA's advertisement, Team PNoy's advertisement included the three common candidates.

Team PNoy expects the three common candidates to go to their campaign launch Manila's Plaza Miranda, the site of the Plaza Miranda bombing during the 1971 election, at the first day of the campaign period. Vice President Jejomar Binay personally picked Cebu City as the site of their campaign launch, to support suspended governor Gwendolyn Garcia. Loren Legarda had said that she will be not attending either rally, as she will celebrate the 80th birthday of her father with him.

Rest of February

Team PNoy held their proclamation at Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila. President Aquino presented all of the coalition's candidates, including the three common candidates with UNA. Meanwhile, the UNA proclamation rally proceeded at Plaza Independencia in Cebu City despite light rains. Vice President Binay, Senate President Enrile and former president Estrada presented the nine candidates in Cebu, the province with the highest number of registered voters in the country.

Meanwhile, Bangon Pilipinas candidate Eddie Villanueva opened his campaign at Malolos, Bulacan, while independent candidate Edward Hagedorn started his campaign with a press conference surrounded by Miss Earth candidates to emphasize his pro-environment agenda, which followed with a motorcade that ended at the Santo Niño Parish Church at Tondo, Manila. Makabayan candidate Teodoro Casiño had a fun run that ended at the Senate building at Pasay to kick off his campaign. Samson Alcantara of the Social Justice Society opened his campaign outside his office at the corner of Taft Avenue and Padre Faura Street in Manila.

UNA threatened to drop Francis Escudero from their senatorial slate after he did not send a representative to UNA's proclamation rally, unlike fellow guest candidates Loren Legarda and Grace Poe. Escudero ignored the threat from UNA, maintaining that he would not be dictated by any party on the campaign, as he is running as an independent. The three were subsequently removed from the UNA senatorial line up on February 21, although President Estrada would still campaign for Poe in a personal capacity.

On February 19, the commission investigated the campaign of Jamby Madrigal after she was charged with illegal campaigning for holding an online raffle for an iPad. Madrigal admitted the charge but said that her volunteers, who were mostly from the youth sector, were the ones behind the raffle and that she had no prior knowledge regarding it.

The following day, when Team PNoy campaigned in Bacolod, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bacolod placed a tarpaulin in front of the San Sebastian Cathedral that urged people not to vote for candidates who supported the passage of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, who they labeled as "''Team Patay''" (Team Death): Risa Hontiveros, Loren Legarda, Sonny Angara, Alan Peter Cayetano and Chiz Escudero of Team PNoy, Jack Enrile of UNA and Teddy Casiño of Makabayan, while encouraging to vote for "''Team Buhay''" (Team Life): Cynthia Villar, Sonny Trillanes and Koko Pimentel of Team PNoy, and Gringo Honasan, JV Ejercito and Mitos Magsaysay of UNA. The commission ordered that the poster be taken down for being oversized. Bishop Vicente Navara said the diocese will just replace it with a poster that follows the commission's rules. The diocese cut the tarpaulin in half, but the commission would still press charges as it is still illegal.

More than two weeks after her aborted campaign raffle, Jamby Madrigal went to the commission's main office in Intramuros to explain her side on the alleged illegal campaign violation for the aborted iPad raffle. Madrigal personally apologized for the raffle and asked the commission to examine the social circumstances of similar raffles occurring on social medial websites; Chairman Brillantes answered that the campaign activities on social networks are covered by the Omnibus Election Code.

March

The erstwhile two-week standoff in Lahad Datu, Sabah between supporters of the Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III and the Malaysian authorities erupted in a gunfight that caused 14 deaths on March 1. President Aquino was in a campaign sortie with his ticket on San Fernando, Pampanga when the gunfight erupted, and he had to delay his appearance on the stage as he was monitoring the situation. In an interview at DZMM radio station, Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Mar Roxas reiterated the government's position that the Sulu Sultanate supporters to leave Sabah, noting that the followers of Kiram were "hard-headed".

Team PNoy candidates defended the government's actions, faulting that the Kirams for what has transpired, and said that they should have followed the president and have withdrawn from Sabah to prevent bloodshed. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. said that "If there is a firefight that is Mr. Kiram's problem. They should've withdrawn," while Koko Pimentel said that while it is the government's duty "is to protest the abuse of its nationals, But a leader quinoshould also be able to direct them to do something especially if it's for their own good." Campaign manager Franklin Drilon later stated that Team PNoy would take a common stand on the conflict, and will support the president.

The candidates of UNA, on the other hand, criticized the government's actions. In a political rally at Cagayan de Oro, Richard Gordon labeled the response as "severely woeful, anti-Filipino, and subservient to Malaysia." Campaign manager Toby Tiangco decried Roxas' "hard-headed" remarks as "arrogant." Gregorio Honasan