(SPOT.ph) The Commission on Elections will proclaim today, May 19 the senators and Party List groups who received the most number of votes at the May 9 national elections. The newly-elected senators will be announced at 3 p.m., while the Party List groups will be announced at 6 p.m. at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City.
The latest count of 12 senators includes Franklin Drilon, Joel Villanueva, Vicente Sotto III, Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, Miguel Zubiri, Manny Pacquiao, Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, Sherwin Gatchalian, Ralph Recto, and Leila De Lima.
Watch: Mas mahigpit na seguridad ipinapatupad sa paligid ng PICC para sa proklamasyon mamaya #VotePH2016 @dzIQ990 pic.twitter.com/UEVfl8TpWX
— Erwin Aguilon (@erwinaguilonINQ) May 19, 2016
Prior to the end of canvassing of 165 certificates, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) faced a number of issues, like the alleged unauthorized manipulation of the automated election system and script tweaking reportedly done by Smartmatic. Senatorial candidate Francis Tolentino is also reportedly seeking to file a Temporary Restraining Order on the proclamation of the last three winning senators. Tolentino is currently at 13th place.
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper house of the bicameral legislature. There are 24 senators in all, with each one serving for six years for a maximum of two consecutive terms.