1995 Philippine Senate election

The 1995 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 25th election to the Senate of the Philippines. It was held on Monday, May 8, 1995, to elect 12 of the 24 seats in the Senate. Filipinos protected the ballot boxes with their lives and campaigned against traditional politicians who used bribery, flying voters, violence, election rigging, stealing of ballot boxes, etc. The Philippine National Police (PNP) listed five people dead and listed more than 200 hotspots before and 300 hotspots during the election.

1995 Philippine Senate election
May 8, 1995
12 (of the 24) seats in the Senate
13 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Edgardo Angara Ernesto Maceda Miriam Defensor Santiago
Party LDP NPC PRP
Alliance Lakas–Laban NPC NPC
Seats won 9 2 1
Popular vote 123,678,255 28,452,737 19,619,923
Percentage 67.7% 25.5% 5.2%
Senate President before election

Edgardo Angara
LDP

 Elected Senate President

Edgardo Angara
LDP

Politics of the Philippines
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The two largest parties, Lakas-NUCD and the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), contested the senate election under the Lakas-Laban Coalition and won nine out of the 12 seats contested. The opposition-led coalition was composed of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) which had an alliance with the People's Reform Party (PRP), though they contested the election separately.

This was also the first time that the electorate voted for twelve candidates under the plurality-at-large voting to the Senate; previously, the electorate voted for two candidates each per senatorial districts (1916–1934), via closed party-lists (the "block voting" system in use from 1941 to 1949), and eight senators via plurality-at-large voting with the country as one "at-large" district from 1951 to 1971. This was also the first midterm election for the 1987 constitution, and the first since 1971, as the date the elected candidates take office falls at the midway point of President Fidel V. Ramos' six-year term.

Candidates
Note: Party affiliation based on Certificate of Candidacy.

Retiring and term limited incumbents

This was the first Senate election where there were term-limited incumbents.

  1. Butz Aquino (LDP), term limited, ran for representative from Makati's 2nd district and won
  2. Joey Lina (LDP), term limited, ran for governor of Laguna and won
  3. John Henry Osmeña (NPC), term limited, ran for representative from Cebu's 3rd district and won; ran for senator in 1998 and won
  4. Nina Rasul (Lakas)
  5. Wigberto Tañada (Liberal), term limited, ran for representative from Quezon's 4th district and won; ran for senator in 2001 and lost

Mid-term vacancies
  1. Teofisto Guingona Jr. (LDP), appointed Executive Secretary on July 6, 1993

Controversies

"Dagdag-Bawas" scam

As the counting of votes was ongoing on May 11, former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. alleged that some senatorial candidates currently outside the unfinished tally's top twelve spots were beginning to rig votes by bribing people involved in the electoral process.[1] Pimentel also shared that two of his fellow Lakas-Laban senatorial candidates revealed to him that a vote-buying scam called "Oplan Dagdag-Bawas" (lit. 'Add-Subtract') was occurring in Mindanao, where canvassers are bribed to shave off votes meant for Pimentel and transfer them to other candidates.[2] Pimentel later admitted that he lacks evidence for his claim, while a Comelec commissioner named Regalado Maambong dismissed the allegation as false.[3] After the election, Pimentel established the Foundation for Clean Elections, Inc. in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila to help prevent fraud in the country's elections.[4]

By late 1995, the Senate Electoral Tribunal ordered to deduct more than 58,000 "unlawfully credited" votes for Juan Ponce Enrile in Bataan and Isabela from his tally, alongside 10,000 votes for Gringo Honasan and 7,000 votes for Ramon Mitra.[5]

In May 1996, Maambong reversed his stance from the previous year and revealed that Comelec has found evidence of widespread cheating during the election.[6] Resureccion Borra, then executive director of Comelec, later stated that the 1995 election was the first time "dagdag-bawas" was committed on a massive scale, and announced that they will attempt to prosecute canvassers in the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Bataan, and Lanao del Sur.[7][8] In July 1996, Senator Serge Osmeña revealed that he discovered a 30,000 vote discrepancy for him in Pasig City between the manual tally done by the Treasurer's Office and the certificates of canvass.[9] By December, a regional trial court in Bataan ordered for the arrest of Cenon Uy, an assistant regional director for Comelec in Central Luzon, for having allegedly tampered with election results in the region to favor the candidacy of Enrile,[10] though he would remain in office until late 2000 when a pending court case against him forced his resignation.[11]

