The 1987 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 23rd election to the Senate of the Philippines. It was held on Monday, May 11, 1987. The Philippine Senate was re-instituted following the approval of a new constitution in 1987 restoring the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

Congress of the Philippines; earlier, a constitution was approved in 1973 that created a unicameral Batasang Pambansa (parliament) that replaced the bicameral Congress. The last Senate election prior to this was the 1971 election. The

Lakas ng Bayan Coalition Lakas ng Bayan ( en, Power of the People), abbreviated as Laban, was a political party in the Philippines formed by Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. for the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa regional elections. The party had 21 candidates for t ...

(LABAN) got 64.9% of the vote but won 22 out of 24 seats in the Senate; only two candidates from the opposition

Grand Alliance for Democracy The Grand Alliance for Democracy (GAD) was a political multi-party electoral alliance during the 1987 Philippine legislative election. The coalition opposed the policies of incumbent president Corazon Aquino and her Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN; People's ...

won: former Secretary of National Defense

Juan Ponce Enrile Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juanito Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, or Manong Johnny, is a Filipino politician and lawyer known for his role in the administration of Philippine dicta ...

and

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

Mayor Joseph Estrada, despite getting 26.6% of the vote. Along with the

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

and 1941 elections, this is the third and last senatorial election where all seats were up.

Background

After Marcos was ousted in the People Power Revolution in 1986, his political party, the

Kilusang Bagong Lipunan The New Society Movement ( fil, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, KBL), formerly named the New Society Movement of United Nationalists, Liberals, et cetera ( fil, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan ng Nagkakaisang Nacionalista, Liberal, at iba pa, KBLNNL), is a ...

, was fragmented. Almost all its members including Assemblymen Arturo Tolentino, Jose Rono, Nicanor Yniquez,

Cesar Virata Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata (born 12 December 1930) is a Filipino former statesman and businessman who was the fourth Prime Minister of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986. He is currently the corporate vice chairman of the Rizal Commercial B ...

who were coming from 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 ...

among others were orphaned. On the other hand, the Aquino coalition took all positions in the Ministry/Cabinet. Most notable were Prime Minister Salvador Laurel, Local Government Minister

Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Aquilino Quilinging Pimentel Jr. (, December 11, 1933 – October 20, 2019), commonly known as Nene Pimentel, was a Filipino politician and human rights lawyer who was one of the leading political opposition leaders during the regime of Ferdinan ...

and Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo. The Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) consists of the

PDP–Laban Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (), abbreviated as PDP–Laban, is a democratic socialist List of political parties in the Philippines, political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was part of the country's ruling party al ...

headed by Local Government Minister Pimentel, the Lakas ng Bansa party headed by Assemblyman

Ramon Mitra Ramon Villarosa Mitra Jr. (February 4, 1928 – March 20, 2000) was a Filipino statesman, diplomat, and pro-democracy activist. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1987 to 1992. Prior to that, he was C ...

, the UNIDO, the Liberal Party headed by Senator Jovito Salonga, the

National Union of Christian Democrats National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

headed by Raul Manglapus, the Bayang Nagkakaisa sa Diwa at Layunin headed by

Butz Aquino Agapito "Butz" Aquino (May 20, 1939 – August 17, 2015) was a Senator of the Philippines from 1987 to 1995, congressman from Makati and a part-time film and television actor. He was born to former senator Benigno S. Aquino Sr. and Aurora Aqu ...

, Panaghusia and other pro-Cory regional parties The GAD consists of the faction of the KBL headed by Assemblyman Arturo Tolentino, the Jose Roy faction of the Nacionalista Party headed by

Renato Cayetano Renato "Rene" Luna Cayetano (December 12, 1934 – June 25, 2003), commonly known as Compañero, was a Filipino lawyer, television presenter, journalist, and politician. He served in the Regular Batasang Pambansa, representing the Legislative di ...

, the pre-1986 opposition leaders who defected from Aquino headed by Senator

Eva Estrada-Kalaw Eva Kalaw ( Evangelina Reynada Estrada; June 16, 1920 – May 25, 2017) was a Filipina politician who served as a senator in the Senate of the Philippines from 1965 to 1972 during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. She was one of the key opp ...

