Senate winners proclaimed June 1?

All 13 winning senators may be proclaimed in ceremonies at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City tomorrow.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Alfredo Benipayo told reporters yesterday the National Board of Canvassers will determine if the standing of the top 13 will not be affected by the certificates of canvass that have not yet been tabulated.

"June 1 is our target for formal proclamation," he said. "But we can’t determine yet if it will be partial or complete."

However, Commissioner Resurreccion Borra said Benipayo has started preparing the invitations to be sent to the perceived winners.

"We haven’t finalized (whether it will be partial or complete proclamation) but the chairman has already drafted the invitations," he said.

Four out of 102 certificates of canvass have not yet been tabulated. These are for the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Eastern Samar.

Members of the National Board of Canvassers stopped tabulating the certificate of canvass in Caloocan City after they found out that only lawyer Calixto Ramos, chairman of the city Board of Canvassers, had signed the certificate.

Two members of the city Board of Canvassers did not sign the certificate of canvass based on the wrong information that the Comelec had declared a failure of election in Caloocan.

Earlier, the poll body suspended the proclamation of winners in the local elections while a petition to declare a failure of elections in the city was pending.

However, they agreed to proceed with the canvassing in the evening when the National Board of Canvassers explained that the order covered only the election for local positions and the House of Representatives.

The National Board of Canvassers had agreed to canvass the statement of votes instead of the certificate of canvass as the grand total of votes was not stated on the certificate.

Under Comelec rules and regulations, the certificate of canvass is the basis for canvassing, while the statement of votes is used for counterchecking.

However, the case of Caloocan was considered as an exception to the rule.

On the other hand, the Puwersa ng Masa-Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (PnM-LDP) will ask the Comelec to nullify the candidacy of People Power Coalition (PPC) senatorial candidate Ralph Recto.

Jesus Crispin Remulla, PnM-LDP spokesman, said they have enough evidence to prove the PPC resorted to massive electoral fraud to ensure the victory of Recto, who is holding on to the 13th and last slot.

"We have to file the charges against Recto, otherwise, our supporters might perceive us of reneging with our commitment to pursue an agenda based on the strengthening of the rule of law in the country," he said.

Remulla said Recto’s votes in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat and Zamboanga del Norte, and other areas in Mindanao are higher than the total number of votes cast in the elections.

"In Palimbang alone, Recto gathered 15,000 votes of the total 17,508 votes cast, which is about 90 percent while in Zamboanga del Norte, he also emerged on top of the counting at 117,000 votes, 27,000 votes more than frontrunner Noli de Castro," he said.

Remulla said they are confident reelectionist Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Miriam Defensor-Santiago would still win despite the PPC’s alleged cheating and less than a week to the Comelec’s final counting of votes.

"The last votes to be counted would come from our bailiwicks in Mindanao, so there is still room to hope that both Senators Enrile and Defensor-Santiago could still make it," he said. "Most likely, it would be Recto and Kiko (Pangilinan) who would be ousted from the final line-up," he said.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Rep. Eduardo Gullas joined Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. yesterday in calling for the regional election of senators to ensure equitable distribution of development funds nationwide.

"At present, each senator gets about P300 million in pork barrel allocations yearly," he said. "With election by region, each senator would naturally commit all if not the bulk of his or her development funds to his or her region."

In the new Senate, Pimentel said Luzon would have 19 senators, Visayas three, and Mindanao two, with no Muslim being elected senator.

"We want our Muslim brothers, as part of the body politic, to have a distinct vote in the Senate," he said. "Sadly, Muslims have not been represented in the Senate since 1995."

Pimentel also urged the Comelec yesterday to immediately suspend and prosecute members of the provincial board of canvassers in Zamboanga del Norte, Northern Samar, and Sultan Kudarat, who were found to have tampered the results of the senatorial elections.

"If these election officials were found to have padded the votes of certain senatorial candidates, the Comelec should not merely admonish them but should initiate legal action against them," he said.

Pimentel said the poll body should also investigate reports that some of its present and past personnel from the central office are involved in the tabulation anomaly.

"It is important for the Comelec to send a strong signal that they will not stand mute over palpable violations of the Omnibus Election Law such as the anomalous padding of votes in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga del Norte, and Northern Samar," he said.

Pimentel said his lawyers have started filing charges against those found to have violated various provisions of the Omnibus Election Law before the Comelec and proper courts.