On February 10, 2000, Antonio Llorente and Ligaya Salayon, who were respectively Pasig City prosecutor and member of the Pasig board of canvassers at the time of the election, was charged by the Supreme Court for violating election laws after they admitted their "honest mistake" of taking away votes from Pimentel and transferring them to Enrile.[12] Llorente eventually went on indefinite leave from his position as Justice Undersecretary in September due to the Supreme Court standing by its ruling.[13]

On September 11, 2000, Arsenia Garcia, who was chair of the Alaminos, Pangasinan municipal canvassers during the election, was convicted of electoral fraud by a Regional Trial Court in Alaminos due to her discarding more than 5,000 votes that were in favor of Pimentel, and sentenced to six years in prison.[14]

Results

The Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and the Lakas–NUCD won four each, while the Nacionalista Party, the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), People's Reform Party (PRP), and an independent won one seat each.

Three incumbent LDP senators won: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Raul Roco, and Francisco Tatad (originally elected as an NPC member). Nikki Coseteng was the sole NPC senator to successfully defend her seat.

Neophyte senators were Lakas's Franklin Drilon, Juan Flavier, Ramon Magsaysay Jr., and Serge Osmeña, LDP's Marcelo Fernan, Miriam Defensor Santiago of the PRP, and independent Gregorio Honasan.

Returning was Juan Ponce Enrile, who last served in the Senate in 1992.

Incumbents defeated were LDP's Rodolfo Biazon and NPC's Arturo Tolentino.

123456789101112131415161718192021222418
Before election ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡^ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡
Election result Not up PRP Lakas-Laban Coalition NPC Not up
After election + + + + * * √ √ √ + √ +
Senate bloc Majority bloc Minority bloc
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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
 Summary of the May 8, 1995, Philippine Senate election result
Rank Candidate Coalition Party Votes %
1.Gloria Macapagal ArroyoLakas-Laban LDP15,745,74161.2%
2.Raul RocoLakas-Laban LDP12,509,73648.6%
3.Ramon Magsaysay Jr.Lakas-Laban Lakas11,862,45846.1%
4.Franklin DrilonLakas-Laban Lakas11,032,47642.9%
5.Juan FlavierLakas-Laban Lakas10,748,52841.8%
6.Miriam Defensor SantiagoNPC PRP9,497,23136.9%
7.Serge OsmeñaLakas-Laban Lakas9,390,93536.5%
8.Francisco TatadLakas-Laban LDP9,146,95135.5%
9.Gregorio HonasanNPC Independent8,968,61634.8%
10.Marcelo FernanLakas-Laban LDP8,762,23534.0%
11.Juan Ponce EnrileLakas-Laban Independent8,701,19133.8%
12.Nikki CosetengNPC NPC8,700,27833.8%
13.Ramon Mitra Jr.Lakas-Laban LDP8,650,61833.6%
14.Rodolfo BiazonLakas-Laban LDP8,587,33833.4%
15.Aquilino Pimentel Jr.Lakas-Laban PDP–Laban8,522,14833.1%
16.Bongbong MarcosNPC KBL8,168,76831.7%
17.Arturo TolentinoNPC NPC7,726,00630.0%
18.Ramon FernandezNPC NPC3,572,60413.9%
19.Rosemarie ArenasNPC NPC3,178,83712.4%
20.Manuel C. RoxasNPC NPC2,455,7649.5%
21.Herman T. LaurelPRP - Laurel Wing PRP1,395,0155.42%
22.Almarin C. TillahNPC NPC1,165,1644.52%
23.Amanda T. CruzNPC NPC1,008,1803.91%
24.Gaudencio BeduyaNPC NPC829,0823.22%
25.Adelisa RaymundoNPC NPC745,1152.90%
26.Ibrahim AmerelPDSP PDSP482,3281.87%
27.Vicente N. BiegoBicol Saro Bicol Saro417,9011.62%
28.Felino C. Polintan Jr.Partido Nacionalista ng Pilipinas Partido Nacionalista ng Pilipinas393,7121.52%
29.Brigido Simon (withdrew)PRP - Laurel Wing PRP152,1610.59%
30.MisaBicol Saro Bicol Saro109,7110.42%
Total turnout25,736,50570.7%
Total votes182,626,828N/A
Registered voters36,415,154100.0%
Note: A total of 30 candidates ran for senator.