, the Partido Nacionalista ng Pilipinas headed by Former Labor Minister Blas Ople, the Mindanao Alliance, the Muslim Federal Party and the Christian Social Democratic Party. The UPP-KBL coalition was composed of pro-Marcos forces. This coalition included some GAD candidates as guest candidates, and was considered to be the loyalist politicians of the Marcos government. The Left also put up a seven-man slate, under the Partido ng Bayan banner. These includes the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and its allied organizations. Other political parties who fielded candidates are the

Lapiang Manggagawa The Labor Party Philippines, also known as the Workers' and Peasants' Party (WPP; this is their preferred acronym) and formerly known as the Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka (lit. Workers' and Farmers' Party; PMM) and the Lapiang Manggagawa ( ...

Lakas ng Bansa The Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in the Philippines. There are no results available for the 2004 Philippine general election, 2004 election for the House of Representatives of the P ...

and the Partido Nacionalista ng Pilipinas, along with several independent candidates.

Major Senate candidates

Administration coalition

Main opposition coalition

: defected from President Aquino

Other notable candidates

*Guest candidate

Results

The Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) coalition won 22 seats, while the

(GAD) won two. Winners who had served in the 1935 constitution Senate were LABAN's Raul Manglapus, Ernesto Maceda,

John Henry Osmeña John Henry Renner Osmeña (January 17, 1935 – February 2, 2021), also known as Sonny Osmeña or simply John Osmeña, was the grandson of Philippine President Sergio Osmeña. He served as a senator of the Philippines from 1971 to 1972, 1987 to ...

, Jovito Salonga and

Mamintal A.J. Tamano Mamintal Abdul Jabbar Tamano (December 25, 1928 – May 18, 1994) was a Filipino statesman and a former Senator of the Philippines. Early life and education Tamano was born in Tamparan, Lanao. He graduated valedictorian at the Lanao High Schoo ...

. Winners who had served in the Batasang Pambansa were LABAN's Neptali Gonzales,

Orlando S. Mercado Orlando Sanchez Mercado (, born Orlando Mercado y Sanchez; April 26, 1946), better known as Orly Mercado, is a Filipino politician and broadcast journalist best known for having served as a senator of the Philippines from 1987 to 1998, Secretary ...

Alberto Romulo Alberto Gatmaitan Romulo (born August 7, 1933) is a Filipino politician and diplomat. He served in the Philippine in various capacities as Executive Secretary, Finance Secretary, Foreign Affairs Secretary, and Budget Secretary. His most recent o ...

, and

Victor ZIga Victor "Vic" San Andres Ziga (September 30, 1945 – January 31, 2021) was a Filipino politician who served as senator in the 8th Congress. He was an assemblyman for Albay in the Regular Batasang Pambansa prior to getting elected as senator. He ...

, and GAD's

. Winners who had neither served in the 1935 constitution Senate and in the 1973 constitution Batasang Pambansa were LABAN's Heherson Alvarez, Edgardo Angara,

Teofisto Guingona Jr. Teofisto "Tito" Tayko Guingona Jr. (born July 4, 1928) is a Filipino politician and diplomat who served as the 11th vice president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2004, during the first term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Born in San ...

, Ernesto Herrera,

Sotero Laurel Sotero Cosme "Teroy" Hidalgo Laurel II (September 27, 1918 – September 16, 2009) was a Filipino politician and educator who served as a Senator from 1987 until 1992, including a period as President pro tempore from 1990 until 1991. Laurel w ...

, Joey Lina,

Leticia Ramos-Shahani Leticia Valdez Ramos-Shahani (September 30, 1929 – March 20, 2017) was a Filipina senator, diplomat, and writer. She was the younger sister of Fidel V. Ramos, the 12th president of the Philippines. Early life She was born on September 30, ...

Nina Rasul Santanina Tillah Rasul (born Santanina Centi Tillah, September 14, 1930) is a Filipina politician and the first Muslim woman member of the Senate of the Philippines. Education In 1952, Rasul earned a BA in Political Science ''cum laude'' from ...

, Rene Saguisag and

Wigberto Tañada Wigberto "Ka Bobby" Ebarle Tañada Sr. (, born August 13, 1934) is a Filipino politician. He is member of the Liberal Party and a former member of the Senate of the Philippines (1987–1995) and Philippine House of Representatives representing th ...

, and GAD's Joseph Estrada. The first 21 proclaimed winners were all seated on June 30, the day the terms start. The 22nd and 23rd senators were proclaimed a few days after June 30. Finally, the Commission on Elections, due to the tight race between GAD's Juan Ponce Enrile and LABAN's Augusto Sanchez, only declared the 24th winner by August. Key: * ‡ Seats up * + Gained by a party from another party * ^ Vacancy

Tally of votes

Per coalition

References

External links

Official website of the Commission on Elections

Official website of the House of Representatives

{{Philippine elections

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

1987 elections in the Philippines