1971 Philippine Senate election

1971 Philippine Senate election
8 (of the 24) seats in the Senate; 13 seats needed for a majority
Senate President before election; Gil Puyat; Nacionalista	Elected Senate President ; Gil Puyat; Nacionalista

A senatorial election was held on November 8, 1971 in the Philippines. The opposition Liberal Party won five seats in the Philippine Senate while three seats were won by the Nacionalista Party, the administration party; this was seen as a consequence of the Plaza Miranda bombing on August 21, 1971, which wounded all of the Liberal Party's candidates and almost took the lives of John Henry Osmeña and Jovito Salonga. Their terms as senators were cut short as a result of the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos on September 23, 1972.

Due to the ratification of a new constitution in 1973, the Senate was abolished and the unicameral parliamentary Batasang Pambansa was instituted. In 1987, a new constitution was approved that reverted to the presidential and bicameral legislative system. This means that this would be the last election for the Senate until the 1987 election.

Retiring incumbents[]

Liberal Party[]

Sergio Osmeña Jr.

Nacionalista Party[]

Nationalist Citizens' Party[]

Lorenzo Tañada

Results[]

The Liberal Party won five seats, while the Nacionalista Party won three.

Two Liberal incumbents successfully defended their seats: Genaro Magsaysay and Jovito Salonga, while Alejandro Almendras and Eva Estrada Kalaw of the Nacionalistas successfully defended their seats, as well.

The other four winners are neophyte senators: Eddie Ilarde, Ramon Mitra Jr., and John Henry Osmeña of the Liberals, and Ernesto Maceda of the Nacionalistas.

Nacionalista Senator Dominador Aytona lost his reelection bid.

	1	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Before election		‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡	‡

Election result	Not up	LP					NP			Not up
After election		√	√	*	+	+	*	*	*

Key:

‡ Seats up
+ Gained by a party from another party
√ Held by the incumbent
* Held by the same party with a new senator

Per candidate[]

• d Summary of the November 8, 1971, Philippine Senate election result
Rank	Candidate		Votes	%
1	Jovito Salonga	Liberal	5,620,272	59.7%
2	Genaro Magsaysay	Liberal	4,756,376	50.5%
3	John Henry Osmeña	Liberal	4,668,092	49.6%
4	Eddie Ilarde	Liberal	4,548,069	48.3%
5	Eva Estrada-Kalaw	Nacionalista*	4,464,367	47.4%
6	Ramon Mitra Jr.	Liberal	3,916,833	41.6%
7	Ernesto Maceda	Nacionalista	3,592,559	38.1%
8	Alejandro Almendras	Nacionalista	3,427,985	36.4%

9	Manuel Elizalde	Nacionalista	3,407,276	36.2%
10	Melanio Singson	Liberal	3,130,332	33.2%
11	Dominador Aytona	Nacionalista	3,119,995	33.1%
12	Juan Ponce Enrile	Nacionalista	3,044,461	32.3%
13	Salipada Pendatun	Liberal	2,885,336	30.6%
14	Blas Ople	Nacionalista	2,654,067	28.2%
15	Leonila D. Garcia	Nacionalista	2,473,684	26.3%
16	Cipriano Primicias Jr.	Nacionalista	2,099,148	22.3%
Total turnout			9,419,568	80.8%
Total votes			58,288,852	N/A
Registered voters			11,661,909	100.0%
Note: A total of 16 candidates ran for senator.			Source:^[1]

*Liberal Party's guest candidate.

Per party[]


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Up	Before	Won	After	+/−
	Liberal Party	33,469,677	57.42	+18.29	3	6	5	8	+2
	Nacionalista Party	24,819,175	42.58	−18.23	4	17	3	16	−1
	Nationalist Citizens' Party				1	1	0	0	−1
Total		58,288,852	100.00	–	8	24	8	24	0

Total votes		9,419,568	–
Registered voters/turnout		11,661,909	80.77
Source: Dieter Nohlen; Florian Grotz; Christof Hartmann; Graham Hassall; Soliman M. Santos (15 November 2001). Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific. ISBN 9780199249596. & Julio Teehankee. "Electoral Politics in the Philippines" (PDF). quezon.ph.

Vote share

LP			57.42%
NP			42.58%

Senate seats

LP			62.50%
NP			37.50%

References[]

^ {Christof Hartmann; Graham Hassall; Soliman M. Santos Jr. (2001). Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz and Christof Hartmann (ed.). Elections in Asia and the Pacific Vol. II. Oxford University Press. pp. 185–230. ISBN 0199249598.

External links[]

Official website of the Commission on Elections

[1] {Christof Hartmann; Graham Hassall; Soliman M. Santos Jr. (2001). Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz and Christof Hartmann (ed.). Elections in Asia and the Pacific Vol. II. Oxford University Press. pp. 185–230. ISBN 0199249598.

[1]

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