References:

Philippines - Mid Term Election Campaigns / AP Archive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN_bw9FGl0w

PHILIPPINES: PRESIDENT FIDEL RAMOS CAMPAIGN RALLY / AP Archive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO-lpLTAA7M

Per coalition
Party or allianceVotes%Seats
Lakas-Laban CoalitionLaban ng Demokratikong Pilipino63,402,61934.724
Lakas–NUCD43,034,39723.564
Independent8,701,1914.761
PDP–Laban8,522,1484.670
Total123,660,35567.719
Nationalist People's CoalitionNationalist People's Coalition29,381,03016.091
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan8,168,7684.470
Independent8,968,6164.911
Total46,518,41425.472
People's Reform Party9,497,2315.201
People's Reform Party–Laurel wing1,547,1760.850
Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas482,3280.260
Independent921,3240.500
Total182,626,828100.0012
Total votes25,736,505–
Registered voters/turnout36,415,15470.68
Source: "Electoral Politics in the Philippines" (PDF). quezon.ph. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
Vote share
Lakas-Laban
 
 67.71%
NPC
 
 25.47%
PRP
 
 5.20%
Others
 
 1.62%
Senate seats
Lakas-Laban
 
 75.00%
NPC
 
 16.67%
PRP
 
 8.33%
Others
 
 0%

Per party
PartyVotes%+/–Seats
UpBeforeWonAfter+/−
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino63,402,61934.89−10.28616414−2
Lakas–NUCD43,034,39723.68+5.961245+3
Nationalist People's Coalition29,381,03016.17−1.624512−3
People's Reform Party11,044,4076.08−3.830011New
PDP–Laban8,522,1484.69New00000
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan8,168,7684.50−0.1200000
Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas482,3280.27New00000
Independent17,669,8079.72+9.530022New
Liberal Party1100−1
Total181,705,504100.00–122412240
Total votes25,736,505–
Registered voters/turnout36,415,15470.68
Source: "Electoral Politics in the Philippines" (PDF). quezon.ph. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
Vote share
LDP
 
 34.72%
Lakas
 
 23.56%
NPC
 
 16.09%
PRP
 
 6.05%
Independent
 
 9.73%
Others
 
 5.92%
Senate seats won
LDP
 
 33.33%
Lakas
 
 33.33%
NPC
 
 8.33%
PRP
 
 8.33%
Independent
 
 16.66%
Others
 
 0.00%

See also

References
  1. Villanueva, Marichu A. (May 12, 1995). "Pimentel denounces post-poll cheating". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 4. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  2. Atadero, Arnold (May 14, 1995). "Prove raps, Comelec dares accusers". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 3. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  3. Jacinto, Gerry G. (May 19, 1995). "Enrile bares cheating proof". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. p. 5. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  4. "'Firing Line' special on electoral reforms". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. December 4, 1995. p. 30B. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  5. Maragay, Fel (December 9, 1995). "SWS survey unfair to economic managers". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 23B. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  6. Macaspac, Joem H. (May 16, 1996). "Comelec dared on fraud case". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 1. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  7. Laborte, Annie Rose A. (May 24, 1996). "There are Judases in Comelec – Borra". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 5. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  8. Maragay, Fel (May 25, 1996). "Erap's loaded remarks". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 19B. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  9. Macaspac, Joem H. (July 2, 1996). "Enrile challenges Pimentel to one-on-one poll contest". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 5. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  10. Laborte, Annie Rose A. (December 8, 1996). "Arrest of Comelec official in 'Dagdag-Bawas' hailed". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 5. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  11. "Pimentel commends Comelec for removing 1995 poll cheats". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. October 26, 2000. p. 3. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  12. Cueto, Donna S. (February 11, 2000). "2 poll execs face raps for 'honest mistake'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. p. 4. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  13. Ubac, Michael Lim (September 28, 2000). "Justice usec goes on leave". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. p. A2. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  14. Fuertes, Yolanda (September 13, 2001). "Court finds poll official guilty". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. p. 1. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
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