Majority of leading Senate bets are from prominent clans
MANILA, Philippines — Most of the candidates set to be elected to the Senate are from prominent clans and most of them have been senators before, according to the partial and unofficial results on Tuesday evening.
These aspirants include:
- Actor Robin Padilla, who comes from a showbiz clan. In the Philippines. Robin is dubbed as the "Bad Boy of Philippine Cinema", and is the son of film director-turned-Camarines Norte governor Casimiro “Roy” Padilla, Sr., with former actress Eva Cariño.
In the Philippines, being a well-known celebrity can be a boon for those who want to run for public office, as many voters typically vote based on name recognition, among other factors. Padilla is currently leading in the Senate race, with over 26.38 million votes as of 7:02 p.m. He believes, however, that he is topping the polls, not because of his celebrity status, but because of his platform to primarily pursue charter change.
- Re-electionist Sen. Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian has two brothers in government service. Wesley, who served as house deputy speaker and Valenuzuela City's first district representative, is now the elected mayor of Valenzuela city. Meanwhile, Rex, who once served as Valenzuela mayor, is set to serve as the city's first district representative.
- Sorsogon Gov. Chiz Escudero, a former senator, is the son of former agricultural secretary Sonny Escudero III and Rep. Evelina Escudero (Sorsogon). Chiz's wife Heart Evangelista is a well-known Filipina actress.
- Former Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, the son of business tycoon and former senator Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party; and Sen. Cynthia Villar;
- Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri whose father Jose Ma. Zubiri has held various local government posts- 3rd district representative, vice mayor and governor- in Bukidnon. Migz's brothers Jose Ma. Zubiri III and Manuel Antonio Zubiri held positions in public office, such as former 3rd district representative, and incumbent 3rd district representative, respectively.
- Former sens. JV Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada, both sons of former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada;
- Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, the son of former Sen. Rene Cayetano. Alan's wife Lani just secured another term as mayor of Taguig City. Alan's sister is Sen. Pia Cayetano.
- Re-electionist Joel Villanueva, the son of evangelist and Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide founder Eddie Villanueva, who also represents CIBAC (Citizens' Battle Against Corruption) party-list and a is House deputy speaker.
- Broadcaster Raffy Tulfo, whose brothers Mon, Erwin and Ben are in the media industry, and whose sister Wanda was the Secretary of the Department of Tourism. Raffy's wife Jocelyn is the partylist representative of ACT-CIS (Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support).
Other senatorial aspirants leading the elections are: Rep. Loren Legarda (Antique) , and Sen.Risa Hontiveros.
Lone opposition bet
Hontiveros emerged as the lone opposition bet who entered the "Magic 12", as she garnered around 15.24 million, based on the partial and unofficial tally at 10:17 p.m of May 10.
She got the endorsement of Vice President Leni Robredo 1Sambayan, the opposition coalition which backed the candidacies of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, who ran for president and vice president, respectively. Hontiveros is running under the Akbayan partylist.
If Hontiveros gets another term in the Senate, and if the final tally reflects those in the lead, she will be surrounded by allies of President Rodrigo Duterte and bets backed by the "UniTeam" slate.
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