AS OF press time, nine senatorial candidates have been proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as winners of the 2013 midterm polls.
The first six who were proclaimed earlier include Grace Poe Llamanzares, Loren Legarda, Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Nancy Binay and Juan Edgardo Angara.
Another three were proclaimed by COMELEC on Friday evening: Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Antonio Trillanes IV.
Before the election comes to a full close, it would be good to note how the 2013 Philippine mid-term elections proceeded and how these candidates fared among Pinoys here in the United States.
According to the results of the official canvass of election returns released by the Philippine Embassy on Wednesday, Francis Escudero topped the senatorial race in the US with 9,464 votes (2,599 votes of which are from LA); followed by Alan Peter Cayetano with 9,174 votes (2,519 from LA); Grace Poe with 9,029 votes (2,467 votes from LA); Loren Legarda with 8,696 (2,330 votes from LA) ; Aquilino Pimentel III with 8,448 votes (2,288 votes from LA); Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV with 8,267 (2,075 votes from LA); Juan Edgardo Angara with 7,735 (2,076 votes from LA); Richard Gordon with 7,291 votes (1,794 votes from LA); Ramon Magsaysay Jr. with 7,187 votes (2,317 votes from LA); Risa Hontiveros with 6,983 votes (1,819 votes from LA); Antonio Trillanes IV with 6,521 (1,727 votes from LA) and Juan Miguel Zubiri with 4,908 (1,415 votes from LA).
In Los Angeles, the top 12 were Escudero, Cayetano, Poe, Legarda, Magsaysay Jr., Pimentel, Angara, Aquino, Hontiveros, Gordon, Trillanes and Zubiri, as reported by the Philippine Consulate General.
Meanwhile, among the party-list groups vying for seats in the House of Representatives, the OFW Family Club Inc. received the most votes from the Fil-Am community with 1,470 votes; followed by the Coalition of Association of Senior Citizens in the Philippines with 743 votes; Gabriela Women’s Party with 642 votes; Citizens Battle Against Corruption with 609 votes; Bayan Muna with 585 votes; and Migrante Sectoral Party of Overseas Filipinos and their Families with 460 votes.
Others included in the list were You Against Corruption and Poverty with 404 votes; Akbayan Citizens Action Party with 358 votes; Pilipinos with Disabilities with 291 votes; Ang Nars Inc. with 262 votes; Magdalo Para sa Pilipino with 231 votes; Alyansa ng OFW Party with 231 votes; Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action, Cooperation and Harmony Towards Education Reforms with 214 votes; Agbiag! Timpuyog Ilocano Inc. with 159 votes; and Act Teachers Party-List with 143 votes.
The Philippine Embassy reports that there were a total of 14,098 ballots received from the 93,229 registered Filipino-American voters in areas served by the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC and Consulates General in Agana, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco for the overseas voting process from April 13 to May 13.
“I would like to thank all our kababayans for keeping their faith in the democratic process by participating in the mid-term elections,” Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said.
Despite the low turnout (only 15 percent of the number of registered voters) for the 2013 midterm elections, Cuisia said that he is more than satisfied since the number of Fil-Am voters went up by 282 percent, compared to only 3,602 voters who voted in the 2007 mid-term elections.
“The efforts exerted by our kababayans to cast their votes are truly encouraging and speak volumes of their commitment to the ideals of democracy wherever they are,” Cuisia said, referring to instances when voters proceeded to polling precincts to be able to cast their ballots.
In an interview with Balitang America, US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG) President Rodel Rodis said (citing Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel’s figure of 6 million potential voters abroad) that the number of voters could dramatically increase if the Philippine government would make provisions for internet registration and voting.
“For Filipinos to register you have to go to the Consulate and that means traveling long distances…for many people that is very difficult so we are pushing for internet voting,” Rodis said.
According to Rodis, the 6 million potential overseas voters could make a major impact in the results of the 2016 presidential elections.
While the numbers are low in terms of voter turnout here in the US, these are still encouraging signs. Filipino-Americans are reaching out to their homeland and making their voices heard.
Hopefully, the COMELEC, along with the Philippine Embassy and consulates will continue to strive and find ways to make the registration and voting process more convenient and accessible for kababayans abroad in the future.
(AJPress)
